> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.apryse.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.apryse.com/android/open-save-document/open/view.md).

# Display documents using PDFViewCTRL with Apryse Android SDK

Learn how to open a document with PDFViewCTRL using Apryse Android SDK. View, annotate, sign, and edit PDFs with fragment in tabs. Follow Material design guidelines for a seamless experience. The Apry

{% hint style="info" %}
If you are looking for a quick start on displaying documents in your application, please first take a look at [Show a document in an Activity](/android/open-save-document/open/activity.md) or [Show a document in a Fragment](/android/open-save-document/open/fragment.md) as they are easier to setup and ready to launch from any activity or fragment. Continue reading this article if you are looking to embed [`PDFViewCtrl`](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/android/javadoc/reference/com/pdftron/pdf/PDFViewCtrl.html) in your own layout.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
**Before beginning, make sure the Apryse library is initialized prior to inflating the layout or calling setContentView in your activity.**
{% endhint %}

[`PDFViewCtrl`](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/android/javadoc/reference/com/pdftron/pdf/PDFViewCtrl.html) is a [`ViewGroup`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/view/ViewGroup.html) that can be embedded in any layout. It encapsulates a rich set of functionalities for interactive viewing of PDF documents, including multi-threaded rendering, PDF rendering settings, scrolling, zooming, page navigation, different page viewing modes, coordinates conversion, text selection, text search, etc.

## View documents using PDFViewCtrl

In this tutorial you will display a PDF file in your activity by using [`PDFViewCtrl`](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/android/javadoc/reference/com/pdftron/pdf/PDFViewCtrl.html).

1. In your `AndroidManifest.xml`, make sure you enable `largeHeap` in the `<application>` tag. Also, add a custom theme and set the `android:windowSoftInputMode:"adjustPan"` attribute in the `<activity>` tag as follow:

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="XML" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```xml
<!-- Include existing attributes in application -->
<application android:name="androidx.multidex.MultiDexApplication" android:largeHeap="true" android:usesCleartextTraffic="false">
    <!-- Include existing attributes in activity -->
    <activity android:windowSoftInputMode="adjustPan" android:theme="@style/PDFTronAppTheme"/>
</application>
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

{% hint style="warning" %}
**If your app is targeting Android SDK version 28 or higher, please also set the android:usesCleartextTraffic="true" attribute in your application tag to open HTTP files in the viewer. If you are only working with HTTPS files, this is not required.**
{% endhint %}

1. If you would like to customize the appearance of the viewer activity, define `PDFTronAppTheme` for your activity in `res/values/styles.xml`:You can learn more about this in the [customize the viewer's theme guide](/android/ui-customization/custom-theme-a.md).

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="XML" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```xml
<resources>
<style name="PDFTronAppTheme" parent="PDFTronAppThemeBase"> <item name="colorPrimary">#3F51B5</item> <item name="colorPrimaryDark">#303F9F</item> <item name="colorAccent">#FF4081</item> <!-- Action bar --> <item name="actionModeBackground">?attr/colorPrimary</item> <item name="windowActionModeOverlay">true</item> </style>
</resources>
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

{% hint style="info" %}
`PDFViewCtrl` uses the `AppCompat` theme for material colors. Make sure that the value of `android:theme` in your `<activity>` tag also extends the `AppCompat` theme.
{% endhint %}

1. Now, add [`PDFViewCtrl`](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/android/javadoc/reference/com/pdftron/pdf/PDFViewCtrl.html) to your activity's XML layout. For example:

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="XML" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<FrameLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="match_parent">

    <com.pdftron.pdf.PDFViewCtrl android:id="@+id/pdfviewctrl" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="match_parent" android:scrollbars="vertical|horizontal"/>

</FrameLayout>
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

1. In your activity, get a reference to [`PDFViewCtrl`](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/android/javadoc/reference/com/pdftron/pdf/PDFViewCtrl.html) after inflating the layout and call [`AppUtils.setupPDFViewCtrl`](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/android/javadoc/reference/com/pdftron/pdf/utils/AppUtils.html#setupPDFViewCtrl\(PDFViewCtrl\)).

