Viewing PDF's within Emby

[UnicornSBC 0]

Hi I work in a events space that has a library which currently has emby version 4.6.7.0

We are able to utilise the audio and visual with the exception of viewing PDF's. 

Our content is located on a server, and the path is connected within emby and we have no issues with these types of media. This issue we are facing is that we want to be able to display (not download and then use another 3rd party app for viewing) from within emby.

I have tried several different iterations of pointing to the server with content, with different Library content types. specifically the books content type. The folder is displayed on the landing page however to view the content the only option is to download and then open with either a web browser or pdf reader. 

 

Is there anyway to view the PDF's without the use of a third party software?

 

Many thanks!!

 

[Abobader 3464]

Hello UnicornSBC,

** This is an auto reply **

Please wait for someone from staff support or our members to reply to you.

It's recommended to provide more info, as it explain in this thread:

Thank you.

Emby Team

[Gilgamesh_48 1240]

This is the one remaining sore spot for me with Emby. And, for that matter, also with my Rokus. If I do not have a computer actually connected I cannot read PDFs or any type of text files on my Rokus even through Emby. 
I have repeatedly tried various solutions and have yet to find one that really seems to work and every time there is a new generation of Emby I test the "book" type to see if, maybe, the support had been added. So far I have never been able to view any type of document file through Emby.

It is a lack but I am not really sure that having PDF or even text support inside Roku would be a good thing. It might be more trouble than it is worth.

I will pretty soon need, or at least strongly want, such support but I "think" it might be better to attach another device to my bedroom TV to get text support rather that expecting either Emby or Roku to have support for PDF or TXT files.
Sigh........

[nospotify 184]

Although I can't find the thread now, there has been discussion elsewhere in these forums about this: I and others would love to be able to view, for example, a PDF album booklet from within the Emby interface while playing the album it accompanies.

[Luke 42078]

There is now an OpenLibrary plugin in the Emby Plugin catalog for books, and it supports ISBN lookup.

Please try it out and report your experience. Thanks !

[nospotify 184]

Any hints on how to find this plugin @Luke? The plugin catalog doesn't seem to be searchable and I don't see an Open Library plugin when I scroll through each category.

[Luke 42078]

26 minutes ago, nospotify said:

Any hints on how to find this plugin @Luke? The plugin catalog doesn't seem to be searchable and I don't see an Open Library plugin when I scroll through each category.

It's in the metadata section.

[nospotify 184]

46 minutes ago, Luke said:

It's in the metadata section.

I'm afraid I don't see it there or anywhere in the plugin catalog @Luke. Does the catalog vary between official and beta releases? I am running Windows server 4.8.10. Help please?

[user24 313]

Hi, I just looked and found it under the Metadata section in 4.8.10 (listed in alphabetical order):

Edited March 1, 2025 by user24

[nospotify 184]

7 hours ago, user24 said:

Hi, I just looked and found it under the Metadata section in 4.8.10 (listed in alphabetical order):

8 hours ago, Luke said:

It's in the metadata section.

Strangely, I am afraid that tile literally does not exist there or anywhere on my Plugins page, and several others. The Metadata row goes immediately from NfoMetadata to Studio Cleaner adjacent to each other. Do some Plugins require extra steps to make available and visible?

[GrimReaper 4739]

1 hour ago, nospotify said:

Strangely, I am afraid that tile literally does not exist there or anywhere on my Plugins page, and several others. The Metadata row goes immediately from NfoMetadata to Studio Cleaner adjacent to each other.

Are you looking at Plugin Catalogue from desktop client (like Web app or Theater) or some mobile device (like Android app, where not all plugins will be listed)? 

[Happy2Play 9780]

@nospotifywhat server version are you on as there is a minimum requirement.

[nospotify 184]

25 minutes ago, GrimReaper said:

Are you looking at Plugin Catalogue from desktop client (like Web app or Theater) or some mobile device (like Android app, where not all plugins will be listed)? 

Ah, that was the issue. Strange UI design to not have all Plugins show in a mobile browser, since the category lists scroll sideways anyway. Anyway, thx.

[nospotify 184]

10 hours ago, Luke said:

There is now an OpenLibrary plugin in the Emby Plugin catalog for books, and it supports ISBN lookup.

Please try it out and report your experience. Thanks !

@LukeDoes this plugin allow users to open a 'liner notes' PDF or txt file in a music album directory? Or is that still an ongoing feature request?

[Luke 42078]

1 hour ago, nospotify said:

@LukeDoes this plugin allow users to open a 'liner notes' PDF or txt file in a music album directory? Or is that still an ongoing feature request?

No, this plugin is about providing metadata.

[Happy2Play 9780]

18 minutes ago, Luke said:

No, this plugin is about providing metadata.

Might need its own topic but what should it pull as all I am getting is Title, Year and image if replacing orginal.

Blood In The Ashes by William W. Johnstone | Open Library

 

Along the same lines of should/could Emby read the opf file.

