Joe Workman pdf embed stack issue - not showing on mobile?

Hello, it’s working fine on desktop, but not on mobile - it should show a .pdf of a rota - grateful for any suggestions: http://stmarysmeppershall.org.uk/rota/index.html

Thanks, Andrew

Works fine on an iPad.

Working fine here on a 5S Chrome and Safari

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it “works” – depending on the definition of “works”

  • the pdf content doesn’t responsively scale to the width of a phone. (x-small device)
  • looks good in landscape.
  • looks good on an iPad.

that said, i’m not sure it should scale any more. the pdf content is rigid – it can’t change shape – if you scale that wide content until it fits a very narrow phone it becomes VERY unreadable. perhaps being cut off and inviting the mobile-viewer to turn the phone 90° is the best compromise?

if that’s the case, and i think it probably is, then yes: works for me too.

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all the PDF stacks are pretty much iframes. you would have to find a way to make the pdf file responsive I believe if that is what your looking for.

I think I might follow Will Woodgate’s suggestion in a previous thread of using the RottenApple stack to offer just a download button on phones.

Thanks everyone.

Andrew

It’s perfectly possible to make a pdf responsive, I use it here (bottom of page): http://glebechapel.org/about2/

It would be more about whether your viewer can read it.

Since most phones can show PDFs (not sure on Android) what we suggest is for people to hide the stack on Mobile and just set a link to the PDF which will open on the phone. Not as elegant as having it show on your site, but as @DaveFox said, not the easiest to read on an iPhone either.

I have several - all working fine on iphones, ipads and desktops - here’s an example on iPhone - a little stretched I notice but working well.

I don’t think it should scale either. It scrolls from left to right as well as up and down which makes it usable.

I think the basic rule here is: if you can, build rigid content (like PDFs) to be easily viewable on your target platform – if that’s mobile, try to make it portrait shaped rather than landscape shaped.

If landscape is unavoidable, which is often the case for spreadsheets and tables and almost always the case for video – then scrolling and encouraging users to rotate their device is a fine solution.

Isaiah

My pdf’s work fine on iOS (and all other platforms) just not android. It shows a link to the PDF that when clicked takes you to the PDF. I wonder if there is a way for wills stack to identify and conditional just android. http://www.captivear.com/nthd/tubing/

PDF on android requires a PDF viewer app to be installed. And for that browser to know about that app. And requires the device be powerful enough to run it.

PDF is not an open standard. And it doesn’t really fit well with the modern web in many ways.

Probably the best advice is: avoid PDF content whenever possible.

When I’ve been asked to provide PDF content (for signing or security purposes usually) I try to make it an optional download – rather than an integral part of the page – and provide a standard way of viewing the data (as a table, or an image, or whatever).

I know that’s not always feasible, so this isn’t a hard rule, just a rule of thumb.

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