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To show PDF.js controls inside Fancybox 3, make the iframe load PDF.js’s viewer.html page and pass the PDF’s URL in its file parameter. Pointing Fancybox straight at a .pdf file may show the browser’s built-in PDF display, but it does not turn that file into a PDF.js viewer.
Why opening the PDF directly is not enough
Fancybox 3 supplies the modal and iframe. PDF.js supplies the application that parses and displays the document, including its viewer controls. The intended arrangement is:
Fancybox modal → iframe → PDF.js viewer.html → PDF fileThis markup embeds a PDF resource, not the PDF.js application:
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<a data-fancybox data-type="iframe"
data-f251e-parked-src="/documents/brochure.pdf" href="#">
View brochure
</a>What appears may depend on the browser’s native PDF handling, and it will not reliably provide PDF.js’s toolbar. Fancybox 3’s documentation demonstrates the distinction by using an iframe pointed at PDF.js viewer.html for its PDF example. Fancybox 3 documentation
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Minimal local setup
Deploy a compatible PDF.js viewer build with your application, keeping its viewer, worker, and related assets together. The example assumes the viewer is available at /pdfjs/web/viewer.html and the document at /documents/brochure.pdf. Use the paths that match your deployment.
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/vendor/jquery.fancybox.min.css">
<a data-fancybox
data-type="iframe"
data-f251e-parked-src="/pdfjs/web/viewer.html?file=%2Fdocuments%2Fbrochure.pdf"
href="/documents/brochure.pdf"
aria-label="Open brochure in PDF viewer">
View brochure
</a>
<script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.3.1.min.js"></script>
<script src="/vendor/jquery.fancybox.min.js"></script>
<script>
$('[data-fancybox]').fancybox({
iframe: { preload: false },
toolbar: false,
smallBtn: true
});
</script>Load jQuery before Fancybox, as Fancybox 3’s setup documentation specifies. The exact jQuery/Fancybox combination should be tested in the application; this is a legacy jQuery integration, not a guarantee about every modern stack. The link’s href remains the actual PDF as a useful fallback, while data-src tells Fancybox to display the viewer. Avoid using javascript:; as the only link destination.
Fancybox 3’s iframe settings document preload behavior and same-origin limitations. Setting preload: false avoids relying on Fancybox to inspect and size a full viewer application inside the iframe. Fancybox 3 iframe documentation
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- 100HZ FAST REFRESH RATE: 100Hz brings your favorite movies and video games to life. Stream, binge, and play effortlessly
- SMOOTH ACTION WITH ADAPTIVE-SYNC: Adaptive-Sync technology ensures fluid action sequences and rapid response time. Every frame will be rendered smoothly with crystal clarity and without stutter
- INCREDIBLE CONTRAST: The VA panel produces brighter whites and deeper blacks. You get true-to-life images and more gradients with 16.7 million colors
- THE PERFECT VIEW: The 178/178 degree extra wide viewing angle prevents the shifting of colors when viewed from an offset angle, so you always get consistent colors
Build the viewer URL safely
The PDF URL belongs inside the viewer’s file query parameter. Encode the entire PDF URL, especially when it includes its own query string, an ampersand, spaces, or signed parameters:
const pdfUrl = '/documents/brochure.pdf?edition=summer&lang=en';
const viewerUrl = '/pdfjs/web/viewer.html?file=' +
encodeURIComponent(pdfUrl);For example, a remote PDF URL can be passed the same way:
const pdfUrl = 'https://cdn.example.com/brochure.pdf';
const viewerUrl = '/pdfjs/web/viewer.html?file=' +
encodeURIComponent(pdfUrl);Do not manually encode only spaces or concatenate an unencoded URL: its & characters can be interpreted as parameters of viewer.html rather than as part of the PDF address.
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- Wide viewing angle: Get consistent views across a wide 178° /178° viewing angle.
