Plugin: Export

Print, download, and saveAsCopy — every PDF output path.

The Export plugin handles every “get the PDF out of the viewer” operation: print to the browser’s print dialog, download the original (or a re-encoded copy), and saveAsCopy() which returns an ArrayBuffer with current annotations baked in.

Enabling flag

Both the Export and Print plugins are always registered — useExportCapability / usePrint and saveAsCopy() are always available. The flags only gate the toolbar buttons:

• features.download — shows the Download toolbar button
• features.print — shows the Print toolbar button

What it does

• Toolbar buttons: Print, Download
• saveAsCopy() programmatic method that returns a baked PDF buffer
• Optional downloadUrl prop on DocumentViewer — if set, the Download button serves that URL instead of the live source (useful for re-encoded archival copies)

Download behaviour

The Download button is always visible when features.download is on, for every document type (PDF, image, text, markdown). What it actually downloads depends on whether downloadUrl is set and the document type, resolved in this order:

1. With downloadUrl (any document type)

downloadUrl takes precedence over everything else. The button downloads that URL verbatim, so it’s the way to serve a backend-generated artifact (signed CDN link, flattened/watermarked PDF, etc.) instead of what’s on screen.

<DocumentViewer
  :source="previewUrl"
  download-url="https://files.example.com/invoice-2026.pdf?signature=…"
/>

This works identically for non-PDF documents — point downloadUrl at the canonical file:

<DocumentViewer :source="imageBlob" mime-type="image/png" download-url="/api/assets/diagram.png" />

2. PDF without downloadUrl (Export plugin)

With no downloadUrl, PDFs go through the EmbedPDF Export plugin. The downloaded file is a re-encoded copy with the current annotations baked in — not necessarily a byte-for-byte copy of the original.

<!-- Download button downloads the live PDF (annotations included) via the Export plugin -->
<DocumentViewer :source="pdfUrl" :features="{ download: true }" />

If you need the pristine original instead of a re-encoded copy, set downloadUrl to the source URL.

3. Non-PDF without downloadUrl (download from source)

Image / text / markdown documents have no Export plugin, so the button builds the download directly from the source prop:

• String URL source — fetched into a Blob first, then downloaded from a same-origin object URL. This is required because browsers ignore the download attribute on a cross-origin link (it would navigate/open instead of downloading). On a CORS or network failure it falls back to a best-effort download of the raw URL.
• File / Blob / ArrayBuffer source — wrapped in an object URL directly.

The filename is derived automatically: a File’s own name, else the URL’s last path segment when it has an extension, else image.<ext> / document.<ext> from the resolved MIME type.

<!-- Remote markdown: fetched → Blob → downloaded as document.md -->
<DocumentViewer :source="'https://example.com/notes.md'" mime-type="text/markdown" />

<!-- Local File: downloads using the File's own name -->
<DocumentViewer :source="userUploadedFile" />

Cross-origin note. For a remote non-PDF source to download (rather than open in a new tab), the host must allow the cross-origin fetch. If CORS blocks it, the viewer falls back to the raw URL and the browser may navigate to it instead of downloading. Set downloadUrl to a same-origin endpoint to avoid this.

Composables

• useExportCapability() from @embedpdf/plugin-export/vue
• usePrint(documentId) from @embedpdf/plugin-print/vue

Both are wired into the toolbar internally.

saveAsCopy(options?)

interface SaveAsCopyOptions {
  includeAnnotations?: boolean // include current annotations in the saved copy (default true)
  flatten?: boolean // flatten editable annotations into fixed page content
}

const buffer = await viewer.value?.saveAsCopy()
const blob = new Blob([buffer], { type: 'application/pdf' })

Events

None surfaced externally.

Dependencies

• document-manager

Configuration

No featureConfig.

When you’d touch it directly

To wire your own “save to backend” button:

import { useExportCapability } from '@embedpdf/plugin-export/vue'

async function saveToBackend() {
  const buffer = await viewer.value?.saveAsCopy()
  await fetch('/api/docs', { method: 'POST', body: buffer })
}

See also

• Use case: save-as-copy burn-in
• Programmatic API → saveAsCopy