PDF Viewer

Ruby
1

I would like to create an embedded pdf viewer on a website that would
allow visitors to view online documents but prevent them from
downloading and saving them. Is there a way to do with Ruby?

–
Kind Regards,
Rajinder Y.

http://DevMentor.org

Do Good! - Share Freely, Enrich and Empower people to Transform their
lives.

2

Rajinder Y. wrote:

I would like to create an embedded pdf viewer on a website that would
allow visitors to view online documents but prevent them from
downloading and saving them. Is there a way to do with Ruby?

This is really in the realm of client-side development, so you’d have to
use Flash, a Java applet, or (maybe) JavaScript. But don’t do this,
since it will make life difficult for your users – instead, set
appropriate restrictions on your PDF file.

And be aware that users will bypass the restrictions you set. :slight_smile:

–
Kind Regards,
Rajinder Y.

http://DevMentor.org

Best,

Marnen Laibow-Koser
http://www.marnen.org
[email protected]

3

2009/10/29 Rajinder Y. [email protected]:

I would like to create an embedded pdf viewer on a website that would
allow visitors to view online documents but prevent them from
downloading and saving them. Is there a way to do with Ruby?

It’s physically impossible, regardless of what various
DRM/DMCA/whatnot activists would like people to believe.

You see the document so you can save it. You can make the actual file
inaccessible but the information contained in the file is presented on
the screen so the user can, at the very least, copy it with a camera.

The rest is just question of inconveniencing the people who would want
to make a permanent copy of the document as well as people who just
want to view it. It’s much easier to view documents offline than
online because offline viewing allows for greater resolution
(printouts), internet connection independence (and thus greater
location independence), etc.

There is no copy protection scheme known to me that would protect any
data worth at least a few dollars but many that can inconvenience the
user, to the point that users of legal copies seek unprotected
“pirated” copies to access the data for which they bought a license.

Thanks

Michal

4

On 2009-10-30, Michal S. [email protected] wrote:

You see the document so you can save it. You can make the actual file
inaccessible but the information contained in the file is presented on
the screen so the user can, at the very least, copy it with a camera.

More generally:

Since you’re displaying it on the user’s machine, the data being
displayed
have been downloaded to the user’s machine.

It’s over.

And yes, the annoyance value trumps any hypothetical security.

-s