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Generate the viewer URL from a normal link
For a list of documents, preserve each PDF URL as the real link destination and derive the viewer URL for Fancybox:
<a class="js-pdf" href="/documents/brochure.pdf">View brochure</a>
<script>
$('.js-pdf').each(function () {
const pdfUrl = this.getAttribute('href');
this.setAttribute(
'data-src',
'/pdfjs/web/viewer.html?file=' + encodeURIComponent(pdfUrl)
);
this.setAttribute('data-type', 'iframe');
this.setAttribute('data-fancybox', '');
});
$('.js-pdf').fancybox({
iframe: { preload: false },
toolbar: false,
smallBtn: true
});
</script>If documents are selected dynamically, open the same viewer URL programmatically:
$('[data-open-pdf]').on('click', function (event) {
event.preventDefault();
const pdfUrl = this.getAttribute('data-open-pdf');
const viewerUrl = '/pdfjs/web/viewer.html?file=' +
encodeURIComponent(pdfUrl);
$.fancybox.open({
src: viewerUrl,
type: 'iframe',
opts: {
iframe: { preload: false },
toolbar: false,
smallBtn: true
}
});
});Set usable modal dimensions
PDF.js is a full viewer interface, so give the iframe enough room rather than relying on Fancybox to infer the document’s dimensions:
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.fancybox-slide--iframe .fancybox-content {
width: 90vw;
height: 90vh;
max-width: none;
max-height: none;
margin: 0;
}
@media (max-width: 600px) {
.fancybox-slide--iframe .fancybox-content {
width: 100vw;
height: 100vh;
}
}The .fancybox-slide--iframe .fancybox-content selector follows Fancybox 3’s documented iframe-sizing approach. Fancybox 3 sizing examples A 90% viewport modal leaves margins; a full-screen layout gives a phone more reading space. On small screens, test that the PDF.js toolbar remains practical and the modal close control is reachable. If the modal feels cramped or the document is central to the task, a dedicated viewer page is often a better fit.
Same-origin PDFs are simplest; remote PDFs need permission
A local viewer and local PDF commonly avoid cross-origin complications:
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https://www.example.com/documents/brochure.pdfIf the PDF is on a different origin, the browser must be allowed to fetch it from that origin. A public URL is not automatically fetchable by PDF.js. Check the PDF host’s CORS response, including Access-Control-Allow-Origin, any required request headers, redirects, authentication or cookies, and CDN rules. Confirm the response is actually a PDF (normally Content-Type: application/pdf), rather than an HTML login or error page.
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Also check production security and routing: an HTTPS page cannot safely load an HTTP document; a Content Security Policy may block the viewer, worker, or PDF; frame-ancestors or X-Frame-Options can block framing; and proxy rewrites or incorrect base paths can break viewer assets. If a remote host cannot be configured for browser access, an application-side proxy is an option only where legally and operationally appropriate.
Troubleshoot by symptom
- No PDF.js toolbar: Inspect the iframe URL. It should load
/pdfjs/web/viewer.html?file=..., not the raw.pdf. - Viewer appears, but the page is blank: Verify the encoded
filevalue, the PDF’s browser-accessible response and content type, CORS if cross-origin, and any expiring signed URL or required credentials. Confirm the PDF.js viewer and worker assets are deployed together. - Works locally but not in production: Compare origins, subdomains, paths, redirects, HTTPS, CSP and iframe response headers. A local setup may hide a production CORS or deployment-path problem.
- Viewer works directly but fails in the modal: Check iframe width and height, the
preloadsetting, CSS overrides, duplicate jQuery or Fancybox scripts, and browser console errors. Initialize Fancybox before the trigger is used.
When a modal is the wrong choice
Use this integration when an existing Fancybox 3 site needs an in-page preview with PDF.js controls and can serve the viewer and document appropriately. A regular PDF link is simpler and lets the browser choose its native viewer. A PDF.js iframe on a dedicated page provides more space and is generally better when deep links, browser history, sharing, or extended reading matter. A modal also adds focus-management requirements: test keyboard navigation, Escape-to-close, focus return to the trigger, and whether the background page remains confusingly interactive.
For a new project, evaluate the modal library and document-viewing approach independently; Fancybox 3’s jQuery API is specific to this legacy integration, not a drop-in recommendation for a modern application. Check the PDF.js project’s current build and deployment guidance before choosing assets. The SitePoint discussion that prompted this pattern dates to February 2019, so its linked demo assets should not be assumed to be appropriate for production today. SitePoint discussion
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