Add a powerful PDF editor directly into your website or React App.

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🔗 Try SimplePDF Embed

simplePDF-iframe-example.mp4

Features

• Client-based: the document and data filled in does not leave the browser
• Add text, checkboxes, pictures, and signatures to PDF documents
• Add, remove, re-arrange, rotate pages
• Automatic detection of pre-existing PDF fields

Data Privacy & companyIdentifier

SimplePDF Embed operates in two distinct modes with different privacy characteristics:

Default Mode (Free Editor)

When companyIdentifier is NOT specified or uses a reserved value:

Value	Mode	Description
Not set / "embed"	Editor	Free editor with full editing capabilities
"react-editor"	Editor	Same as embed, for React integration
"viewer"	Viewer	Read-only PDF viewer, no editing tools
"react-viewer"	Viewer	Same as viewer, for React integration

In default mode:

• All data stays in the browser - documents never leave the user's device
• Documents are processed entirely client-side
• No server communication for document processing
• No account required
• Includes "Powered by SimplePDF" branding
• Form submissions are NOT collected (download only)

Privacy Policy: What data we don't collect

Company Mode (Paid Feature)

When companyIdentifier IS specified:

• Submissions are stored and accessible via your dashboard
• Enables webhook integration for form automation (Basic plan+) - learn more
• Custom branding - remove "Powered by SimplePDF", add your own logo, headless mode... (Pro plan+) - learn more
• Use your own S3/Azure Blob Storage for PDF documents (Pro plan+) - learn more

Data Flow:

User fills PDF -> Clicks Submit -> Metadata sent to SimplePDF -> Webhook triggered -> Available in dashboard

Quick Reference

Aspect	Default Mode	Company Mode
companyIdentifier	Not set / reserved values	Your company ID
Document storage	Browser only	Server (configurable)
User notification	None needed	Shown before submit
Submissions collected	No	Yes (Basic plan+)
Branding	"Powered by SimplePDF"	Customizable (Pro plan+)
Webhooks	Not available	Available (Basic plan+)
BYOS (S3/Azure)	Not available	Available (Pro plan+)
Price	Free	Paid plans

Branding Configuration

Default Branding (Free Tier)

Without a SimplePDF account, the editor displays "Powered by SimplePDF" branding.

Custom Branding (Pro Plan)

With a Pro plan, you can:

• Remove "Powered by SimplePDF" entirely
• Add your own company logo
• Customize colors and appearance
• Enable headless mode (no sidebar, programmatic controls only)

To remove/customize branding:

1. Subscribe to a Pro plan
2. Go to your Dashboard
3. Upload your logo or remove the sidebar entirely
4. Use your companyIdentifier in the embed code:

// React - branding configured in your dashboard settings
<EmbedPDF companyIdentifier="yourcompany">
  <button>Edit PDF</button>
</EmbedPDF>

<!-- Script tag - branding configured in your dashboard settings -->
<script
  src="https://unpkg.com/@simplepdf/web-embed-pdf"
  companyIdentifier="yourcompany"
  defer
></script>

Note: Branding is configured through your SimplePDF dashboard, not via code props. The companyIdentifier links your embed to your dashboard settings.

For detailed customization options, see: Customize the PDF Editor and Add Branding

Architecture

Client-Side Processing

SimplePDF Embed uses a fully client-side architecture for PDF processing:

+-----------------------------------------------------+
|                    User's Browser                   |
|  +-----------------+         +-------------------+  |
|  |    Your App     |-------->|    SimplePDF      |  |
|  |                 |         |     Iframe        |  |
|  +-----------------+         +-------------------+  |
|         |                            |              |
|         v                            v              |
|    postMessage               PDF editing / filling  |
|    Events                                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------+
                    | (Only with companyIdentifier)
                    v
+-----------------------------------------------------+
|                   SimplePDF Servers                 |
|         Submission storage, webhooks, etc.          |
+-----------------------------------------------------+
                    | (BYOS - Pro plan, optional)
                    v
+-----------------------------------------------------+
|        Your Own Storage (S3/Azure Blob Storage)     |
|         For HIPAA compliance, data residency, etc.  |
+-----------------------------------------------------+

Benefits

Benefit	Description
Privacy	Documents never leave the browser (without companyIdentifier)
Security	No server-side attack surface for document processing
Performance	No upload/download latency for editing
Offline capable	Works without internet after initial load
Cost efficient	No server resources for document processing
GDPR friendly	Data minimization - no server storage by default

Limitations

Limitation	Description	Workaround
No server-side PDF generation	Cannot generate PDFs from templates server-side	Use client-side field creation via createField()
No bulk processing	Cannot process multiple PDFs in batch	Process sequentially or use dedicated server-side library
No programmatic PDF retrieval	Cannot get modified PDF as Blob/Base64 in JS	Use webhooks + server storage for programmatic access
No persistent storage	PDFs don't persist without user action	Use companyIdentifier for server-side submission storage
Browser memory limits	Very large PDFs (100+ MB) may cause issues	Recommend splitting large documents

When to Use SimplePDF Embed

Good fit:

• End-user PDF form filling
• Document signing workflows
• PDF annotation and commenting
• Privacy-sensitive document handling
• Embedding PDF editing in web apps

Consider alternatives for:

• Server-side PDF generation from templates
• Bulk PDF processing pipelines
• Automated document workflows (without user interaction)
• Extracting raw PDF bytes programmatically

Retrieving PDF Data

Text Content Extraction

Use getDocumentContent() to extract text from the PDF. See the React or Iframe documentation for implementation details.

