PDF.js Alternative for PDF Forms

What is PDF.js?

PDF.js is an open-source (licensed under Apache 2.0) JavaScript library developed by Mozilla that enables the rendering of Portable Document Format (PDF) files directly within web browsers using standard web technologies like HTML5 and Canvas.

This means you may not need external plugins or native PDF viewers as its primary function is to display PDF content. PDF.js can also display fillable PDF forms on browsers, although they may not be best suited for this purpose.

PDF.js features

Developers can embed PDF.js into web applications to display PDF forms in browsers. It uses HTML5, JavaScript and WebAssembly to achieve this and is built in to Mozilla Firefox as the default PDF Viewer.

This PDF form support allows users to fill out details across pages, render relevant images, display embedded fonts, and display vector graphics within the file.

Alternative to PDF.js

When comparing PDF.js, there are alternatives that may better suit your need of displaying fillable PDF forms. Our tool FormVu helps you display your PDF forms by converting them into HTML. Doing this gives developers more control when creating web applications, due to the simple text markup nature of HTML.

Similarly, PDF.js only supports JavaScript whereas you can use the FormVu API with Python, PHP and many more languages. This allows developers to integrate forms into their web applications much more easily, saving development time.

Additionally, where PDF.js support basic AcroForms and limited support for XFA forms, FormVu supports both AcroForms and XFA. PDF.js was designed for Mozilla Firefox first, FormVu is not limited in this aspect and performs optimally across all browsers.

As a PDF.js alternative for PDF forms, FormVu can be run entirely on your own servers without any external dependencies, keeping sensitive data safe and ensuring compliance with privacy regulations.

Evaluate FormVu Performance

FormVu has a free online converter, which will help you convert your fillable PDF forms to HTML in only a few steps. You can compare performance against PDF.js to get a better picture.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if your focus is forms and you wish to integrate them into your web application, FormVu gives you more control. We have a dedicated support team for FormVu and have been developing the tool for more than 20 years.

FormVu allows you to