Technical FAQs

OnTask API is a solution created for software developers looking to integrate eSignature functionality into new or existing applications. Often, creating an in-house solution to solve for these needs is a costly, time-consuming process involving a large lift from team members. This new offering aims to cut down on deployment time, while scaling with the needs of growing businesses. 

The automated eSignature solution from OnTask can easily be embedded into applications, and is a white label product that is fully-configurable to company needs and branding guidelines. 

“We believe OnTask API is going to be a gamechanger for start-ups and businesses with less development resources,” states Steve Wilson, President. “This solution is going to help a lot of businesses save resources, while still being able to accomplish their digital document goals.”

OnTask API allows users to embed legally-binding eSignature technology, as well as workflows complete with document routing, fillable digital forms, and document upload features into their applications. Additionally, users have the ability to bulk launch workflows to collect large numbers of eSignatures and participant data at a single time.

“Our developers have taken all of the features users love about OnTask, and given them the ability to integrate it directly into the applications they’re already using,” says Wilson. “Users can still build complex workflows with conditional logic, but now they can be launched directly from their site or application.”

OnTask has helped small to mid-sized businesses across a variety of industries stay in compliance, collect legally-binding signatures, and save time where it matters most. The OnTask team is looking forward to the feedback from this latest release.

About OnTask

OnTask is a workflow automation tool that makes it easy for small to mid-sized businesses to digitally send and fill forms, get signatures on documents and automate overall business processes, saving time and resources. For more information on OnTask, visit www.ontask.io

Developers have plenty of options for viewing PDFs in their applications. With so many solutions to choose from, it’s easy to put off thinking about PDF support until much later in the development process. But doing so is often a recipe for trouble, resulting in ad hoc workarounds and settling for third-party plug-ins or native browser support that could impact application performance and security.

Directly embedding a web-based PDF viewer provides developers with much more flexibility and control over how their application manages and presents PDFs. By integrating a PDF JavaScript (PDF JS) viewer early in the development process, it’s easier to build a better user experience that doesn’t force users to take additional steps in order to interact with PDFs.

5 Benefits of an Embedded Web PDF Viewer

1. Consistent Viewing Experience

One of the original intentions of the PDF format was to ensure that documents would look the same no matter where or how they were being viewed. Unfortunately, not every viewer renders documents in the same way. More importantly, there are so many different ways of building a PDF that it can be difficult to know if it contains certain elements that are difficult for certain viewers to manage. This is typically the case with fonts and other formatting issues. While flattening the PDF can often address many of these issues, there are many instances where rasterizing the document robs it of valuable functionality (fillable form fields, for example).

By embedding a web PDF viewer directly into an application with a PDF JS integration, developers can ensure that users will always have a consistent viewing experience. Since the application will automatically open PDFs rather than handing the viewing task off to a browser plug-in or an external program on the user’s device, the document should render exactly as it was intended to look. This helps to avoid confusion and helps to enhance the user’s overall experience within the application.

2. Control Over Files

Organizations put a lot of time and resources into safeguarding confidential assets, but they can quickly undermine those efforts by failing to maintain control over their documents when sharing them. Many PDF viewing solutions allow or even require someone to download the document without having to obtain any special permissions. While this typically isn’t a major concern for public-facing documents, it could be disastrous for any shared PDFs that contain sensitive data or private information.

When developers use an embedded web PDF viewer, they allow document owners to maintain control over what people can and cannot do with shared PDFs. If they simply want someone to be able to view a document, but not edit it or download it, they can set the right permissions and restrictions to maintain control over the file. Embedding a PDF JS viewer is essential to this approach because it creates the conditions of the viewing experience.

3. Responsive Viewing

Today’s PDF viewing solutions need to account for what the viewing experience looks like on multiple screen sizes and devices. Not everyone will be reading a document on a conventional computer screen. They may want to view PDFs on a tablet or smartphone, both of which call for different viewing controls due to the nature of the device interface.

Without an embedded web PDF viewer, mobile users may not be able to readily access PDF-based content within an application. For customer facing solutions, this can seriously compromise the user experience. It’s also a major obstacle for organizations seeking to leverage an application to support a collaborative workplace. By integrating that viewing support, developers can ensure that users will be able to view PDF documents easily no matter what device they’re using.

4. No Dependencies

Many PDF viewing solutions offer extensive features, but at the cost of impacting application performance and security. That’s because they require cumbersome, memory-intensive plug-ins or complex server configurations. Even worse, they may be completely separate third-party solutions that require PDF files to be shared outside a developer’s secure application environment.

