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Preview Office documents

Word and PowerPoint files open in the side panel as a PDF in a read-only preview. Oda converts the file on the computer running DataMind Oda first, and your original file stays as it is. Excel workbooks open in their own viewer instead (Preview spreadsheets).

This page covers the conversion behind that preview: the formats it accepts, how it queues, its limits and its messages. For the preview pane and its controls, see Preview files in the side panel; for reading the converted document, zoom and the missing-fonts warning, see Preview PDFs and Office files.

Open an Office file in the preview

Find the file's card in the chat. Files Oda made or handed over appear as cards at the end of its answer (Delivered files).
Choose Preview in sidebar.
Oda converts the file, and the converted document opens as a read-only tab in the side panel. While the conversion runs, the tab shows the usual loading indicator.

Clicking the file in the Workspace files tab, or a file reference in a message, opens the same preview. Files built from your company's data arrive the same way (Company data, documents and reports).

What the conversion accepts

The side panel converts Word and PowerPoint files: .doc, .docx, .ppt and .pptx. The extension is matched regardless of case, so a file named Report.DOCX converts too.
The conversion checks your access to the file first, so a file your account cannot read in DataMind Oda cannot be previewed.

How a conversion works

The preview checks the file's extension and your access to it.
The request joins the conversion queue.
The converter turns the file into a PDF in a private temporary folder, and removes that folder when it finishes, so no working files stay behind.
The PDF opens in the side panel, and the finished copy is kept for reuse while it stays available.

The conversion never changes the source file, and the converted copy is never saved as a document in your workspace.
The preview is for you: opening one adds nothing to the chat, and nothing appears in Review changed files.
The same content converts once. Opening the same document again, opening two copies of the same content, or two tabs opening the same file at once, reuses one finished conversion.

Note

Oda converts Office files with its own document engine. It does not use an office suite already installed on your computer. On some computers the engine is included with the app, and on others it is prepared on first use.

Limits and queueing

Two conversions run at a time by default, and one more can be prepared in the background. Further requests wait their turn, and when the queue can take no more the preview reports that it is busy; try again shortly.
A conversion has 60 seconds to finish by default. Waiting for its turn in the queue does not count towards that limit, so a busy queue can delay a preview without failing it.
By default, a source file can be up to 50 MiB and the converted PDF up to 100 MiB. A source over the limit is refused without conversion, and a converted PDF over the limit is not shown or kept.
Very high-resolution images are capped during conversion.
Finished conversions are kept for reuse: about 8 converted PDFs and 128 MiB in total. The oldest are dropped first, so an older document may be converted again, and failures and oversized results are never kept.

When a conversion cannot finish

A conversion that cannot run or finish replaces the preview with an explanation and a Retry control. Your file is never changed.

Message	What causes it	What to do
`Office preview is busy. Try again shortly.`	Too many conversions are running or waiting.	Try again shortly.
`The Office file or converted PDF exceeds the preview size limit. Reduce the file size or adjust the preview configuration.`	The source file, or the PDF made from it, is over the size limit.	Reduce the file and open it again.
`This Office file cannot be previewed. It may be damaged, password protected, or have the wrong extension.`	The file cannot be read as an Office document, or its extension is not an Office one.	Check it in its usual app.
`Office conversion did not produce a usable PDF. Check the file and try again.`	The conversion finished without a readable result, or stopped for another reason.	Try again; if it repeats, check the file in its usual app.
`Office conversion timed out. Try again.`	The conversion ran longer than its time limit.	Try again.
`Office previews are unavailable. Enable the document preview service on the computer running DataMind Oda.`	The document engine is not installed or could not start on this computer, or the preview service cannot be reached.	The preview cannot run on that computer until the engine is ready.
`The file changed while being read. Reopen the preview.`	The file was no longer the version Oda checked when it came to read it, so nothing was converted.	Open a fresh preview; it converts the version that is there now.

Any other failure shows Read failed: {message}, with the detail after the colon. To open the original in Word or PowerPoint instead, use Open or More ways to open (Open files and folders in other apps).

Questions, answered

Which Office files can I preview?

Word .doc and .docx, and PowerPoint .ppt and .pptx, matched regardless of case. Excel workbooks open in the spreadsheet viewer instead (Preview spreadsheets).

Does previewing change my file?

No. The conversion reads your file and makes a separate PDF for reading in a private temporary folder. The original is never changed, the converted copy is not saved as a document, and opening a preview adds nothing to the chat.

Does Oda use the Office apps installed on this computer?

No. Oda converts Office files with its own document engine; it does not use an office suite already installed on your computer. On some computers the engine is included with the app, and on others it is prepared on first use.

Why is a document slow to open when several previews run at once?

Conversions queue, and two run at a time by default. Waiting for a turn does not count towards a conversion's 60-second limit, so a busy queue can delay a preview. If too much is already waiting, the preview says Office preview is busy. Try again shortly.

How large can a file be?

By default, up to 50 MiB for the source file and up to 100 MiB for the converted PDF. A source over the limit is refused without conversion, and a converted PDF that would go over the limit is not shown or kept.

Is a document converted again every time I open it?

No. The same content converts once and is shared: while a finished conversion is still kept, opening the same document again reuses it. Kept copies are limited to about 8 PDFs and 128 MiB, so when room runs out the oldest are dropped and a later preview converts that document again.

The preview said the file changed. What do I do?

Open a fresh preview. The file changed while being read. Reopen the preview. means the file changed between the moment Oda checked it and the moment it read it, so nothing was converted. The new preview converts the version that is there now.

Why does it say Office previews are unavailable?

The document engine that performs conversions is not installed or could not start on the computer running DataMind Oda, so the preview cannot run there until the engine is ready. Meanwhile, open the file in its usual app.

What should I do when a conversion fails or times out?

Use Retry. Retrying helps when the preview was busy or the conversion timed out. If Office conversion did not produce a usable PDF. Check the file and try again. keeps coming back, open the file in its usual app to check it.

Can I open the original document in Word or PowerPoint?

Yes. Open starts the original in the app your computer uses for that type of file, and More ways to open offers another app. Open files and folders in other apps covers the choices.