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<package xmlns="http://www.idpf.org/2007/opf" unique-identifier="uuid_id" version="2.0">
    <metadata xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:opf="http://www.idpf.org/2007/opf">
        <dc:identifier opf:scheme="calibre" id="calibre_id">228</dc:identifier>
        <dc:identifier opf:scheme="uuid" id="uuid_id">a589fa62-3267-40ad-8643-42ea2701230a</dc:identifier>
        <dc:title>Betrayal in the Ashes</dc:title>
        <dc:creator opf:file-as="Johnstone, William W." opf:role="aut">William W. Johnstone</dc:creator>
        <dc:contributor opf:file-as="calibre" opf:role="bkp">calibre (1.28.0) [http://calibre-ebook.com]</dc:contributor>
        <dc:date>2010-02-15T05:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
        <dc:description>&lt;div&gt;&lt;p&gt;As America continues its struggle to rise from the ashes of apocalypse, Europe is slowly dying. Bruno Bottger, the Neo-Nazi monster, has brought forth a new Reich. There is no force in Europe that has a chance of stopping him. Only one force in what's left of the world can do the job Ben Raines and the SUSA Rebels.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;About the Author&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;William W. Johnstone USA TODAY BEST-SELLING author William is admired for the great diversity in his writing talents. Though most known for his western adventures, Johnstone was also a visionary writer. His prophetic stories within his Ashes Series, Code Name Series, and his science fiction books, predicting the Gulf War and the political climate we live in today, was ahead of it's time when it was written. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</dc:description>
        <dc:publisher>Speaking Volumes</dc:publisher>
        <dc:identifier opf:scheme="MOBI-ASIN">68c989af-d31f-4ba5-9ff3-212a91044ad7</dc:identifier>
        <dc:identifier opf:scheme="ISBN">9781935138051</dc:identifier>
        <dc:language>eng</dc:language>
        <meta content="{&quot;William W. Johnstone&quot;: &quot;&quot;}" name="calibre:author_link_map"/>
        <meta content="Ashes" name="calibre:series"/>
        <meta content="21" name="calibre:series_index"/>
        <meta content="2013-04-27T15:53:03+00:00" name="calibre:timestamp"/>
        <meta content="Betrayal in the Ashes" name="calibre:title_sort"/>
        <meta name="calibre:user_metadata:#formats" content="{&quot;is_category&quot;: true, &quot;#extra#&quot;: null, &quot;kind&quot;: &quot;field&quot;, &quot;is_custom&quot;: true, &quot;is_csp&quot;: false, &quot;colnum&quot;: 1, &quot;column&quot;: &quot;value&quot;, &quot;rec_index&quot;: 22, &quot;search_terms&quot;: [&quot;#formats&quot;], &quot;link_column&quot;: &quot;value&quot;, &quot;label&quot;: &quot;formats&quot;, &quot;is_multiple&quot;: null, &quot;datatype&quot;: &quot;text&quot;, &quot;#value#&quot;: null, &quot;category_sort&quot;: &quot;value&quot;, &quot;table&quot;: &quot;custom_column_1&quot;, &quot;is_editable&quot;: true, &quot;is_multiple2&quot;: {}, &quot;display&quot;: {&quot;use_decorations&quot;: 0}, &quot;name&quot;: &quot;Formats&quot;}"/>
    </metadata>
    <guide>
        <reference href="Betrayal in the Ashes - William W. Johnstone.jpg" title="Cover" type="cover"/>
    </guide>
</package>

 

Edited March 1, 2025 by Happy2Play

[Lex_luthorbg 1]

On 3/1/2025 at 7:56 PM, Luke said:

No, this plugin is about providing metadata.

As far as I understand the plugin is about the providing metadata, that is ok, but how to open the pdf files? Is there any way or am I missing something?

[IAmHugh 63]

On 7/25/2023 at 6:54 PM, nospotify said:

Although I can't find the thread now, there has been discussion elsewhere in these forums about this: I and others would love to be able to view, for example, a PDF album booklet from within the Emby interface while playing the album it accompanies.

And most of us want Emby to stick with just doing media nand nothing else. Start doing everything else and the springs and gears 9-1-1 S08E10 going to start popping out and cause the whole thing to just fall apart.

[Luke 42078]

An update to the Emby Open Library plugin has gone out to support lookups using either ISBN or the Open Library Work Id. The Work Id should help make matching easier, although you can still lookup using ISBN. Here is clarification on the differences between Open Library works and editions:

https://openlibrary.org/help/faq/editing#work-edition

[nospotify 184]

On 2/28/2025 at 9:55 PM, Luke said:

There is now an OpenLibrary plugin in the Emby Plugin catalog for books, and it supports ISBN lookup.

Please try it out and report your experience. Thanks !

@LukeSo if I understand correctly, this doesn't address the request in the original post of this thread, nor the other threads that have been closed as 'duplicate' and forwarded here, that there be some way to open a PDF or txt file from within Emby, such as liner notes. What's the status of this request from multiple users?

[Luke 42078]

Emby Server 4.9.1.8+ will now have a book reader in the web app for the following formats:

• PDF
• EPUB
• MOBI
• FB2
• CBZ
• CBR

Please try it out once available and report your experience in the Testing Area of the community:

Thanks !

[brothom 177]

@CummingCowGirlthere's a difference between feature development and support / bug fixing from a project point of view.

Emby has to keep adding new feature if it wants to have a more prominent position in the market. Adding ebook readers is a pretty unique way to do that.

Also a bunch of bugs are being fixed / have been fixed in this new 4.9 version.

You can check this for yourself by visiting your server, going to the dashboard -> click on version -> select latest, and you'll see a changelog similar to this:

 

 

Edited July 21, 2025 by brothom