Laravelpdfviewer Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation:

   composer require goodnesskay/laravelpdfviewer
   

   Register the service provider in config/app.php:

   Goodnesskay\LaravelPdfViewer\LaravelPdfViewerServiceProvider::class,
   

   Publish the config:

   php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Goodnesskay\LaravelPdfViewer\LaravelPdfViewerServiceProvider"
   

2. First Use Case: Place a PDF file (e.g., document.pdf) in your storage/app/public directory. In a Blade template, embed the viewer:

   @pdfViewer('document.pdf')
   

   Ensure the file is accessible via a symbolic link or URL (e.g., /storage/document.pdf).

Implementation Patterns

Core Workflows

1. Embedding PDFs in Views: Use @pdfViewer('path/to/file.pdf') in Blade templates. The package dynamically generates a ViewerJS-powered viewer. Example:

   @pdfViewer('documents/report.pdf', ['width' => '800px', 'height' => '600px'])
   

2. Dynamic PDF Paths: Pass Eloquent model attributes or dynamic paths:

   $pdfPath = $document->file_path; // e.g., 'uploads/invoices/invoice_123.pdf'
   return view('documents.show', compact('pdfPath'));
   

   In Blade:

   @pdfViewer($pdfPath)
   

3. Integration with Controllers: Return PDFs directly from routes:

   Route::get('/view-pdf/{id}', function ($id) {
       $pdf = Document::find($id)->file_path;
       return view('pdf.viewer')->with('pdf', $pdf);
   });
   

4. Asset Management: Store PDFs in storage/app/public and symlink to public/storage:

   php artisan storage:link
   

   Access files via /storage/path/to/file.pdf.

5. Custom ViewerJS Config: Override default ViewerJS settings in config/laraview.php:

   'viewerjs' => [
       'defaultZoom' => 1.2,
       'showDownloadButton' => true,
   ],
   

Gotchas and Tips

Common Pitfalls

1. File Permissions: Ensure storage/app/public is writable:

   chmod -R 755 storage/app/public
   

   Symlink failures may occur if permissions are insufficient.

2. Path Resolution:

   • Use absolute paths (e.g., storage/app/public/file.pdf) or relative paths from storage/app/public.
   • Avoid hardcoding public/ in paths; use storage_link() helper if needed:

     $fullPath = storage_path('app/public/' . $relativePath);
     

3. ViewerJS Dependencies: The package relies on ViewerJS (included via CDN by default). If offline:

   • Manually include ViewerJS assets in your layout:

     <link rel="stylesheet" href="{{ asset('vendor/viewerjs/dist/viewer.css') }}">
     <script src="{{ asset('vendor/viewerjs/dist/viewer.js') }}"></script>
     

   • Or publish assets:

     php artisan vendor:publish --tag=laraview-assets
     

4. CORS Issues: If serving PDFs from external URLs, ensure CORS headers are configured on the origin server.

5. Large Files: ViewerJS may struggle with very large PDFs (>50MB). Consider:

   • Compressing PDFs before upload.
   • Using a dedicated PDF viewer service (e.g., PDF.js) for heavy files.

Debugging Tips

1. Check Published Config: Verify config/laraview.php for misconfigurations (e.g., incorrect viewerjs CDN URLs).

2. Inspect Network Requests: Use browser dev tools to confirm:

   • The PDF file is loading (check the Network tab for 404s).
   • ViewerJS scripts/styles are loaded.

3. Fallback for Missing Files: Handle missing PDFs gracefully in Blade:

   @if(file_exists(storage_path('app/public/' . $pdfPath)))
       @pdfViewer($pdfPath)
   @else
       <p class="text-danger">PDF not found.</p>
   @endif
   

Extension Points

1. Custom Viewer Templates: Override the default viewer template by publishing and modifying:

   php artisan vendor:publish --tag=laraview-views
   

   Edit resources/views/vendor/laraview/viewer.blade.php.

2. Add Buttons/Tools: Extend ViewerJS functionality by modifying the viewerjs config:

   'viewerjs' => [
       'tools' => ['print', 'download', 'zoom', 'sidebar'],
   ],
   

3. Integration with Storage Disks: For files stored on S3 or other disks, use the Storage facade to generate URLs:

   $url = Storage::disk('s3')->url($pdfPath);
   @pdfViewer($url) // Pass the full URL