DZone

A web-based viewer is essentially a basic visual display window for documents you want users to be able to explore on your website or application. Document viewers are a great way to get a quick look at a document without worrying if you have the correct applications to view it on your device. With these tools, customers can simply click on a PDF or Word document on a website and peruse it as they would in its native format.

Web-based or HTML viewers are also known as ‘zero footprint’ viewers as they do not require a separate client install or download, which allows for the viewing of documents within the browser itself. These installations are less of a hassle if you are dealing with just one format on one device, but considering the ever-changing array of file types and machines that we utilize every day, they have become inefficient and cumbersome. In addition to the absence of software installation, the ‘zero footprint’ name also signifies that the viewer does not store data on the user’s device, and there are no storage parameters that need to be met.

Source: DZone