With the right PDF JS library, developers can easily integrate web PDF viewing capabilities directly into the browser without resorting to any external dependencies. Since JavaScript PDF viewers are so lightweight, they can be installed with a small amount of code that doesn’t have an impact on application performance. And since a PDF JS viewer can render PDFs within the solution, there’s no reason to risk exposing them to external software environments.

5. Easy Annotation and eSignature

Many organizations have understandably come to expect PDF viewers to come fully equipped with annotation tools that allow them to mark up files without having to transfer them to another program. They also frequently need the ability to sign documents as part of ongoing business dealings. For customer facing applications, these features are incredibly valuable because they streamline many processes for users. 

By embedding a web PDF viewer capable of supporting annotations and eSignatures, developers can quickly provide that functionality without having to build a new solution from scratch. Many annotation tools require complex backend server dependencies, so having those essential features integrated within a lightweight JavaScript PDF library can greatly improve web application performance.

Embed a Web PDF Viewer Today with Accusoft PDF Viewer

As a lightweight JavaScript PDF library, Accusoft PDF Viewer allows developers to add dynamic PDF support to their applications in a snap. While many PDF JS solutions require complicated coding to integrate properly, Accusoft PDF Viewer delivers PDF functionality to a web application with just ten lines of code.

See for yourself:

<div id="viewer">
</div> <script>
   (async () => {
     const pdfViewer = await window.Accusoft.PdfViewerControl.create({
       sourceDocument: 'https://MyURL.com/MyPDF.pdf',
       container: document.getElementById('viewer')
     });
   })();
 </script>

Accusoft PDF Viewer builds upon the versatility and reliability of the popular PDF.js open-source library, which serves as the foundation of many commercial PDF viewing solutions. From there, we used our extensive imaging technology expertise to push the boundaries in terms of rendering performance and usability. Optimized for speed and ease of use, the Standard Version of this JavaScript-based PDF viewer provides multiple benefits to developers looking to add robust viewing support without bogging down their development cycle:

• Responsive UI: Easily view and interact with PDFs on any screen size thanks to optimized mobile controls.
• Powerful Rendering: Smart rendering technology ensures that images remain crisp at all zoom levels.
• Lightning-Fast Search: Get near-instant search results when trying to locate specific text, even when viewing large documents.
• 100% Client-Side: With no server configurations or plug-ins, all viewing sessions remain entirely within a secure application environment.

For developers looking for expanding functionality, Accusoft PDF Viewer Professional version adds a number of important features:

• UI Customization: Adjust the PDF viewer UI by adding or removing toolbar elements to create a better viewing experience.
• Annotation: Markup PDF files with multiple annotation tools, then store or retrieve markups with an API.
• eSignature: Create freehand signatures to sign documents on computers, tables, or smartphones.
• White Labeling: Add customized branding to the viewer for a more consistent experience.

Accusoft PDF Viewer Standard Version can be downloaded today at no cost to quickly embed PDF features into any web-based application with just a few lines of code. When it’s time to add expanded functionality, we make it quick and easy to upgrade to Professional Version.

Check out the Accusoft PDF Viewer fact sheet for a detailed breakdown of the two versions. If you’re ready to get started, you can download Standard Version right now to try it for yourself.

Accusoft PDF Viewer builds upon the versatility and reliability of the popular PDF.js open-source library, which serves as the foundation of many commercial PDF viewing solutions. From there, we used our extensive imaging technology expertise to push the boundaries in terms of rendering performance and usability. Optimized for speed and ease of use, the Standard Version of this JavaScript-based PDF viewer provides multiple benefits to developers looking to add robust viewing support without bogging down their development cycle:

• Responsive UI: Easily view and interact with PDFs on any screen size thanks to optimized mobile controls.
• Powerful Rendering: Smart rendering technology ensures that images remain crisp at all zoom levels.
• Lightning-Fast Search: Get near-instant search results when trying to locate specific text, even when viewing large documents.
• 100% Client-Side: With no server configurations or plug-ins, all viewing sessions remain entirely within a secure application environment.

For developers looking for expanding functionality, Accusoft PDF Viewer Professional version adds a number of important features:

• UI Customization: Adjust the PDF viewer UI by adding or removing toolbar elements to create a better viewing experience.
• Annotation: Markup PDF files with multiple annotation tools, then store or retrieve markups with an API.
• eSignature: Create freehand signatures to sign documents on computers, tables, or smartphones.
• White Labeling: Add customized branding to the viewer for a more consistent experience.

