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I have a PDF like like this:

"http://centraldata.s3.amazonaws.com/.....pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=...."

which I get from an api call. Then I pass it into an link so that users can click and download it.

<a href={pdfUrl} />

So, my question is, is there a way to let user view the PDF without downloading it? Except passing the Url into an tag, I don't know if there is any other way to use this link

Thi Nguyen
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  • Does this answer your question? [How do I force files to open in the browser instead of downloading (PDF)?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/6293893/how-do-i-force-files-to-open-in-the-browser-instead-of-downloading-pdf) – disinfor Jun 21 '22 at 14:19

2 Answers2

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When you place a page of HTML in the Public Domain (World Wide Web) you are offering a service with Dis-positions (Download to later view this page after decoding download).

If you include images, text, audio, video or even a PDF via link, then you are offering to disposition a copy of the page content (be dispossessed of all with its content) from the server to the browser.

A web site can indicate to the browser that the download need not be viewed in the browser, (many browsers do not have a PDF viewer, or the browser may be secured to a safer setting such as Download Media ONLY) the HTTP response could include the html attachment headers:

Content-Type: application/pdf
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="file.pdf"

A web site can indicate to the browser that the download need not be viewed in the browser, but there is a possibility if the user settings allow for inline viewing, (many browsers do not have a PDF viewer or it may be secured to a safer setting such as Download ONLY) the HTTP response should include the html attachment headers:

Content-Type: application/pdf
Content-Disposition: inline; filename="file.pdf"

To avoid problems with the text parsing of the optional filename (blob: or anything will be saved to filename at the discretion of the client dispossesser) then the proffered optional filename should be "double quoted".

User security settings should ideally be set to no-popups, like blanks, open secondary windows or target tabs, since those are unfriendly, anti-social server actions.

W3 Recommendation says

    1. < a href="download-file.pdf" download >right click here for your options including view now< /a>
    1. If you as my client have an inline PDF viewer active, here is an iframe should you wish to use it. (Your servant)

The next two related questions are

  • How can I stop that content I duplicated, from being duplicated as a copy by the client?, well clearly you cannot, since you willingly gave it away and once decrypted and decoded by the receiver it belongs to them as editable dis possessed content.
  • How can I mask the source URL ?, generally you can not since to decode the whole file and maintain it (if required) the sending caller ID must be maintained as an open comms channel during viewing. (Much like satellite download or Netflix recordings on demand.)
K J
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just use this

<a href="#" onclick="window.open('http://www.africau.edu/images/default/sample.pdf', '_blank', 'fullscreen=yes'); return false;">MyPDF</a>
Mohit Sharma
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  • I tried this but it doesn't work because the url is a download link. So I tried the code and click on it, it open a new tab with blank page, and the file is still downloaded. – Thi Nguyen Jun 21 '22 at 15:02
  • @ThiNguyen you have to ask your backend person to make file viewable also so. – Mohit Sharma Jun 22 '22 at 04:05