Creating a PDF Viewer with React and Django
Learn how to integrate a PDF viewer using `pdf.js` with React and Django, overcoming common path issues during deployment.
---
This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/71750352/ asked by the user 'M. Korichi' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/18712042/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/71751377/ provided by the user 'M. Korichi' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/18712042/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.
Visit these links for original content and any more details, such as alternate solutions, latest updates/developments on topic, comments, revision history etc. For example, the original title of the Question was: Pdf.js with react and django
Also, Content (except music) licensed under CC BY-SA https://meta.stackexchange.com/help/l...
The original Question post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license, and the original Answer post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license.
If anything seems off to you, please feel free to write me at vlogize [AT] gmail [DOT] com.
---
Build a PDF Viewer with React and Django
Creating a PDF viewer in your web application can enhance your users' experience significantly, especially if you're rendering documents. Many developers face challenges when trying to integrate libraries like pdf.js into their projects, particularly when using frameworks like Django on the backend and React on the frontend. One common issue is related to paths after building the application. In this guide, we'll tackle how to correctly set up a PDF viewer using React and Django to ensure a smooth user interface without file path errors.
Understanding the Problem
As you embark on developing your PDF viewer, you might find that it works perfectly during development. However, the moment you build your project using npm run build and try to run it within a Django project, the PDF viewer fails to display as expected. This is a frequent hurdle due to incorrect file paths during the build process. So, how can you resolve this issue?
Step-by-Step Solution
Here are detailed steps to properly configure your PDF viewer using pdf.js within a React and Django setup:
Step 1: Structure Your Project
To begin, you need to ensure that your project has the right structure for serving static files. Follow these initial steps:
Copy the PDF.js Library:
Locate the folder named pdfjs.2.0.
Move or copy this folder into static/js in your Django project. This will make pdf.js accessible within your static files.
Step 2: Transfer the Build Files
Move Build Files:
Next, copy all files from the directory pdfjs.2.0/build into pdfjs2.0/web in your Django project. This is crucial as the web files are responsible for rendering the viewer.
Step 3: Modify the Viewer Configuration
Adjust the Viewer HTML:
Open pdfjs2.0/web/viewer.html in a code editor.
Locate line 36 in the HTML file, which defines some paths. You'll want to ensure the paths align with your Django static file setup. Adjust this line according to your project’s structure.
For example:
[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]
Step 4: Modify the Viewer JavaScript Configuration
Edit the Viewer JavaScript:
Open pdfjs2.0/web/viewer.js and navigate to line 229.
Find the line that states:
[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]
Adjust the path here too, so it matches where your worker file is located.
Conclusion
By following these steps, you can eliminate the path errors that often arise from integrating pdf.js with React in a Django project. When correctly configured, your PDF viewer will perform seamlessly, providing users with a functional and attractive interface to view PDF documents.
If you run into any more issues, remember that checking your static file configurations in Django can often unveil hidden path discrepancies. Happy coding!
