pdf2preview is a free online tool to generate PDF preview image for academic PDFs. Tough, it works on any kind of PDF, but it is primarily meant for publications. It can generate 3 type of preview images in very high quality PNG format that you can use anywhere. On top of that, it is a completely open source tool too. You can run it locally as well and generate PDF previews on the go.
PDF files don’t have default previews. In order to show you an abstract view of the PDF either in Windows or on webpages, you need to generate a cover image for it. For that, you usually need Illustrator or some other kind of PSD suites. But with pdf2preview, you will not have to do it as it can generate a preview for you in just one click.
For now, you can generate 3 types of PDF image previews and they are; stack, cover, and unroll. In cover mode, it will take the first page of the PDF and will convert it to the preview image. In the stack mode, it will also use the first page for preview but will add stack effect on it. The unroll mode of the tool will generate preview image using all the images in scatter view.
Free Online PDF Preview Image Generator for Academic PDFs
As I mentioned already that it is an open source, so you can run it locally by cloning its GitHub URL. Or, you can use the online version of this tool, hosted here. When you access its main homepage, then it looks like this.
Select the type of preview image you want to generate. Next, upload a PDF file and you can upload any PDF that you want. The size limit is 200 MB and you just have to drag drop it. It will take some time and when it is done, it will show you the generated preview image that you can download. The image is in high resolution and you are free to use it wherever you want.
In this way, you can use this simple and powerful PDF preview image generator. Use it to quickly generate PDF previews and then download them. You can use those images on your website or simply on Windows.
Final thoughts:
If you are a PhD scholar and often rely on heavy editing tools for generating a PDF preview image, then you can now stop doing that. Just use the simple online tool I have mentioned here and generate stack, unroll, or cover image for PDF in a click. The best part is that you can self-host it.
