<p><a href="https://mozilla.github.io/pdf.js/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">PDF.js</a> is a PDF viewer that runs in a web browser, using HTML and Javascript. It is quite usable (it's the default PDF viewer shipped with Firefox) and it has an API that can be used to script it. For example, there is an API call to render a page using a chosen viewport and transform. I've never tried working with it as a developer, but it seems plausible that you could build your own front-end UI using PDF.js as a rendering backend, or modify the existing PDF.js UI to change the navigation logic to do what you want.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-03T00:12:25.073Z
2021-11-03T00:12:25.073Z
Nathan Reed
<p>I have developed some software that generates a pdf file for visualizing air traffic. Each page shows a plan view of the traffic at a point in time, with a small time step (e.g., 20 seconds) from one page to the next. It works well, but it would be more useful if I could zoom in on a smaller section of the viewport (e.g., the lower left quadrant) and maintain the same viewport frame as I step through the pages. I can zoom in using Adobe Acrobat Reader, but then I lose the viewport frame when I step to the next page. I would like to maintain the same zoomed-in viewport from one page to the next. Is that possible with Acrobat Reader or any other pdf viewer? If so, how? This feature would provide a major advancement in the visualization of air traffic. Thanks.</p>

<pdf>
How can I step through a pdf file while maintaining a fixed viewport for each page?
Russ P.
# How can I step through a pdf file while maintaining a fixed viewport for each page?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-11-02)

I have developed some software that generates a pdf file for visualizing air traffic. Each page shows a plan view of the traffic at a point in time, with a small time step (e.g., 20 seconds) from one page to the next. It works well, but it would be more useful if I could zoom in on a smaller section of the viewport (e.g., the lower left quadrant) and maintain the same viewport frame as I step through the pages. I can zoom in using Adobe Acrobat Reader, but then I lose the viewport frame when I step to the next page. I would like to maintain the same zoomed-in viewport from one page to the next. Is that possible with Acrobat Reader or any other pdf viewer? If so, how? This feature would provide a major advancement in the visualization of air traffic. Thanks.

**Tags:** pdf


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-11-03. Score: 2

[PDF.js](https://mozilla.github.io/pdf.js/) is a PDF viewer that runs in a web browser, using HTML and Javascript. It is quite usable (it's the default PDF viewer shipped with Firefox) and it has an API that can be used to script it. For example, there is an API call to render a page using a chosen viewport and transform. I've never tried working with it as a developer, but it seems plausible that you could build your own front-end UI using PDF.js as a rendering backend, or modify the existing PDF.js UI to change the navigation logic to do what you want.


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