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PDFs open in the preview as a continuous page view you can read, select and zoom. Word and PowerPoint files open there too: Oda converts them to PDF on your computer first, so they read the same way.
This page covers PDFs and Word and PowerPoint files. Opening a preview, the shared controls and the shared failure states are covered in Preview files in the side panel; the conversion behind Office previews is covered in Preview Office documents, and spreadsheets have their own viewer (Preview spreadsheets). To have Oda read a PDF for you and answer from it, see Reading PDFs.
Rendering page….PDFs share the floating zoom control at the bottom edge of the pane with images; Preview files in the side panel covers the control and its gestures.
., ., . and . files to PDF on your computer and shows the result in the same viewer, so reading, selection and zoom work as for a PDF. While the conversion runs, the tab shows the usual loading indicator.The conversion happens on your computer when you open the file. The converted copy is for reading only, and the preview never edits your original file.
To open the original in Word or PowerPoint, use Open or More ways to open (Open files and folders in other apps).
A converted document can use fonts that are not available on this computer. When that happens, a yellow warning triangle appears in the preview's header, before Read the file again. It never opens by itself.
Missing fonts: {count}.).Fonts: {count} line, and says: These fonts are unavailable for this preview.. and .) report no missing-font information, so the warning does not appear for them.A failed PDF shows the message where the pages would be, with a Retry control.
| Message | What it means and what to do |
|---|---|
This PDF requires a password; password-protected previews are not supported. | Password-protected files cannot be shown, and retrying does not help. Ask for a copy without a password, or open the file in its usual application. |
The PDF rendering process could not continue. | The rendering process stopped on this document. Use Retry; rendering runs in the background, so the tab stays open while the document is prepared again. |
Cannot display PDF: {message} | The text after the colon says why the file could not be displayed. Use Retry; if it keeps failing, check the file in its usual application. |
PDF preview requires the complete file contents. | The preview did not receive the whole file, so it shows nothing rather than part of the document. Open the preview again. |
A Word or PowerPoint preview that cannot run or finish shows one of these messages, with a Retry control:
| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
Office previews are unavailable. | Previews cannot run on this computer right now. |
This Office file cannot be previewed. | The file could not be read as a Word or PowerPoint document. |
The Office file or converted PDF exceeds the preview size limit. | The file, or the PDF made from it, is bigger than the preview can hold. |
Office conversion did not produce a usable PDF. | The conversion finished without a readable result. |
Office conversion timed out. | The conversion ran too long and stopped. |
Office preview is busy. | Too much is already converting. |
The file changed while being read. | The file changed while the preview was preparing it, so the result was discarded. |
Retrying helps when the preview was busy or a conversion timed out. A file that cannot be read needs checking in its usual application, and a file that changed while being read is read again when you reopen the preview.
Oda converts Word and PowerPoint files to PDF on your computer so they can be read in the same viewer as PDFs. The converted copy is for viewing only, and the preview never edits your original file.
Yes, when the PDF carries a text layer: select and copy as usual, and the selection follows the page. A PDF that is only an image, such as a scan, has no text layer, so nothing in it can be selected.
The preview prepares pages as you approach them rather than all at once. The first page appears straight away and later pages fill in as you reach them, so a long document opens quickly.
Zooming enlarges the page as it was prepared; it does not prepare the page again at a higher resolution, so very high zoom can make text look soft. Very large pages are prepared within a size cap.
Yes. While the tab is open, the page you were on and your zoom stay with it, even if you switch to another tab and come back. Closing the tab forgets them.
The converted document uses fonts that are not available on this computer, so the text and layout may differ from the original. Hover over the warning, or focus it, to see the count; click it for the list of missing font names. It stays while the fonts are missing.
No. Opening one shows This PDF requires a password; password-protected previews are not supported. Ask for a copy without a password, or open the file in its usual application.
The rendering process stopped on this document, so the pages are not shown. Use Retry; the document is prepared again, and the tab stays open while that happens.
The message says why: Cannot display PDF: {message}, where the text after the colon gives the reason. If it says PDF preview requires the complete file contents., the preview did not receive the whole file; open the preview again.
If the file is damaged, password protected, or does not match its extension, the preview says This Office file cannot be previewed. Open the file in its usual app to check it, and try again.
Only in a small temporary cache while you work: up to 8 documents and 64 MiB, with the least recently used dropped first. Converted PDFs are never saved as documents, and failed or oversized conversions are not kept.