parallax/jsPDF · error · Error

The option pdfobjectnewwindow just works in a browser-enviro

Error message

The option pdfobjectnewwindow just works in a browser-environment.

What it means

Thrown by jsPDF.output('pdfobjectnewwindow') when the runtime is not a browser. The case checks `Object.prototype.toString.call(globalObject) === '[object Window]'`; in Node.js or any non-window host globalObject is not a Window, so embedding via PDFObject in a new window is impossible and the call aborts.

Source

Thrown at src/jspdf.js:3169

            var scope = this;

            pdfObjectScript.src = pdfObjectUrl;

            if (useDefaultPdfObjectUrl) {
              pdfObjectScript.integrity =
                "sha512-4ze/a9/4jqu+tX9dfOqJYSvyYd5M6qum/3HpCLr+/Jqf0whc37VUbkpNGHR7/8pSnCFw47T1fmIpwBV7UySh3g==";
              pdfObjectScript.crossOrigin = "anonymous";
            }

            pdfObjectScript.onload = function() {
              nW.PDFObject.embed(scope.output("dataurlstring"), options);
            };

            initializedPdfObjectWindow.body.appendChild(pdfObjectScript);
          }
          return nW;
        } else {
          throw new Error(
            "The option pdfobjectnewwindow just works in a browser-environment."
          );
        }
      case "pdfjsnewwindow":
        if (
          Object.prototype.toString.call(globalObject) === "[object Window]"
        ) {
          var pdfJsUrl = options.pdfJsUrl || "examples/PDF.js/web/viewer.html";
          var PDFjsNewWindow = globalObject.open();

          if (PDFjsNewWindow !== null) {
            var initializedPdfJsWindow = initializeNewWindow(PDFjsNewWindow);
            var pdfViewer = initializedPdfJsWindow.document.createElement(
              "iframe"
            );
            var pdfJsQueryChar = pdfJsUrl.indexOf("?") === -1 ? "?" : "&";
            var scope = this;

View on GitHub (pinned to a3930ce03a)

Solutions

1. In Node, use a Node-safe target: `doc.output('arraybuffer')`, `doc.output('blob')` (with a polyfill), or `doc.output('datauristring')` and write it yourself.
2. Gate the call on environment: only invoke 'pdfobjectnewwindow' when `typeof window !== 'undefined'`.
3. If you need the viewer in Node, render the PDF to a buffer and serve it via an HTTP response instead of opening a window.

Example fix

// before
doc.output('pdfobjectnewwindow'); // in Node
// after
if (typeof window !== 'undefined') {
  doc.output('pdfobjectnewwindow');
} else {
  require('fs').writeFileSync('out.pdf', doc.output('arraybuffer'));
}

const isBrowser = typeof window !== 'undefined' && Object.prototype.toString.call(window) === '[object Window]';
if (isBrowser) {
  doc.output('pdfobjectnewwindow', options);
} else {
  require('fs').writeFileSync('out.pdf', Buffer.from(doc.output('arraybuffer')));
}

function isBrowserWindow(g) { return Object.prototype.toString.call(g) === '[object Window]'; }

try { doc.output('pdfobjectnewwindow', options); }
catch (e) { /* fallback: write to file or return data URL */
  console.warn('pdfobjectnewwindow unavailable; falling back to arraybuffer');
  return doc.output('arraybuffer');
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling `doc.output('pdfobjectnewwindow', options)` in Node.js, a web worker, jsdom without a window, or during SSR. The pdfobjectnewwindow target requires a real browser window object to call window.open and inject the PDFObject script.

Common situations: Server-side rendering pipelines that reuse the same jsPDF call path as the browser; running PDF generation in an Electron main process or a Node script; test runners (jest/mocha) executing in Node.

Related errors

• The option dataurlnewwindow just works in a browser-environm
• The option pdfjsnewwindow just works in a browser-environmen
• Error in function {function_name}: {message}
• Trying to read a file from local file system. To enable this
• Cannot read file '${url}'. Permission denied.

AI-assisted analysis of parallax/jsPDF@a3930ce03a (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/895816250d51404f. Report an issue: GitHub.