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docs: initial setup for pdf block#1386

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Kelketek wants to merge 1 commit intoopenedx:mainfrom
open-craft:fox/pdf-block
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docs: initial setup for pdf block#1386
Kelketek wants to merge 1 commit intoopenedx:mainfrom
open-craft:fox/pdf-block

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@Kelketek Kelketek commented Feb 6, 2026

Description

This merge request documents the PDF Block. It documents the block's current functionality as initially contributed, and follow-up PRs will be added as other elements of the PDF Proposal are completed, to keep the documentation up to date.

Supporting information

PDF Block Proposal

Dependencies

The merge request for adding the PDF block to XBlocks-Contrib should be merged before merging this PR.
Once that PR is merged, one more PR is expected for updating the version of xblocks-contrib in edx-platform. This has not yet been created.

Deadline

This documentation must be merged before Verawood, which is when the PDF block will be standardized.

@openedx-webhooks openedx-webhooks added the open-source-contribution PR author is not from Axim or 2U label Feb 6, 2026
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Thanks for the pull request, @Kelketek!

This repository is currently maintained by @openedx/wg-maintenance-docs.openedx.org.

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@Kelketek
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Kelketek commented Feb 6, 2026

@samuelallan72 This is ready for you.

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Thanks @Kelketek ! In general things look pretty good. I left some requests though. :)

+--------------+-------------------------------+----------------+--------------------------------+
| Review Date | Working Group Reviewer | Release |Test situation |
+--------------+-------------------------------+----------------+--------------------------------+
| | | | |
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@Kelketek please add your information here to confirm they work - see #1376 (comment) for context.

##########################

Before you can add an embedded PDF to your course, you must enable the pdf embed
tool in Studio or OLX (open learning XML).
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Suggested change
tool in Studio or OLX (open learning XML).
tool in Studio.

It's confusing to me, mentioning to enable it in the OLX, when there is no example of enabling it in the OLX.

Before you can add an embedded PDF to your course, you must enable the pdf embed
tool in Studio or OLX (open learning XML).

To enable the pdf embed tool in Studio, you add the ``"pdf"`` key to the
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Suggested change
To enable the pdf embed tool in Studio, you add the ``"pdf"`` key to the
To enable the pdf embed tool in Studio, add the ``"pdf"`` key to the


.. tags:: educator, how-to

#. On the Course Outline page, open the unit where you want to add the PDF.
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Since the PDF block will be disabled by default, I think this needs a pre-requisite step of "ensure the pdf tool is enabled in the course".

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I feel like this would be a more useful screenshot if it included some of the Studio UI (eg. with the edit button, etc.). That might provide some more context, especially for where it's used to demonstrate what it should look like once you've selected the pdf component to add in studio.

Comment on lines +25 to +27
If you do not have an existing URL for your PDF, you may upload the PDF by
:ref:`adding it as a handout<Add Course Updates and Handouts>` and copy the
URL of the resulting handout.
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Do you mean adding a course file ( https://docs.openedx.org/en/latest/educators/how-tos/course_development/manage_course_files.html#add-course-files ) instead?

I don't think a course handout is relevant here.

PDF display is handled by the browser's built-in PDF viewer. The option to hide the download button will not hide the browser's built-in download button if it provides one. A determined learner will always be able to download a PDF.


#. In the **Source document URL** field, optionally add the URL to the source
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This list numbering is restarted due to the note block above. Perhaps the note block can be indented to not break the list flow?

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