Downloading the Modified PDF

Use submit({ downloadCopyOnDevice: true }) to trigger a browser download of the modified PDF.

Server-Side PDF Generation & Storage

SimplePDF handles PDF generation and storage so you don't have to. When users submit, the filled PDF is automatically generated and stored - either on SimplePDF's servers or your own storage.

Method	How It Works	Use Case
submit with downloadCopyOnDevice: true	Browser downloads the PDF	End-user saves their work
submit with downloadCopyOnDevice: false	PDF sent to SimplePDF servers	Server-side collection via webhooks
S3/Azure Integration	PDF stored in your bucket	Programmatic access via your storage

Available integrations:

• Webhooks: Get notified when submissions are received - Configure webhooks
• Bring Your Own Storage (BYOS): Store submissions directly in your storage - S3 setup / Azure setup

Page Manipulation

SimplePDF includes built-in page manipulation capabilities:

Feature	How to Access
Re-arrange pages	Drag and drop pages in the thumbnail sidebar
Add pages	Click "+" button in thumbnail sidebar or use "Add Page" menu
Remove pages	Right-click page thumbnail -> "Delete page"
Rotate pages	Right-click page thumbnail -> "Rotate" options

Enabling Page Manipulation

Page manipulation is enabled by default - no configuration required. Users access these features through the page thumbnail sidebar on the left side of the editor.

Disabling Page Manipulation

Using viewer mode (free):

// React
<EmbedPDF companyIdentifier="react-viewer" ... />

<!-- Script tag -->
<script ... companyIdentifier="viewer"></script>

Using Pro plan customization:

With a Pro plan, you can selectively disable page manipulation while keeping editing features enabled. In your dashboard:

• Toggle "Allow moving, rotating, deleting pages" to disable re-arrange/rotate/delete
• Toggle "Allow adding new pages" to disable page insertion

See: Customize the PDF Editor and Add Branding

Programmatic Page Control

Currently, page manipulation (add/remove/re-arrange/rotate) is only available through the UI. There are no programmatic APIs for these operations. If you need this feature, file an issue on the repository.

Available programmatic actions:

Action	Description
goTo	Navigate to a specific page
selectTool	Select a tool (TEXT, BOXED_TEXT, CHECKBOX, PICTURE, SIGNATURE) or null for cursor
createField	Create a field at a specified position
clearFields	Clear fields by ID, by page, or all fields
getDocumentContent	Extract text content from the document
submit	Submit the document (with optional device download)
loadDocument (Iframe)	Load a document programmatically (Iframe API only)

See full documentation: React | Iframe

Get started

⚛️ Using the EmbedPDF React component

🚀 Using a script tag

🛠 Using the Iframe

Why SimplePDF Embed?

• Fully-fledged PDF viewer & PDF form editor with a simple wrapper
• Completely free to use
• Tiny footprint (~5KB gzipped)

FAQ

Is SimplePDF Embed free?

Yes. The embed editor is free with no usage limits. It includes "Powered by SimplePDF" branding, which can be customized or removed with a Pro plan.

What happens to the document my users load and the data they fill in?

For the default editor (companyIdentifier is not specified): It stays in their browser! The document(s) that they load and the data they fill in never leave their computer: SimplePDF privacy policy.

For company editors (companyIdentifier is specified): The users are notified that the document and the data they submit is sent to the server. This is part of the paid offering of SimplePDF: allowing to automate form submissions.

How come the library is so small?

The library is a simple wrapper around an Iframe that loads SimplePDF on-demand (whenever the user clicks the wrapped link), as such the footprint for this "opening an Iframe" mechanism is very tiny, the SimplePDF editor is of course bigger, but your users won't download anything until they have clicked the link. Think "lazy-loading".

I'm looking for a PDF viewer only, can I disable the editing features?

Yes! Use viewer mode to display PDFs without any editing capabilities.

React:

<EmbedPDF
  companyIdentifier="react-viewer"
  mode="inline"
  documentURL="https://example.com/document.pdf"
  style={{ width: 900, height: 800 }}
/>

Script tag:

<script
  src="https://unpkg.com/@simplepdf/web-embed-pdf"
  companyIdentifier="viewer"
  defer
></script>

Iframe:

<iframe src="https://viewer.simplepdf.com/editor?open=PDF_URL"></iframe>

What's disabled in viewer mode:

• All annotation tools (text, checkbox, signature, picture)
• Form field editing
• Page manipulation (add, remove, rotate, re-arrange)
• Submit functionality

What remains available:

• PDF viewing and navigation
• Zoom controls
• Page thumbnails
• Download original PDF