What’s the best way to embed a PDF in HTML?

General Discussions
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1

I need to embed a PDF in HTML, and I’m unsure which method is most reliable and widely supported. There seem to be several options:

  • <iframe>
  • <object>
  • <embed>

Is there a recommended or standard approach, especially for modern browsers? Also, does Adobe recommend one over the others for optimal compatibility?

In my case, the PDF is dynamically generated on the fly, so using a third-party service isn’t an option, I need a solution that can load the file directly once it’s created. What’s the most effective method for this use case?

2

Hey! From my experience, the most straightforward and widely supported way to embed PDF in HTML is using the iframe tag. It’s simple to implement, and most modern browsers handle it well. Just do something like this:

The iframe acts like a mini browser window displaying the PDF directly. It works great for dynamically generated PDFs as long as the file URL is accessible.

Plus, you get the benefit of browser-native PDF controls (like zoom and page navigation.

3

I’ve often used the <object> tag when needing to embed PDF in HTML because it gives a bit more fallback control. For example:

<object data="path/to/yourfile.pdf" type="application/pdf" width="600" height="500">
  <p>Your browser does not support PDFs.
     <a href="path/to/yourfile.pdf">Download the PDF</a>.</p>
</object>

The nice thing here is that if the browser can’t display the PDF inline, users get a fallback message with a download link. Adobe themselves have historically recommended the element for embedding PDFs for better accessibility and compatibility. So, if you want graceful degradation, this is a solid pick.

4

If you want a super simple way to embed PDF in HTML without worrying too much about fallback or styling, works well and has decent browser support:

<embed src="path/to/yourfile.pdf" width="600" height="500" type="application/pdf" />

I’ve found it loads PDFs directly and lets the browser’s PDF viewer handle the display. However, it’s less flexible with fallback content than <object>.

This is a great option if you want minimal code and just need to display the PDF quickly.

For most cases, <iframe> is easiest, <object> is best if you want fallback options (recommended by Adobe), and <embed> is a minimalistic approach.

Since your PDF is generated dynamically, all these options will work fine as long as your server serves the PDF correctly with proper headers.

Hope this helps you choose the best way to embed PDF in HTML for your project!