PdfDing is a PDF manager and viewer that you can host yourself. It offers a seamless user experience on multiple devices. It’s designed to be minimal, fast, and easy to set up using Docker. PdfDing is a simple webapp with a clear focus on a single thing: viewing and managing PDFs. The name and the design of PdfDing are inspired by Linkding. In this step by step guide I will show you how to install PdfDing on your Synology NAS using Docker & Portainer.

💡Note: This guide works perfectly with the latest PdfDing v0.4.2 release.

• STEP 1

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• STEP 2

Install Portainer using my step by step guide. If you already have Portainer installed on your Synology NAS, skip this STEP. Attention: Make sure you have installed the latest Portainer version.

• STEP 3

Go to File Station and open the docker folder. Inside the docker folder, create one new folder and name it pdfding. Follow the instructions in the image below.
Note: Be careful to enter only lowercase, not uppercase letters.

• STEP 4

Now create two new folders inside the pdfding folder that you created at STEP 3 and name them data and db. Follow the instructions in the image below.
Note: Be careful to enter only lowercase, not uppercase letters.

• STEP 5

Right click on the pdfding folder that you have previously created at STEP 3 then click Properties. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 6

Go to the Permission tab then click Advanced options. From the drop-down menu choose “Make inherited permissions explicit“. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 7

Select Everyone then click the Edit tab. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 8

Check all Read and Write Permissions. Click Done. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 9

After you click Done on STEP 8, check “Apply to this folder, sub-folders and files“. Click Save. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 10

Log into Portainer using your username and password. On the left sidebar in Portainer, click on Stacks then + Add stack. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 11

In the Name field type in pdfding. Follow the instructions in the image below.

Note: Copy Paste the code below in the Portainer Stacks Web editor.

services:
  pdfding:
    image: mrmn/pdfding:latest
    container_name: PDFDing
    restart: on-failure:5
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "nc -z 127.0.0.1 8000 || exit 1"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 90s
    ports:
      - 2939:8000
    volumes:
      - /volume1/docker/pdfding/db:/home/nonroot/pdfding/db:rw
      - /volume1/docker/pdfding/data:/home/nonroot/pdfding/media:rw
    environment:
      HOST_NAME: "*"
      SECRET_KEY: og6XXQHkgeDBixqufzyhVU6FZtaWWlcb
      ACCOUNT_EMAIL_VERIFICATION: FALSE
      DISABLE_USER_SIGNUP: FALSE #or TRUE
      CSRF_COOKIE_SECURE: FALSE
      SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE: FALSE
      SECURE_SSL_REDIRECT: TRUE

Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for SECRET_KEY. (Generate your own 32 length SECRET_KEY.)

• STEP 12

Scroll down on the page until you see a button named Deploy the stack. Click on it. Follow the instructions in the image below. The installation process can take up to a few minutes. It will depend on your Internet speed connection.

• STEP 13

If everything goes right, you will see the following message at the top right of your screen: “Success Stack successfully deployed“.

• STEP 14

Go back to STEP 1 or you will deal with karma 🙂.

• STEP 15

The installation process can take up to a few seconds/minutes. It will depend on your Internet speed connection. Now open your browser and type in http://Synology-ip-address:2939 Click Signup. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 16

Type in your own email address and password, then click Sign up. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 17

At the top right of the page, click the gear icon, then Settings. You can easily change your theme from Light to Dark. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 18

At the top right of the page, click ADD PDF to add your PDF file. Add the title, description and tags, then click Submit. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 19

Your PDF files at a glance! You can search for your PDF files that you have previously added at STEP 18 by words or tags. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 20

Opening your PDF files with PdfDing is blazing-fast!

Enjoy PdfDing!

🆘TROUBLESHOOTING

If you encounter issues by using this container, make sure to check out the Common Docker issues article.

Note: If you want to run the PdfDing container over HTTPS, check How to Run Docker Containers Over HTTPS. In order to make PdfDing work via HTTPS, it’s mandatory to activate WebSocket.

If you want to disable user registration in PdfDing after registering the first user, just change the following line in the compose at STEP 11:

DISABLE_USER_SIGNUP: FALSE

with the following one:

DISABLE_USER_SIGNUP: TRUE

Click update the stack to update the settings. From this point on, any user that will try to register a new account in PdfDing will be rejected.

Note: Can I run Docker on my Synology NAS? See the supported models.
Note: How to Back Up Docker Containers on your Synology NAS.
Note: Find out how to update the PdfDing container with the latest image.
Note: How to Free Disk Space on Your NAS if You Run Docker.
Note: How to Schedule Start & Stop For Docker Containers.
Note: How to Activate Email Notifications.
Note: How to Add Access Control Profile on Your NAS.
Note: How to Change Docker Containers Restart Policy.
Note: How to Use Docker Containers With VPN.
Note: Convert Docker Run Into Docker Compose.
Note: How to Clean Docker.
Note: How to Clean Docker Automatically.
Note: Best Practices When Using Docker and DDNS.
Note: Some Docker Containers Need WebSocket.
Note: Find out the Best NAS Models For Docker.
Note: Activate Gmail SMTP For Docker Containers.

This post was updated on Monday / November 11th, 2024 at 2:52 PM