Viewing and Previewing Documents
The preview allows users to inspect file content without downloading it. Depending on the document type, preview can include PDF pages, images, annotations, OCR text, and attachments.
If preview is unavailable, check whether the file format is supported and whether the conversion service has processed the document.
Preview Area
The preview area is used to inspect the file directly in the browser. For PDF documents, users can usually scroll through pages, zoom, search inside the document if text is available, and sometimes work with annotations.
The exact preview features depend on file type, browser, module, and installed conversion services.
Supported Content
Typical previewable content includes:
- PDF files,
- image files,
- converted Office documents,
- scanned documents after PDF conversion,
- e-mail attachments,
- OCR text where available.
Some formats may only be downloadable, not previewable.
OCR Text
OCR converts scanned images into searchable text. OCR improves search, metadata extraction, invoice analysis, and classification.
OCR can take time. If a scanned document is visible but not searchable yet, the OCR job may still be running.
Annotations
Some installations allow annotations, marks, or comments directly on the preview. Annotations are useful for review, correction, and approval workflows.
Annotations should support the business process, but they should not replace structured metadata when data is needed for search, reporting, or export.
Preview Problems
| Symptom | Possible cause |
|---|---|
| Preview is empty | Conversion not finished, unsupported file type, damaged file, or permission issue. |
| PDF opens but text search does not work | OCR text is missing or the PDF contains only images. |
| Wrong document is shown | Browser cache, stale relation, or incorrect file version. |
| Preview is slow | Large file, many pages, conversion delay, network latency, or browser performance. |
| Download works but preview does not | Preview/conversion service issue rather than storage issue. |
When to Contact Support
Contact support when:
- the same file previews for one user but not another,
- preview fails for all files of a type,
- a document remains without preview after processing should be complete,
- annotations are not saved,
- the shown preview does not match the document metadata.