Preview, find, sort, and inspect files
Change the file view, find items by name, preview supported files, and read file details.
Use an account's Files area when you know where an item lives. Use its search, Recent, or Starred view when you need another way to find it. Team members can use All Files to search across accounts.
How do you switch between table and gallery view?
Open a regular file location and use the view control in the header. Table fits more names and details on screen. Gallery makes image thumbnails easier to scan.
Changing the view does not change a file or its access.
How do you sort files?
Open the sort control and choose:
- Sort by Name, from A to Z or Z to A.
- Sort by Upload Date, with newest or oldest first.
- Custom Order (Drag and Drop), when you want the team to arrange items by hand.
Sorting is not available in Recent or Starred. Clients see the saved order but do not control folder sorting.
How do you find a file?
Search for a file or folder by its name. Search checks the original file name and a saved custom name. It does not search words inside a document, read an image, or use OCR.
Use Recent for recently uploaded files. Use Starred for items you marked as important. A search result still follows the same access rules as its folder.
Recent and Starred in an account are shortcuts to that account's files. They do not replace the file's folder. Team members can open Files → All Files for a cross-account list with more filters and sort choices.
Which files can you preview?
Open a file to use the viewer. Images, PDFs, videos, and audio can preview inline. Another type may show No preview available and a download action.
Plain text (.txt) and Markdown (.md) files open as text you can select and copy. Text previews support UTF-8 files up to 1 MB. Download a larger file or one saved in another text format to read it in a text editor.
Markdown starts in Formatted view, with headings, lists, tables, and code. Choose Source to read the Markdown itself. On desktop, the choice is in the viewer toolbar; on mobile, it's above the text. Opening the file again starts in Formatted view. Images linked inside Markdown appear as descriptions.
The viewer opens the current version first. Use the version panel if you need an older version.
How do you move through the file viewer?
Use the previous and next controls to move through files in the current list. On a keyboard, the Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys move between files when focus is not inside a text field or menu.
For an image, use Zoom out, the zoom percentage, and Zoom in. Select the zoom percentage to reset the image to its fitted size.
The desktop viewer can keep Versions open on the left while one panel opens on the right. The right panel can show Comments, Details, History, or team-only File settings. On a smaller screen, use the mobile toolbar to switch among available actions and panels.
Browser Back closes a viewer opened from a list and returns to the list. Use the folder path in the viewer header to open a parent folder or the account's main Files area. The account root is labeled with the account name. A copied file link can reopen the file when the recipient has access.
Team members with edit access can select the file name or choose Rename file from the viewer menu. Rename and organize files.
Set how a file opens for clients
Team members with access to manage the file can save its opening view. Clients use that view in your branded portal.
This walkthrough shows how to set a workspace background, then choose a different background for a file that needs it.
- Open the file and choose File settings from its menu. On mobile, use the More menu.
- Under Opening view, choose a Preview background, or keep Inherit to use the company default.
- For an image, choose Image preview: Inherit, Optimized, or Original.
- Choose Starting zoom: Fit image, Fit width, or Custom zoom.
- With Fit width or Custom zoom, choose a Starting position: Top, Center, or Bottom.
- Select Save changes.
Custom zoom runs from 100% to 1200%, measured from the size that fits the whole image. Fit image centers the whole image. A text or PDF file has a background choice, while the image controls appear for images.
You can see draft changes in the preview. Cancel returns to the view you started with. A failed save keeps your draft open so you can try again.
Viewers can adjust their view while browsing. The saved opening view returns when they reopen the file. Owners and admins can also set company-wide file display defaults.
Where do you find file information?
Open the file viewer and the Details panel. Depending on the file, you may see:
- Uploaded by
- Date uploaded
- Dimensions for an image
- Original name
- Client access
- Technical details for an image when they are available
Some fields do not apply to every file. Missing technical details do not mean the file is broken.
What does your client see?
A client can search, open, and download only items they are allowed to see. A hidden file or folder does not appear in their search results.
How do you fix a common problem?
Search finds nothing: search by part of the file or folder name. Then open the expected folder and clear filters. Search does not read the file's contents.
There is no preview: download the file and open it in the app that supports its type.
The wrong version opens: open the version panel and check which version is marked Current.