Accusoft PDF Viewer Standard Version can be downloaded today at no cost to quickly embed PDF features into any web-based application with just a few lines of code. When it’s time to add expanded functionality, we make it quick and easy to upgrade to Professional Version.

Check out the Accusoft PDF Viewer fact sheet for a detailed breakdown of the two versions. If you’re ready to get started, you can download Standard Version right now to try it for yourself.

TAMPA, FLA. (Nov. 2, 2021) – OnTask, a workflow automation and eSignature tool, has launched a new Health Tracking platform providing unmatched flexibility for companies to track employees’ vaccination records, exemption requests, COVID test results, health screenings, and wellness status.

The affordable and secure cloud-based system can be used with any device and from any location, making it simple for both employees and the human resources department to use.

Employees can access OnTask Health Tracking to submit important information, like proof of vaccination documents and COVID test results, and use an eSignature to certify authenticity of the information. It’s as easy as clicking a link or scanning a QR code from any device – employees don’t need to create an account, set a password, or install an app.

Once an employee submits information, OnTask Health Tracking routes the information to the appropriate people or departments, depending on the automation rules for notification and approval that the company sets. Each company has the ability to set the specific configurations that work best for the company’s workflow.

“We developed the OnTask Health Tracking platform to be simple for the user and a powerful tool for the company,” said Steve Wilson, president of OnTask. “It saves the HR department time by making health tracking simple and efficient.”

The platform’s pre-built workflow templates are quickly configured to fit within any company’s operations, allowing a company to start using OnTask Health Tracking within hours. Once configured, it’s simple for users to make adjustments to the workflow as mandates or business needs change, or OnTask’s support team can quickly make changes for an employer.

OnTask Health Tracking is a secure, timely, and efficient way for employers to comply with existing federal mandates and recently released Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidance around COVID-19. Its flexible platform allows employers to quickly adjust to changing legal requirements over time, including automatically timing and tracking when proof of vaccine boosters may be required.

In addition, repetitive document-centric HR tasks like onboarding new employees, managing PTO requests, and submitting expenses can move into the OnTask platform, making it useful long after the pandemic.

The platform is already gaining attention for its innovation. OnTask Health Tracking was recognized as a Top Vaccine Management Software Vendor by Select Software Reviews and featured in SaaSHub’s weekly trending products. It’s also a finalist for Tampa Bay Tech’s 2021 Tech Project of the Year.

View demo videos and additional information about the benefits of using OnTask Health Tracking at https://www.ontask.io/solutions/health-tracking/.

About OnTask

OnTask is a workflow automation tool that makes it easy for small to mid-sized businesses to digitally send and fill forms, get signatures on documents and automate overall business processes, saving time and resources. OnTask is a flagship product of Tampa-based software company Accusoft, which holds more than 40 patents for its software technologies that are designed to solve complex workflow challenges, improve productivity, provide actionable data, and deliver results that matter. For more information on OnTask, visit www.ontask.io.

Next Evolution in Intelligent Contract Automation Redefines How Businesses Create, Manage, Sign, and Track Digital Contracts

TAMPA, Fla. November 29, 2023 – OnTask, a leader in contract automation and eSignature collection, has announced it has rebranded as Docubee. With a redefined product platform and focus on intelligent contract automation, Docubee provides an unparalleled customer experience and streamlines the entire contract lifecycle, including the way businesses create, manage, sign, and track digital contracts.

“The new Docubee brand will allow us to grow with a friendlier and more engaging identity that resonates with our customers and more clearly articulates how we can solve problems for our clients and community,” said Megan Brooks, Chief Operating Officer of Accusoft who oversees product brands such as OnTask, and now Docubee. “The customer-focused personality of Docubee will also play out as we refine our product offerings to further support our clients and improve the user experience.”

Docubee is built on a foundation of innovation. The past six years leading up to the rebrand have centered upon the development of award-winning contract automation solutions that leverage cutting-edge technology such as artificial intelligence (AI), conditional logic, and top-notch security to streamline contract-related tasks.

That foundation, combined with refinements of its multifaceted contract automation solutions, has set the course for Docubee to address customer needs moving forward.

The refined Docubee platform offers five core solutions:

• Gather: Collecting information to incorporate into contracts and agreements.
• Generate: Creating contracts swiftly through templates, AI, or by creating and editing from scratch.
• Share: Routing contracts seamlessly for editing, review, and approval.
• Sign: Capturing secure, compliant, and legally binding signatures on any device.
• Integrate: Connecting to the systems teams use daily, or building Docubee’s tools into native applications using APIs.

