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For the complete documentation index, see llms.txt. This page is also available as Markdown.

PDF Viewer

The Avonni PDF Viewer component embeds and displays PDF documents directly within your Lightning Pages — no downloads, no separate applications required.

Overview

Use the PDF Viewer to surface contextual documents — invoices, contracts, reports, or guides — right where users need them. PDFs can be loaded from Salesforce Files (ContentDocumentId), external URLs, or Base64-encoded content.

Salesforce setting required for inline PDF viewing

In Salesforce Setup, go to "File Upload and Download Security." Find the entry for PDF and set its behavior to "Execute in Browser." This enables the PDF to render inside the component. If it's set to "Download," Salesforce will force the file to download, and the viewer will appear blank or trigger a download rather than display the document.

How to check and update:

  1. Setup → Quick Find: "File Upload and Download Security"

  2. Open the list, locate "PDF"

  3. Change Behavior to "Execute in Browser"

  4. Save

  5. Refresh your Lightning page and test the viewer

Use Cases

  • Displaying generated invoice or quote PDFs on Opportunity or Order records.

  • Showing signed contracts or agreements on Account or Contact pages.

  • Embedding product manuals or datasheets on Product record pages.

  • Presenting reports generated as PDFs within a dashboard component.

  • Viewing uploaded attachments directly within a custom component context.

Configuration

To configure the PDF Viewer, select it on the canvas. The configuration panel opens on the right. The sections below mirror the Properties tab from top to bottom.

Properties

Source

The Source setting defines which PDF to display. Enter one of the following:

  • ContentDocumentId — the 15- or 18-character Salesforce ID of a File (ContentDocument) stored in your org. This is the most common and recommended method for internal documents. Bind this to a variable that holds the ID.

  • URL — a direct, publicly accessible HTTPS URL pointing to a PDF file. Ensure the URL is reachable by your users and that no CORS policy blocks embedding.

  • Base64 — a Base64-encoded string representing the full PDF content. Use only for small, dynamically generated PDFs; large Base64 strings can impact performance and hit configuration size limits.

Title

An optional Title for the document, displayed as part of the viewer frame. You can bind this to a record field or variable.

Placeholder

The Placeholder group controls what appears when no source is loaded. Enable Show Placeholder to activate these options:

  • Placeholder Message — the text displayed below the illustration when the source is empty. Requires: Show Placeholder enabled.

  • Placeholder Illustration — the illustration shown when the source is empty. Defaults to No Preview. Available options include Going Camping, Maintenance, Desert, Open Road, No Access, No Connection, Page Not Available, and others. Requires: Show Placeholder enabled.

Set Component Visibility

All components support conditional visibility — see Component Visibility.

Examples

Displaying a Salesforce File (using ContentDocumentId)

Scenario: Display the latest invoice PDF related to the current Opportunity record page.

Approach: Use an autolaunched Flow triggered "On Load" to retrieve the ContentDocumentId and pass it to the PDF Viewer.

Setup Overview

1

Create an Autolaunched Flow

Since the PDF Viewer component requires a ContentDocumentId to display a Salesforce file, but you typically only have access to the record ID (e.g., Opportunity ID), you need a way to find the correct file. An Autolaunched Flow allows you to:

  • Query the Salesforce database to find files related to the current record

  • Apply filters to locate the specific PDF you want to display (e.g., the latest invoice)

  • Return the ContentDocumentId to the component

Configuration

  • Accepts the record ID as input

  • Queries related files through ContentDocumentLink and ContentVersion objects

  • Filters for PDF files with "Invoice" in the title

  • Returns the ContentDocumentId of the most recent matching file

2

In your Dynamic Component

Now that your Flow is ready to retrieve the ContentDocumentId, you need to configure your Dynamic Component to execute this Flow and pass the result to the PDF Viewer. This involves setting the target object, creating a variable to store the file ID, triggering the Flow when the page loads, and binding that variable to the PDF Viewer's Source property.

Steps:

  • Set the Target Object Name to Opportunity in your Dynamic Component settings (this enables access to the current record context)

  • Create a Text Variable (e.g., invoiceFileId) to store the ContentDocumentId

  • Add an Execute Flow action to the On Load interaction:

    • Select your autolaunched Flow

    • Map the Flow's input variable to @recordId (this passes the current Opportunity ID to the Flow)

    • Map the Flow's output variable to {!invoiceFileId} (this stores the returned ContentDocumentId)

  • Configure the PDF Viewer's Source property to {!invoiceFileId}

Result: When the page loads, the Flow retrieves the latest invoice PDF's ContentDocumentId and the PDF Viewer displays it automatically.

Displaying a PDF from an External URL

Scenario: Embed a publicly available product datasheet PDF.

  1. Add PDF Viewer: Add the component to your canvas.

  2. Configure Source:

    • Select the PDF Viewer.

    • In the Source property, directly enter the full HTTPS URL of the PDF file (e.g., https://www.example-company.com/datasheets/product-xyz.pdf). You can also bind this to a Text Variable or Constant resource that holds the URL.

  3. Set Title (Optional): Set the Title property (e.g., "Product XYZ Datasheet").

Key Considerations

  • Permissions (Salesforce Files): If using ContentDocumentId, ensure users viewing the page have the necessary Salesforce permissions to access that specific File record.

  • URL Accessibility: If using a URL, verify the URL is correct, publicly accessible (or accessible within the user's network), and consider potential Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) restrictions that might prevent embedding. Use HTTPS.

  • ⚠️ Salesforce File Handling Setting: In Salesforce Setup, navigate to "File Upload and Download Security". Ensure the behavior for PDF files is set to "Execute in Browser". If it is configured as "Download", this component may not display the PDF inline and may instead trigger a file download.

  • Base64 Performance/Limits: Avoid using Base64 for large PDFs due to performance impacts and potential size limitations. ContentDocumentId or URL are generally preferred.

  • Browser Compatibility: PDF rendering relies on browser capabilities or built-in PDF viewers. Ensure compatibility with your users' standard browsers

URL Display Restrictions & Workaround

When using a direct URL as the PDF source, be aware that Salesforce security settings or browser policies might sometimes prevent the PDF from displaying correctly within the PDF Viewer. In such cases, users may encounter a blank frame or an error message.

Workaround: Embed using Google Docs Viewer

To bypass these restrictions, you can leverage the Google Docs Viewer service, which allows PDF files to be displayed within an iframe, even if the original file's direct embedding is blocked.

How to Use:

Set the Source property of the PDF Viewer to a Google Docs Viewer link structured as follows (can be done using a formula text variable)

Example:

Important

To allow this workaround, ensure that https://docs.google.com is added to your list of Trusted URLs in Salesforce Setup, and that docs.google.com is authorized for iframe usage within your org's security policies.

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