diff --git a/services/web/public/coffee/ide/pdfng/directives/pdfRenderer.coffee b/services/web/public/coffee/ide/pdfng/directives/pdfRenderer.coffee
index e0b6da3659..254db63d08 100644
--- a/services/web/public/coffee/ide/pdfng/directives/pdfRenderer.coffee
+++ b/services/web/public/coffee/ide/pdfng/directives/pdfRenderer.coffee
@@ -30,6 +30,10 @@ define [
 			TEXTLAYER_TIMEOUT: 100
 
 			constructor: (@url, @options) ->
+				# set up external character mappings - needed for Japanese etc
+				window.PDFJS.cMapUrl = './bcmaps/'
+				window.PDFJS.cMapPacked = true
+
 				if window.location?.search?.indexOf("disable-font-face=true") >= 0
 					window.PDFJS.disableFontFace = true
 				else