File Viewer - WordPress File Embed Plugin

Every link to a PDF is a small goodbye

You publish a product datasheet and leave it as a link. Someone clicks, the document opens separately and your page, with its contact button and the rest of the information, drops into the background. If instead you embed everything in plain view, someone who only wanted to take away three manuals has to get through an endless page.

Before thinking about how to upload a file, decide what the visitor should do with it: read it here or take it away. File Viewer, the Elfsight file embed plugin, splits those two intentions across its layouts. The viewer shows the document inside the page, while the grid and the list work as a shelf of files. Choosing well between them matters more than any color setting.

Three layouts for two intentions

• Viewer: the file is read on the page itself, with scrolling, pagination and zoom, plus options to see it full screen and download it.
• Grid: file icons and names arranged in a grid. On click, the file opens in a new tab, where it can be downloaded.
• List: the same logic in vertical form. In both, the Download text next to the icon can be shown or hidden.

A sample contract or a guide meant to be read in full calls for the viewer. A downloads section with several certificates and instructions fits better in the grid or the list, because the visitor is after one specific file.

How each file arrives and how the widget is dressed

It takes around 20 file types, among them PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX and JPEG. Each file arrives by one of these routes:

• Uploading it from your computer.
• Entering the file URL.
• Choosing it from the latest uploaded files.

This covers uses such as technical papers, qualifications, guidelines, instructions or diplomas. Presentation is adjusted like this:

• Icons: picked automatically by format, and you can show or hide them.
• Typography: configurable font sizes.
• Color: six interface elements with their own color.
• Title: a custom header for the widget.
• Width: in pixels or percentages.

Changes are made in a visual editor, without writing code, and the result adapts to tablets and phones.

What stays outside a file viewer

File Viewer presents documents. Its features do not include search inside files, access restriction by user or download counts. For a large library with filters or permissions, you need another tool. What it shows is the file you give it, so a change in the content is made in the original.

The viewer with a download option makes reading easier, but a document shown on a public page is still a public document. Whatever should not circulate should not be published this way.

Placing a file on your page step by step

It works with any WordPress theme, including Avada, BeTheme, The7, Flatsome, Enfold, Jupiter, Bridge and Newspaper. Follow this order:

1. Upload the installable zip to WordPress and activate the plugin.
2. Open its settings from the main menu.
3. Create a widget, add the files and choose the layout in the visual editor.
4. Copy the shortcode and paste it into the page you want.

Instead of the shortcode you can use its Gutenberg block, its WPBakery Page Builder element or the native widget for a sidebar or footer.

Three plugins that handle documents another way

When your files live in the cloud, Embed Any Document Plus works with Google Drive, Dropbox, Box.com and Microsoft OneDrive. If everything is PDF, PDF Embedder Premium adds search inside the text and view and download counts. For many documents, Document Library Pro organizes them in tables, grids or folders, with search and filters.

Questions about files and layouts

Can the visitor read the file without leaving my page?

Yes, with the viewer layout. In grid and list, the file opens in a new tab.

Which formats does it accept?

Around 20, including PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX and JPEG.

Can I link a file hosted elsewhere?

Yes, by entering its URL. You can also upload it from your computer or choose it from the latest uploads.

Does it work in sidebars and footers?

Yes, through its native WordPress widget.

Do I need to touch code?

No. The widget is set up in the visual editor and placed with a shortcode, block or WPBakery element.