Deployment Options
PSPDFKit for Web can be deployed on your infrastructure in two possible configurations:
-
Standalone — A JavaScript library that runs on the client
-
Server-Backed — The standalone JavaScript library backed by PSPDFKit Server
Comparing Deployment Options
| Deployment | Standalone | Server-Backed |
|---|---|---|
| Deployed on your infrastructure | ✓ | ✓ |
| Backend | Any | PSPDFKit Server |
| Deployment method | Any | Docker |
| Browser Support | Standalone | Server-Backed |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mozilla Firefox | ✓ | ✓ |
| Safari | ✓ | ✓ |
| Edge | ✓ | ✓ |
| Firefox ESR | ✓ | ✓ |
Internet Explorer 11 is no longer supported in our Web SDK as of version 2022.5. Edge 18 is no longer supported in our Web SDK as of version 2023.2.
| Integrations | Standalone | Server-Backed |
|---|---|---|
| SharePoint Online | ✓ | Coming soon |
| SharePoint On-Premises | ✓ | Coming soon |
| Microsoft Teams | ✓ | Coming soon |
| Microsoft OneDrive | ✓ | Coming soon |
| Salesforce | ✓ | Coming soon |
| PDF Support | Standalone | Server-Backed |
|---|---|---|
| ✓ | ✓ | |
| PDF/A 1, 2, 3, 4 | ✓ | ✓ |
| XFDF | ✓ | ✓ |
| Instant JSON | ✓ | ✓ |
| Microsoft Office Support | Standalone | Server-Backed |
|---|---|---|
| DOCX, DOC, DOTX, DOCM | ✓ | ✓ |
| PPTX, PPT, PPTM, PPSX | ✓ | ✓ |
| XLSX, XLS, XLSM | ✓ | ✓ |
| Image Support | Standalone | Server-Backed |
|---|---|---|
| PNG | ✓ | ✓ |
| JPEG, JPG | ✓ | ✓ |
| TIFF, TIF | ✓ | ✓ |
| Performance | Standalone | Server-Backed |
|---|---|---|
| Initial load time | Fast | Fastest |
| Document rendering | Client-side | Server-side |
| Document streaming | ✓ |
| Functionality | Standalone | Server-Backed |
|---|---|---|
| Viewer | ✓ | ✓ |
| Annotations | ✓ | ✓ |
| Forms | ✓ | ✓ |
| Signatures | ✓ | ✓ |
| Editor | ✓ | ✓ |
| PDF generation | ✓ | ✓✓ |
| Conversion | ✓ | ✓ |
| Extraction | ✓ | ✓ |
| Redaction | ✓ | ✓ |
| OCR | ✓ | |
| Document security | ✓ | ✓✓ |
| Search | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bookmarks | ✓ | ✓ |
| Events and notifications | ✓ | ✓ |
| ✓ | ✓ | |
| User authentication | Not built-in | Built-in |
| Annotation and Form Synchronization | Standalone | Server-Backed |
|---|---|---|
| Sync annotations and form data to a server | Not built-in | Built-in |
| Conflict resolution for concurrent editing | Not built-in | Built-in* |
| Customizable permissions | Not built-in | Built-in |
| Incremental sync (annotation diff) | Not built-in | Built-in |
* Via PSPDFKit Instant (a component for PSPDFKit Server)
Standalone Deployment
PSPDFKit for Web Standalone uses our JavaScript library for rendering and editing documents directly in the browser. It’s powered by WebAssembly technology, and it doesn’t require a server, plugins, or Internet access.
A client-only deployment has the following advantages:
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Get up and running faster — No servers need to be deployed or maintained.
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Lower infrastructure costs — Rendering and processing are offloaded to the client.
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Security and privacy — Documents don’t need to be transferred across a network.
Server-Backed Deployment
PSPDFKit for Web Server-Backed uses PSPDFKit Server as a backend for PSPDFKit for Web Standalone. PSPDFKit Server is deployed on your infrastructure as a Docker container.
A server-backed deployment has the following advantages:
-
Faster performance — Rendering is done on the server with pages streamed on demand.
-
Out-of-the-box sync — Synchronize annotations and form field values to the server and across sessions.
Learn more about PSPDFKit Server.