Preview workspace files

Files open beside your chat in the side panel as read-only preview tabs. Use a 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

1. Open the file: choose Preview in sidebar on a file card in the chat, or open the side panel and choose the file in its Workspace files tab.
2. The file opens as its own tab in the side panel, titled with the file's name.

• Several files can be open at once: each tab has a close button, and an add button opens more files.
• Right-click a tab for its menu; Escape closes it.
• The list shows each entry as a file, a folder or another kind, in name order. A folder with more than 2,000 entries stops at 2,000 and says the list is cut.
• The panel itself, its tabs and its sizes are covered in the side panel.

Which viewer opens your file

Each file type opens in the viewer made for it. The viewers have their own pages: Preview PDFs and Office files, Preview images and HTML and Preview spreadsheets.

Controls while you read

• Where more than one viewer fits the same file, the tab offers a viewer control: a .csv or .tsv file opens as a spreadsheet and can also be read as Plain text.
• In a Word or PowerPoint document, Read the file again re-reads and refreshes the pages in the same tab.
• PDFs: Choose zoom offers 100%, 150% and Fit width; selected text copies cleanly, aligned with the page.
• Spreadsheets: select and copy cells, switch worksheets from the sheet tabs, and read values from a read-only formula bar. Results show as saved, and nothing is recalculated.
• A Word or PowerPoint document that uses fonts your computer does not have shows a Missing fonts warning beside Read the file again; open the warning for the list of font names. Escape returns focus, and closing keeps the warning and your place in the document.

Read-only and reading limits

• A preview never changes a file. To edit one, open it in its usual application.
• Text is read in pages of up to 5,000 lines; the page that holds a file's last line marks the end of the file.
• Binary content is read in pages of up to 2 MiB.
• A page over its limit is refused rather than shortened, and a complete file larger than 32 MiB is not read whole. You never see part of a file that looks whole; open very large files in their usual application.

Reading beyond the workspace folder

• Reads use the rights of your computer account, so a file outside the workspace folder opens when a link or a step points to it.
• Listing folders and watching for changes stay inside the workspace folder.
• A shortcut (symbolic link) is never read, even when it points back into the folder. In the list, a link shows the kind of thing it points to, but the link itself does not open.
• The folder and the modes that fence what Oda may change are covered in Workspaces, files and permissions and Manage workspaces and chats.

When a file cannot be shown

A file that cannot be shown says why, and you never see the wrong file's content. A missing file, a chat the app cannot find, or a link that cannot be read produces an error rather than different content:

• no entry at "<path>": the file is not there; it may have been moved or deleted.
• "<path>" is a <type>: the path names a folder or something other than a regular file; the message names the kind.
• "<path>" is outside the workspace: folder listing stays inside the workspace folder.
• "<path>" contains NUL bytes: the file cannot be read as text.
• "<path>" is not UTF-8 text: the file is not text.
• "<path>" exceeds the <n> byte full-file cap: the file is too large to read whole; open it in its usual application.

For documents, the preview names the problem in place:

• Read failed: Office previews are unavailable. Enable the document preview service on the computer running DataMind Oda.: the document preview service is off on this computer.
• Read failed: This Office file cannot be previewed. It may be damaged, password protected, or have the wrong extension.
• This spreadsheet could not be opened. Check its format, contents, or password protection.

A file type with no viewer at all shows Preview is not available for this file type yet. and offers the open and reveal controls: Open opens the file in its default application, More ways to open lists other applications, and Show file location reveals the file in the file manager. These controls are described in Open files and folders in other apps.

Keeping the preview current

• The preview follows the file while you read: when the file changes, the preview refreshes, and every open view of the same file shares one watch.
• When the file disappears, the preview shows that it is gone; if that watching is lost, the preview reports an error instead of keeping stale text.
• A file that was moved or replaced always surfaces as an error, never as different content.
• The app shows the folder's repository state as the checked-out branch, a detached commit, or nothing when the folder is not in a repository or its state cannot be named. Oda reads the folder's git metadata directly; it does not run git commands.

Questions, answered

Can I change a file from the preview?

No. A preview is read-only: it shows the file and never edits it. Open the file in its usual application to change it.

Why can't my large file be previewed?

Oda reads files in pages and refuses a page over its limit rather than shortening it, and a complete file larger than 32 MiB is not read whole, so you never see part of a file that looks whole. Open very large files in their usual application.

What does Preview is not available for this file type yet. mean?

The file's type has no viewer, so the preview cannot show it. Use the open and reveal controls to open the file in its usual application, or choose Show file location to find it on your computer.

Why does my Word document say the preview service is unavailable?

The document preview service is off on the computer running DataMind Oda, so Word and PowerPoint files cannot be prepared for reading. The message reads Read failed: Office previews are unavailable. Enable the document preview service on the computer running DataMind Oda. