Build a Nuxt PDF viewer with Apryse WebViewer SDK

This guide shows how to build a Nuxt PDF viewer using the Apryse WebViewer SDK. You'll learn how to integrate the SDK into a Nuxt application to render, view, and interact with PDF documents using the WebViewer UI.

You can also download a ready-to-use GitHub sample to get started quickly, or explore the interactive Showcase demo to see WebViewer's full capabilities in action.

Prerequisites

This guide assumes basic familiarity with Nuxt development. Before you start:

• Install Node.js and npm. See the Nuxt documentation for version details.
• Install Visual Studio Code or another code editor to develop and debug your code.
• Get your Apryse trial key.

1. Create a Nuxt project

In this section, you’ll create a new Nuxt application using npm. This project provides the foundation for integrating Apryse WebViewer. If you already have a Nuxt app, skip this and continue to Install WebViewer.

1. In your terminal, go to the directory where you want to create the project.
2. Create a new webviewer-nuxt project using a minimal setup:

Shell

npm create nuxt@latest webviewer-nuxt -y -- --template minimal --packageManager npm --gitInit

Info

Flags are used to skip prompts during project configuration. The setup uses a minimal template, defaults to npm as the package manager, initializes git, and installs dependencies. Select different options if preferred.

1. If prompted to install modules, select No.
2. Navigate to your new Nuxt project directory and install dependencies:

Shell

cd webviewer-nuxt
npm install

2. Install WebViewer

Next, install the Apryse WebViewer SDK using npm. This command adds the WebViewer package to your project, allowing you to integrate the PDF viewer and editor into your Nuxt application.

After navigating to your webviewer-nuxt project directory, run the following command to install WebViewer:

Shell

npm i @pdftron/webviewer

3. Copy WebViewer assets

WebViewer needs access to its static assets at runtime, including WebAssembly modules, HTML, and CSS files. In a Nuxt project, you must copy these assets into the public directory so they can be served correctly. For more, see Copying WebViewer static assets.

1. From your project root, create the public/lib/webviewer directory if it doesn't already exist:

Shell

npx --yes shx mkdir -p public/lib/webviewer

1. Copy all WebViewer static assets from node_modules/@pdftron/webviewer/public into the new public/lib/webviewer directory:

Shell

npx --yes cpy-cli "node_modules/@pdftron/webviewer/public/**/*" public/lib/webviewer

Your project should now include a similar structure:

webviewer-nuxt/
├── .nuxt/
├── app/
├── node_modules/
├── public/
│   └── lib/
│       └── webviewer/
│           ├── core/
│           └── ui/
└── favicon.ico
└── ...

Info

The path option used when initializing WebViewer must point to this directory (for example, /lib/webviewer). If the path is incorrect, WebViewer will fail to load.

4. Create the PDF viewer

In this section, you'll add WebViewer to your Nuxt app by creating a component and initializing the viewer. This mounts the WebViewer UI and loads a document in your application.

1. Create a components folder in your project's root:

Shell

npx --yes mkdirp components

1. Create a WebViewer.vue file in the components folder:

Shell

npx --yes shx touch components/WebViewer.vue

1. In Visual Studio Code, add this code to the WebViewer.vue file and save:

<template>
  <!-- Container element where WebViewer will be mounted -->
  <div id="webviewer" ref="viewer"></div>
</template>

<script>
// Import APIs and libraries
import { ref, onMounted } from 'vue';
import WebViewer from '@pdftron/webviewer';

export default {
  // Component name for debugging and dev tools
  name: 'WebViewer',
  // Props accepted by the component
  props: {
    initialDoc: { type: String },
  },

  setup(props) {
    // Reference to the DOM element that hosts the viewer
    const viewer = ref(null);

    // Lifecycle hook that runs after the component is mounted to the DOM
    onMounted(() => {
      // Initialize the WebViewer inside the referenced DOM element
      WebViewer(
        {
          // Path to the WebViewer library assets
          path: '/lib/webviewer',
          // Initial document to load into the viewer
          initialDoc: props.initialDoc,
          // License key for Apryse WebViewer
          // Replace with your Apryse license key
          licenseKey: 'YOUR_LICENSE_KEY',
        },
        // DOM element where WebViewer is rendered
        viewer.value,
        ).then((instance) => {
          // The WebViewer instance is available here
          // This is where you can customize the UI, register events, etc.
        });
    });

    // Expose refs to the template
    return {
        viewer,
    };
  },
};
</script>

<style>
/* Size the WebViewer container */
#webviewer {
  height: 100vh;
  width: 100%;
  margin: 0 auto;
}
</style>

Info

If you're signed in with an Apryse account, your license key is automatically prepopulated in all code snippets.

1. Replace the contents of the app/app.vue file with the following and save:

Vue

app/app.vue

<script setup>
import WebViewer from '../components/WebViewer.vue';
</script>

<template>
  <ClientOnly>
    <WebViewer initial-doc="https://apryse.s3.amazonaws.com/public/files/samples/WebviewerDemoDoc.pdf" />
  </ClientOnly>
</template>

5. Verify your output

You can now load and display a PDF document in the WebViewer UI. Run your Nuxt application to launch WebViewer and see the PDF in your browser.

1. From your project directory, run the following command to start the application:

Shell

npm run dev

A successful output looks similar to:

Shell

> dev
> nuxt dev

●  Nuxt 4.4.7 (with Nitro 2.13.4, Vite 7.3.5 and Vue 3.5.35)

  ➜ Local:    http://localhost:3000/
  ➜ Network:  use --host to expose

  ➜ DevTools: press Shift + Option + D in the browser (v3.2.4)

✔ Vite client built in 32ms
✔ Vite server built in 9ms

1. Open the localhost URL from your terminal to view the WebViewer UI and PDF document.

Get started video

In this 5-minute video, learn how to install and integrate the Apryse WebViewer SDK into a Nuxt project. You’ll set up the PDF viewer, verify it’s working in the UI, and then enable the Apryse Spreadsheet Editor.

Integrate WebViewer into a Nuxt project and enable the Spreadsheet Editor.

Next steps

UsageGuidesSamplesAPI docs