Technical FAQs

Question

What are the absolute essentials for embedding the PrizmDoc Viewer into my web page/application?

Answer

Viewer API (viewercontrol.js)

The Viewer API is the base building block of the Viewer. We ensure that API changes are backward compatible with point releases (for example, PrizmDoc v13.5 → PrizmDoc v13.6) and will not introduce breaking changes unless critical. With major releases we also endeavor to ensure backward compatibility with previous releases of the Viewer API.

HTML Templates (viewerCustomization.js) and CSS (viewercontrol.css, viewer.css)

The Viewer that is shipped with the product will be maintained and enhanced from release to release. The Viewer HTML and CSS markup will change with each release. Once you have begun to modify your markup, it is recommended that you consider subsequent PrizmDoc releases as sample code, in which you would evaluate product changes and choose to incorporate all or parts of those changes into your customization.

JavaScript files (viewer.js)

The Viewer JavaScript that lies above the Viewer API is unobfuscated and open for customization. While we expect many developer needs will be satisfied through configuration parameters and minor HTML or styling changes, some developers will desire to modify viewer.js for more advanced customization. You should carefully consider your development and ongoing maintenance strategy to ensure that future releases of PrizmDoc are easy to integrate into your customizations. We cannot guarantee backward compatibility of viewer.js in future releases as it is central to the functionality of the Viewer.

For information on integrating PrizmDoc Viewer, see the Getting Started section of the documentation.

For more in depth customization, see the PrizmDoc Customization section of the documentation.

To get up and running quickly, our docker container runs in evaluation mode without a license key. Try it here

Note: some actions are disabled in the mode including exporting a spreadsheet and customizing the UI. In addition, there are warnings that Cells is running in evaluation mode and a watermark appears across the viewing area. If you would like to do a full-featured evaluation, contact us here.

Question

What file types are supported by Accusoft PDF Viewer?

Answer

The viewer currently supports only PDF file formats based on the PDF32000 specification. If you need more wide ranging document support our PrizmDoc Server platform can help!

Cells distributed in a Docker container which you can download and install on multiple platforms (MacOS, Windows, and Linux). For more information on setting up a Docker environment, refer to the Docker Docs.

Question

Where can I find the documentation for Accusoft PDF Viewer?

Answer

Our product documentation is located here.

Before running this Docker image, you MUST configure Docker to use the following minimum hardware resources: 2 CPUs and 7.5 GB memory. If you try to run the image with fewer CPUs or less memory, it may not function correctly.

Question

Do you have sample code available?

Answer
  • Yes, we have two samples available to get you started quickly:
  1. An HTML page that uses the viewer via a <script> tag and CDN URL to display a PDF
  2. A React app which uses the viewer to display a PDF.

By default, the Cells Server will use internal storage which is only suitable for evaluation and development. When deploying to a production environment, best results come from configuring the server to use enterprise level storage (S3) versus filesystem.

Question

Why am I unable to see the full menu bar with annotation and eSignature options?

Answer

These features are part of our Professional version. If you would like to evaluate the full feature set, please submit a request for a trial key here.

Cells can view and edit XLSX files. Other Microsoft Excel formats require conversion to XLSX.

Question

Why am I unable to see the full menu bar with annotation and eSignature options?

Answer

These features are part of our Professional version. If you would like to evaluate the full feature set, please submit a request for a trial key here.

PrizmDoc Cells requires a connection to an instance of PrizmDoc Viewer with Microsoft Office conversion enabled in order to display most embedded objects. You will find instructions on how to configure a connection to PrizmDoc Viewer server here.