The brand has seen tremendous growth in recent years with the launch of innovative tools like (AI) document generation, eSignature APIs, and workflow tools, as well as marquee partnerships like with legal case management software leader SmartAdvocate.

“We anticipate extensive growth within these specialized areas,” said Brooks. “The time is right to align with our customers, invest in this platform, form new partnerships, and enhance our service.”

Docubee is a SaaS technology product of Tampa-based software company Accusoft, a technology industry leader with a 30-year track record. Accusoft is recognized for its software technologies that are designed to solve complex workflow challenges, improve productivity, provide actionable data, and deliver results that matter.

For more information about Docubee and to explore the future of contract automation, visit www.Docubee.app.

Docubee, an Accusoft brand, is an intelligent contract automation platform that lets businesses create, manage, sign, and track digital contracts in one secure platform. Docubee powers contracts by enabling users to gather vital customer data, create contracts using tools like generative AI or pre-built templates, and connect pieces of the process with dynamic workflows. Users can integrate Docubee with their existing site or platform via the API or connect to thousands of apps and CRMs using native and webhook-powered integrations. For more information, visit docubee.com

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TAMPA, Fla. –  TEAM Informatics is developing a new product called M-Connect, which leverages Accusoft’s PrizmDoc Viewer. M-Connect extends and enhances the capabilities of the M-Files Intelligent Information Management platform.

As part of M-Connect’s functionality, TEAM Informatics needed to provide the ability for users to access, view, collaborate, and search information within different document formats. They needed to control access to the documents, audit changes, and support a wide range of file formats in a web interface.

“Accusoft has been a true partner through several TEAM product development initiatives,” said Volker Schaberg, Chief Operating Officer at TEAM Informatics. “PrizmDoc Viewer does a great job of delivering this vital viewer functionality.”

TEAM Informatics has been a partner of M-Files for a number of years and has developed several add-ons and includes these in many successful customer deployments globally.

“Accusoft is proud to partner with TEAM Informatics. We’re happy to integrate our HTML5 document viewer into M-Connect to help M-Files users around the world,” comments Megan Brooks, VP of Marketing at Accusoft.

Together, the partners plan to launch M-Connect July 8, 2020.

About TEAM Informatics: 

TEAM is a global System Integrator, specializing in Intelligent Information Management (IIM) systems. Established more than 20 years ago and operating in the USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand, TEAM has deep and broad expertise in IIM, offering Advisory, Implementation and Managed Support Services. TEAM has also built a suite of content services that extend these platforms to produce unique solutions such as automatic redaction, auto-classification, eSignature, and records management. Partnerships with M-Files, Oracle, Syl Search, Elasticsearch, HelloSign and many more bring TEAM to the forefront of an all-in-one enterprise content solution provider. Find out more at www.teamim.com.

About Accusoft: 

Founded in 1991, Accusoft is a software development company specializing in content processing, conversion, and automation solutions. From out-of-the-box and configurable applications to APIs built for developers, Accusoft software enables users to solve their most complex workflow challenges and gain insights from content in any format, on any device. Backed by 40 patents, the company’s flagship products, including OnTask, PrizmDoc™ Viewer, and ImageGear, are designed to improve productivity, provide actionable data, and deliver results that matter. The Accusoft team is dedicated to continuous innovation through customer-centric product development, new version release, and a passion for understanding industry trends that drive consumer demand. Visit us at www.accusoft.com.

As part of our ongoing commitment to supporting the LegalTech industry in its effort to transform the processes used by law firms and legal departments, Accusoft recently sponsored an educational webinar in conjunction with Law.com entitled “Build or Buy? Learning Which Is Best for Your Firm or Department.” Hosted by Zach Warren, editor-in-chief of Legaltech News, the webinar featured Neeraj Rajpal, CIO of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, and Kelly Wehbi, Head of Product at Gravity Stack, a subsidiary of the Reed Smith law firm. 

Together, the panelists brought two unique perspectives to the ongoing “build vs buy” debate, both from the software vendors who provide LegalTech solutions and the decision makers working at the legal firms who make difficult decisions regarding technology solutions.