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Java" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```java
private PDFViewCtrl mPdfViewCtrl;
// ...
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.my_activity_layout);
    
    mPdfViewCtrl = findViewById(R.id.pdfviewctrl);
    try {
        AppUtils.setupPDFViewCtrl(mPdfViewCtrl);
    } catch (PDFNetException e) {
        // Handle exception
    }
}
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Kotlin" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```kotlin
private var mPdfViewCtrl: PDFViewCtrl? = null
// ...
override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
    setContentView(R.layout.my_activity_layout)

    mPdfViewCtrl = findViewById(R.id.pdfviewctrl)
    AppUtils.setupPDFViewCtrl(mPdfViewCtrl!!)
}
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

1. Next, choose a document to display by using the following options:Add a sample PDF to `src/main/res/raw` folder, then call:

### View from resource

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Java" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```java
import com.pdftron.pdf.utils.Utils;
// ...
private PDFDoc mPdfDoc;
// ...
public void viewFromResource(int resourceId, String fileName) throws PDFNetException {
    File file = Utils.copyResourceToLocal(this, resourceId, fileName, ".pdf");
    mPdfDoc = new PDFDoc(file.getAbsolutePath());
    mPdfViewCtrl.setDoc(mPdfDoc);
    // Alternatively, you can open the document using Uri:
    // Uri fileUri = Uri.fromFile(file);
    // mPdfDoc = mPdfViewCtrl.openPDFUri(fileUri, null);
}
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Kotlin" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```kotlin
import com.pdftron.pdf.utils.Utils
// ...
private var mPdfDoc: PDFDoc? = null
// ...
fun viewFromResource(resourceId: Int, fileName: String) {
    val file = Utils.copyResourceToLocal(this, resourceId, fileName, ".pdf")
    mPdfDoc = PDFDoc(file.absolutePath)
    mPdfViewCtrl?.doc = mPdfDoc
    // Alternatively, you can open the document using Uri:
    // val fileUri = Uri.fromFile(file)
    // mPdfDoc = mPdfViewCtrl?.openPDFUri(fileUri, null)
}
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

### View from local device storage

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Storage Permission**

Please follow the latest Android best practices and guidelines outlined [here](https://developer.android.com/training/permissions/usage-notes/)
{% endhint %}

## Managing lifecycle

It is extremely important that you follow the Android activity/fragment lifecycle and clean up [`PDFViewCtrl`](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/android/javadoc/reference/com/pdftron/pdf/PDFViewCtrl.html) and [`PDFDoc`](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/android/javadoc/reference/com/pdftron/pdf/PDFDoc.html) properly. Make sure you have the following in lifecycle callbacks:

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Java" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```java
// ...
@Override
public void onPause() {
    super.onPause();
    if (mPdfViewCtrl != null) {
        mPdfViewCtrl.pause();
        mPdfViewCtrl.purgeMemory();
    }
}

@Override
public void onResume() {
    super.onResume();
    if (mPdfViewCtrl != null) {
        mPdfViewCtrl.resume();
    }
}

@Override
public void onDestroy() {
    super.onDestroy();
    if (mPdfViewCtrl != null) {
        mPdfViewCtrl.destroy();
        mPdfViewCtrl = null;
    }

    if (mPdfDoc != null) {
        try {
            mPdfDoc.close();
        } catch (Exception e) {
            // handle exception
        } finally {
            mPdfDoc = null;
        }
    }
}
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Kotlin" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```kotlin
// ...
override fun onPause() {
  super.onPause()
  mPdfViewCtrl?.pause()
  mPdfViewCtrl?.purgeMemory()
}

override fun onResume() {
  super.onResume()
  mPdfViewCtrl?.resume()
}

override fun onDestroy() {
  super.onDestroy()
  mPdfViewCtrl?.destroy()
  mPdfViewCtrl = null
  mPdfDoc?.close()
  mPdfDoc = null
}
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

## Next steps

* Want to annotate on PDF files in [`PDFViewCtrl`](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/android/javadoc/reference/com/pdftron/pdf/PDFViewCtrl.html)? Check out the [Setup ToolManager](/android/annotation/toolmanager-config.md) guide.
* Want to display non-PDF files in [`PDFViewCtrl`](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/android/javadoc/reference/com/pdftron/pdf/PDFViewCtrl.html)? Check out the [viewing other document types](/android/ms-office/non-pdf.md) guide.

Check out the [diagram of the overall view hierarchy](/android/viewer/viewer-overview.md) for more.


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