How to preview a word document or PDF using asp.net?

I have a list bo开发者_如何学Gox that contains a collection of documents that a user has uploaded. I would like to make some sort of preview window on the page that allows the user to see the document without having to download it and open up word or reader. Can this be done?

One word answer: yep

Many words answer: for the PDF viewer, you'll basically need to use a PDF library (ABCPdf, etc) that allows you to generate an image from a PDF on the fly that you send down to the client. For word, there could be similar functionality in VSTO.

Another solution is to use Scribd API to handle all the dirt work for you. That way your users can view their docs in the nice Scribd doc viewer.