Build vs Buy: The Choices Before the Decision

Both Rajpal and Wehbi agree that any decision involving building or buying technology solutions has to begin with defining the problem a firm needs to solve. Regardless of whether you’re working with an independent legal firm or a legal department within a larger organization, it’s critical to understand the business problem, existing pain points, and potential value of a solution.

“When you start asking the right questions,” Raijpal notes, “you sometimes come across a situation where the requirements are not very clearly defined and that is a big red flag to me because when requirements are not defined, you’re not solving anything.”

Wehbi shares that concern about the requirements gathering process, pointing out that things tend to go wrong when firms fail to consider both the scope and magnitude of the challenge they’re trying to overcome. “Organizations can struggle a lot when they jump a little too quickly to a solution or to thinking about just what the return would be on a potential new product or service offered.”

It’s also critical to make sure that the firm is willing to accept some degree of change. If existing business processes are unclear or if no one is willing to consider changing how they work, then no amount of technology is going to make a difference. Understanding the culture of the firm and securing the buy-in from leadership is absolutely critical to making any technology integration succeed whether you’re buying a solution or building one from scratch. 

The Pros and Cons of Building LegalTech Solutions

For an organization that has the resources, methodologies, and skill sets necessary to develop a solution that’s specifically designed to meet its unique requirements, building can be a great decision. The key advantage here is that it focuses specifically on the firm’s processes and user pain points, allowing developers to design a solution that is much more targeted than an “off-the-shelf” product.

Benefits of Building

• Applications can be customized to your exact specifications, allowing them to better address your specific business needs.
• Since you manage the solution from end to end, you retain much more control in terms of application features and functionality, how data is managed, and access security.
• Developing a specialized solution creates room for innovative technology that can provide a competitive edge.
• A custom-built solution presents fewer integration challenges, especially when it comes to interfacing with legacy systems used by many legal organizations.

Risks of Building

• Building a new solution from the ground up requires a great deal of time and resources that might be better spent elsewhere.
• Investing in custom software creates substantial technical debt that must be maintained over time and could create integration problems in the future when additional upgrades are required.
• If the new solution doesn’t contribute enough to the bottom line to justify the cost of operations, it could lead to negative economies of scale that make it difficult for the firm to grow its business.

The Pros and Cons of Buying LegalTech Solutions

Not every organization has the development resources to build a customized solution from the ground up. If they’re not ready to make that capital investment, a cloud-based offering may be better suited to their needs. Leveraging a proven, ready-to-launch SaaS solution offers a number of advantages, but could impact how the company makes technology decisions in the future.

Benefits of Buying

• Since SaaS services are usually cheaper and easier to implement, they are often the best option for companies with limited IT resources.
• Cloud solutions are good for solving common technology problems that smaller firms face.
• Already-live functionality means SaaS solutions can be implemented on a faster time frame.
• The cloud vendor handles all building and maintenance costs associated with the platform.
• Since the vendor sets up workflows and integrations as well as troubleshooting, your internal team is freed up to focus on other tasks.

Risks of Buying

• Off-the-shelf solutions offer less customization and control over infrastructure and data.
• Even industry-specific SaaS solutions are built for a general market in mind, so their features may not solve your firm’s unique requirements.
• Since the vendor manages security, customers have less oversight over how their sensitive data is managed.
• Working with a SaaS provider exposes firms to market risk. If the vendor goes out of business or sunsets a product, it may be difficult to repatriate data or transition to another provider.

When to Build

For firms with the development resources that are already using in-house document management solutions to streamline processes, SDK and API integrations are often the best way to enhance functionality. Accusoft’s PrizmDoc Suite leverages REST APIs and advanced HTML controls to provide powerful document viewing, conversion, editing, and assembly capabilities to web-based applications. Our SDK integrations also allow developers to build the functionality they need directly into their software at the code level.

Document Assembly

Law firms need automation solutions that allow them to easily create and manage multi-part, multi-stage contracts. Thanks to Accusoft’s PrizmDoc Editor, legal teams can rapidly identify and assemble sections of pre-existing text into new content that is both editable and searchable. PrizmDoc Editor integrates securely into existing applications and delivers in-browser support to help lawyers assemble assets without resorting to risky external dependencies.

