Disable download option in Google Docs viewer using JavaScript and jQuery

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1

Hey everyone! I’m working on a project where I need to show Word and PDF files in a dialog box. I’m using the Google Docs viewer for this, but there’s a catch. My client doesn’t want users to be able to download the documents.

I’ve got the viewer working, but I can’t figure out how to remove the ‘Pop-out’ option. This option lets users open the document in a new tab, which makes it easy to download.

Here’s a simplified version of what I’m doing:

$("#showButton").click(function() {
  $("#documentDialog").dialog({
    modal: true,
    width: 800,
    height: 600,
    open: function() {
      var viewer = "<iframe src='https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=example.pdf&embedded=true' style='width: 100%; height: 100%;'></iframe>";
      $(this).html(viewer);
    }
  });
});

Does anyone know how to disable the ‘Pop-out’ feature? Or maybe there’s a better way to show Word and PDF files securely? Any help would be awesome. Thanks!

2

In my experience, Google Docs viewer isn’t ideally suited for secure document viewing. I made the switch to PDF.js for handling PDFs because it not only gives you more control over the rendering process but also lets you customize the interface to minimize unauthorized downloads. For Word documents, I opted for a server-side conversion to HTML, which allowed me to tailor the presentation and tighten access. Just keep in mind that no method is foolproof—it’s all about increasing the difficulty for anyone trying to bypass the restrictions.

3

hey mate, had the same prob. google docs viewer aint great for this. try pdf.js for pdfs, works like a charm. for word docs, maybe look into office js api? it’s a bit more work but way more secure. good luck!

4

I’ve encountered a similar challenge in one of my projects. While the Google Docs viewer is convenient, it’s not designed for secure document viewing. Instead, I’d recommend using a server-side solution to convert documents to images or HTML. This approach gives you full control over the display and prevents easy downloads.

For PDFs, you could use a library like pdf.js to render pages as canvas elements. For Word documents, consider converting them to HTML on the server using a tool like Pandoc. These methods are more work upfront but offer better security and customization.

If you must stick with Google Docs viewer, you could try intercepting and blocking the pop-out action with JavaScript, but it’s not foolproof and might break with updates to the viewer.