Files open in the side panel next to your chat, as read-only preview tabs. Use the preview to read code and text, check a document, spreadsheet or PDF, or look at a picture, without leaving the chat and without changing the file.
Open a preview
Open the file: use Preview in sidebar on a file card, or click a file in the side panel.
The file opens as its own tab in the side panel. The tab is titled with the file's name and carries its type icon.
A tab belongs to one file, not to a name. Two files with the same name in different folders are two tabs, and the same file open in two chats has a tab in each.
Read the preview header
The header above the file shows where you are:
The file's full path. Folders along the path are dimmed, and hovering over it shows the full value.
The file's status.
A viewer dropdown, when more than one viewer can show the file. A file with a single viewer shows no dropdown.
A wrap toggle, when the viewer supports wrapping long lines.
Reload, which reads that tab again and keeps your scroll position.
Read code, text and Markdown
Code opens with highlighting for common languages, and with line numbers along the side. The numbers are for reading only.
Copy copies the clean text, without the line numbers; the control reads Copied after you use it.
Text keeps arriving as you read: keep scrolling, or use Load more, to bring in the next part of a long file. Wrap brings long lines into the pane.
Text reads page in order, so a very deep line in a long file needs the earlier pages to load first.
A Markdown file opens as rendered text. Its images load through the chat's file access; an image stored beside the file waits until the file's full path is known, and an image that cannot load shows its alt text in place.
When a chat step opens a file at a particular line, the file lands in the text or code view.
A binary type with no viewer, such as a video, an audio file, an archive or a program, shows its type icon and an explanation instead.
When a file cannot be shown
While content arrives, the pane shows a single loading indicator; pages already loaded stay visible while the rest arrives.
A file that cannot be shown says why: an unsupported format, a file that is not text, or a file that is too large. Where trying again can help, the preview offers retry.
If a failure comes after some content has loaded, the loaded content stays and retry appears below it.
A file over the preview's size limit is refused instead of shortened, so you never see part of a file that looks whole.
A folder, or a file that is no longer there, gets an explanation only.
Reload in the header tries the file again.
Read-only and up to date
A preview never edits a file.
The preview follows the file while you read: when the file changes, a notice appears, and the preview refreshes when it can. Reload reads the file again on demand.
Note
What you read in a preview never enters model requests.
Questions, answered
Which files can I preview?
Text and code files, Markdown, HTML, images, PDFs, Word and PowerPoint documents, and spreadsheets. A binary type with no viewer, such as a video, an audio file, an archive or a program, shows its type icon and an explanation instead. Each viewer has its own page: Preview spreadsheets, Preview PDFs and Office files and Preview images and HTML.
Why do two files with the same name have their own tabs?
Because a tab belongs to one file, not to its name: two files that share a name, or the same file open in two chats, never share a tab.
How do I refresh a preview after the file changes?
The preview follows the file on its own: when the file changes, a notice appears, and the preview refreshes when it can. To read the file again right away, use Reload in the header; it affects only this tab, and it keeps your scroll position.
Can I change a file from the preview?
No. The preview shows a file; it never edits it. Open the file in its usual application to change it.
Does Oda see what I read in the preview?
No. What you read in a preview never enters model requests. The preview is for you.
Why can't my large file be previewed?
A complete-file read over the preview's size limit is refused instead of shortened, so you never see part of a file that looks whole. Open the file in its usual application instead.
How do I read past the end of the loaded text?
Keep scrolling, or use Load more: the text viewer brings in the next part of the file in order. Because the pages arrive in order, a very deep line needs the earlier pages to load first.
Do copied lines include the line numbers?
No. The line numbers are for reading only. Copy copies the code or text without them.
Why is an image in my Markdown file missing?
A Markdown file's images load through the chat's file access. An image stored beside the file waits until the file's full path is known, and an image that cannot load shows its alt text in place.
Why can't I open a folder in the preview?
The preview shows files. A folder gets an explanation instead of a viewer, and so does a file that is no longer there.
How do I switch to a different viewer?
Use the viewer dropdown in the header. It appears when more than one viewer fits the file, and Plain text is offered only for text-compatible files, so you can read a file's source when its format allows it.