Case Management

LegalTech applications can manage and review cases much more efficiently by integrating data capture, file conversion, and optical character recognition (OCR) capabilities. The ImageGear SDK helps legal teams access case data in a variety of formats without the need for downloading additional files or relying on third-party viewing applications. It can also convert multiple file types into secure and searchable PDF/A documents, making it easy to tag files with client numbers, names, and other identifiable information. Thanks to PDF/A functionality, ImageGear ensures that firms can stay on the right side of federal regulations.

eDiscovery

The rapid transition to predominantly digital documents has fundamentally altered the way legal organizations approach the discovery process. Innovative eDiscovery processes can streamline case management while also protecting client interests. In order to implement these strategies effectively, firms need applications that provide extensive file format support and search functionality as well as redaction and digital rights management (DRM) tools capable of protecting client privacy. PrizmDoc Viewer delivers these features along with scalable annotation capabilities that make it easier for collaborators to proofread, review, and make comments to case files without creating version confusion. As an end-to-end eDiscovery toolkit, our HTML5 viewer also includes whitelabeling support so it can be fully integrated into your application’s branding.

When to Buy

For smaller legal teams looking for broad functionality without development hassles or a new firm taking its first steps toward document automation, it often makes more sense to implement a bundled, buy-in solution like Accusoft’s Docubee SaaS platform.

Document Completion

Docubee makes document management easy with drag and drop data routing. Users can quickly create legal contracts, route the appropriate data to documents, deliver contracts for approval, and facilitate signing with secure eSignature technology. 

Customized Templates

With Docubee, legal teams can create customized document templates and manage them on a section-by-section basis. Individual clauses can be added or removed as needed, allowing attorneys to repurpose document templates instead of creating them from scratch for every client. 

End-to-End Support

Two-way communication support helps firms to build better dockets and negotiate more effectively. Documents can be updated automatically and version controls ensure that everyone is always looking at the most up-to-date version of a contract. Docubee also allows users to prioritize key tasks with collaborative redlining and notification tools.

Long-Term Storage and Security

Docubee stores data for up to six years to meet eDiscovery requirements. To better protect client privacy and meet changing compliance requirements, firms can also set destruction dates for contracts, templates, and case files. Docubee is SOC2 compliant, featuring multi-layer encryption to keep data under tight lock and key.

Hear the Full Conversation

To hear the full webinar and learn more about how legal firms make the difficult choice between building or buying their next technology solution, sign up now to get access to an on-demand recording of the event. If you’re ready to learn more about how Accusoft technology is helping to power innovation in the legal industry by delivering the latest in content processing, conversion, and automation solutions, visit our legal industry solutions page or contact us today to speak to one of our product experts.

On March 10, 2021, Accusoft announced the arrival of the free-to-use Accusoft PDF Viewer, the latest addition to its family of PDF solutions. An entirely client-side integration with no complicated server dependencies, this lightweight JavaScript PDF viewer also features a responsive UI for out-of-the-box mobile support.

“We’re excited to offer this free version of the Accusoft PDF Viewer to developers,” says Jack Berlin, CEO of Accusoft. “Our team worked hard to build a viewer that’s a step above what you can get from open source offerings. We think it’s going to solve a lot of the problems developers typically encounter with existing PDF libraries.”

Accusoft PDF Viewer integrates into an application quickly and easily with just a few snippets of code. It runs entirely within the browser to deliver an optimized viewing experience across all devices. The intuitive UI controls allow users to zoom, pan, jump to page, navigate thumbnails, and pinch-to-zoom on mobile screens with ease. And thanks to lightning fast full-text search, locating essential information is easier than ever.

“Accusoft PDF Viewer is great for developers because it allows them to maintain complete control over documents without having to set up any cumbersome server infrastructure,” says Mark Hansen, Product Manager. “Having a responsive UI that adapts to mobile displays will also increase their flexibility tremendously.”

The free version of Accusoft PDF Viewer allows developers to quickly add powerful viewing capabilities to their web applications. We’re currently working on additional features (such as annotation and eSignature) that will be included in an upgraded paid version.

To learn more about Accusoft PDF Viewer or download it for a first-hand look, please visit our website.

About Accusoft:
Founded in 1991, Accusoft is a software development company specializing in content processing, conversion, and automation solutions. From out-of-the-box and configurable applications to APIs built for developers, Accusoft software enables users to solve their most complex workflow challenges and gain insights from content in any format, on any device. Backed by 40 patents, the company’s flagship products, including OnTask, PrizmDoc™ Viewer, and ImageGear, are designed to improve productivity, provide actionable data, and deliver results that matter. The Accusoft team is dedicated to continuous innovation through customer-centric product development, new version release, and a passion for understanding industry trends that drive consumer demand. Visit us at www.accusoft.com.

Document viewing capabilities are no longer a specialized feature that require dedicated applications. Thanks to powerful software integrations, developers can now build PDF viewing into their solutions to create a better user experience and streamline workflows. The growing popularity of mobile devices, however, has posed a few challenges to development teams accustomed to building an exclusively desktop experience, especially when it comes to JavaScript PDF viewers. That’s why one of Accusoft’s key development goals has focused on making a JS PDF viewer responsive to mobile screens.

The Increasingly Mobile Internet

Since 2017, mobile devices have accounted for about half of global internet traffic. This trend has been fuelled primarily by a combination of improved cellular network coverage and the ever-increasing processing capabilities of the average mobile device. It’s hardly a surprise, considering that the latest smartphones are often the most powerful computing device people own. Even for consumers who own desktop or laptops as well, mobile devices make it easy to access internet services on the go, allowing them to manage finances, collaborate on work tasks, or utilize eLearning resources (or watch cat videos).

Today’s customers expect organizations to provide applications that deliver a consistent experience across all devices, regardless of screen size. The era of designing software exclusively for desktop computers and treating mobile support as an afterthought is long gone. If an application’s mobile experience doesn’t at least match that of the competition, customers will quickly make a change.

Viewing Challenges on Mobile Devices

Mobile devices can present a few challenges for application developers, especially when it comes to viewing documents like PDFs. While there are many PDF reader apps available for mobile platforms, they typically require users to download a file to local storage or to a cloud service in order to open a document. In addition to being inconvenient, this often leads to some presentation problems because the reader may not render the PDF exactly as the creator intended, especially if it’s not linearized.

Developers could, of course, rely upon the mobile browser to display documents, but this also introduces problems. As with external reader apps, the browser viewer may not render the document as intended, which creates an uneven user experience across multiple platforms. More importantly, the browser’s interface may lack key controls that enhance the viewing experience on mobile devices, especially if the viewer is little more than a basic PDF.js library.

PDF.js and Mobile PDF Viewing

The open-source PDF.js library was originally designed for Mozilla’s Firefox browser, but it has become the basis for a broad range of PDF viewers due to its flexibility. That’s partly why the Accusoft PDF Viewer uses PDF.js as its foundation. However, one area where that versatility is sorely lacking is with regards to mobile support.

More specifically, PDF.js doesn’t supply a UI that is responsive for different screen types. It was designed to render PDFs to a conventional computer display and provides the expected tools needed to navigate a document using a keyboard and mouse interface. Even if developers were to incorporate the PDF.js library into their application, they would still need to build a new user interface for mobile devices. Otherwise, key mobile viewing features like touch scrolling and pinch to zoom would be handled not by the viewer, but by the device’s touchscreen interface. 

While this might sound like a small distinction, it can actually create serious problems when it comes to rendering the document at different zoom levels. Essential features like text search may also be rendered useless by the poor interface, and the lack of thumbnail previews could make navigating the document tedious.

Making a JS PDF Viewer Responsive

Today’s developers need viewing integrations that offer out-of-the-box mobile support to deliver a consistent viewing experience. That’s why we built upon the foundation of PDF.js to create a responsive viewer interface that instantly adapts to any screen size. Easily integrated into any web-based application, the Accusoft PDF Viewer immediately determines what type of device is being used when a document is opened. If it’s a mobile device, the viewer replaces the controls used for desktop viewing with dedicated mobile controls designed for a touchscreen. 

Key touch features like pinch-to-zoom allow users to interact with PDFs on mobile and tablet devices just as easily as they could with a mouse and computer screen. That usability is the key component of making a JS PDF viewer responsive. Mobile screens should never be treated like conventional screens. By integrating a mobile-ready viewer into their web application, developers can ensure viewing consistency across platforms while also allowing people to access documents where they want and when they want them.

Integrate Responsive PDF Viewing in a Snap

Building an application that includes a JS PDF viewer responsive to mobile screens is easier than ever thanks to Accusoft PDF Viewer. As a flexible JavaScript PDF library, it integrates quickly into any web-based application with just a few lines of code and no complicated server configurations. Our industry-leading expertise with imaging technology has allowed us to make substantial improvements to the way PDF.js renders PDF documents and ensure high levels of resolution regardless of zoom level or screen DPI.

To find out what Accusoft PDF Viewer can do for your application, download the Standard Version today at no cost and test its powerful viewing features in your development environment. With only a few lines of code, it’s the fastest way to add responsive PDF viewing to your web-based software solutions.

For expanded features like annotation markup tools, eSignature capabilities, UI customization, and white labeling, consider upgrading to Accusoft PDF Viewer Professional Version. Download our fact sheet for a detailed breakdown in available features.

As digital processes become more commonplace, it’s more important than ever for organizations to have the tools in place to manage electronic documents effectively. The evolution of PDF viewing technology continues to provide new levels of flexibility for software applications. Now that HTML5 is capable of rendering PDF data within a conventional browser, developers are looking for new ways to make the viewing experience even more seamless. By embedding PDFs in HTML, they can continue to streamline document viewing and reduce the need for external software.

Why Embed a PDF in HTML?

Sharing a PDF online is far easier to do today than it was just a decade ago. For many years, the two most commonly used options were providing a link to download the file directly from a server or sending it as an attachment in an email. Once the file was downloaded, it could be opened and viewed with PDF reader software installed on a computer. This, of course, introduced numerous security risks that are associated with downloadable files and email attachments.

The widespread adoption of cloud storage has made it very convenient to share a PDF file and even manage who has access to it. And since most modern browsers can view PDFs without needing to download the file, providing a link is typically all that’s necessary to pass the file along.

While this solution is usually sufficient for the personal needs of an individual user, it’s not a practical option for even a small-scale business when it comes to public-facing document management. Organizations want to retain control over their files with respect to how they’re accessed and displayed. By embedding PDFs in HTML, they can keep their documents within their secure application environment where they have full control over how they’re managed, shared, and viewed. For developers looking to provide a seamless user experience, building options for embedded PDFs into their software is critically important.

The Value of an Integrated PDF Viewer

Since most modern browsers can utilize HTML5 to render PDF files, developers could lean on those capabilities without building a dedicated PDF viewer for their application. That decision will very quickly lead to some unpleasant complications, however. In the first place, they are leaving a lot to chance in terms of the viewing experience. Not every browser renders PDF files the same way, so it’s very possible that two different users could have two very different experiences when viewing a document. In some cases, that could mean nothing more than a missing font that’s replaced with an alternative. But in other cases, it could mean that the document doesn’t open at all or is missing important graphical elements.

This approach also forces users to make do with whatever PDF functionality is incorporated into their browser’s viewer. In most cases, that will mean subpar search performance, a lack of responsive mobile controls, and no annotation features. The browser may also have trouble with some of the less common PDF specifications, making it impossible for some users to even view a document.

By embedding a JavaScript-based PDF viewer into their application, developers can ensure that documents will display the correct way every time. Since the viewing is handled through a viewer embedded into the web application by default, it will be the same no matter what kind of browser or operating system is being used. A customizable viewer also allows developers to adjust the interface to permit or hide certain features, such as downloading or markup tools.

The open-source PDF.js library is a popular choice for many web applications, but it comes with a number of well-documented shortcomings. In addition to lacking key features like annotation, it also doesn’t support the entire PDF standard and does not provide a responsive UI for mobile devices. For developers looking to add more robust features, working with PDF.js often entails quite a bit of additional coding and engineering to build those capabilities from the ground up.

Embed PDFs in HTML with Accusoft PDF Viewer

Accusoft PDF Viewer takes the foundation of PDF.js and provides robust enhancements to meet the viewing needs of today’s applications. In addition to incredibly fast text search, expanded PDF standard support, and optimization for high-resolution displays, this lightweight SDK is also equipped with a responsive UI that adapts automatically to mobile screens. Developers can integrate essential mobile features like pinch to zoom quickly and easy, with no additional integrations or engineering required.

With no external dependencies or complicated server configurations, Accusoft PDF Viewer integrates into a web-based application with less than 10 lines of code. Once the viewer is in place, developers can embed PDFs in HTML and easily render them to provide a state-of-the-art PDF viewing experience regardless of the browser or device users have at their disposal. And since the UI can be customized to your application’s needs, there’s no reason to sacrifice control for the sake of viewing convenience.

Accusoft PDF Viewer is a JavaScript SDK that you can incorporate into your application environment quickly and easily to provide much greater viewing control and functionality than is possible with a standard browser viewer or base PDF.js library. If you’re planning to embed PDFs in HTML as part of your software solution, taking just a few moments to integrate versatile and responsive viewing tools can ensure a high-quality viewing experience. Download Accusoft PDF Viewer Standard Version today at no cost to see how easily it can transform your application’s HTML5 viewing potential.

For additional features like annotation, eSignature, and UI customization, contact one of our solutions experts to upgrade to Professional Version.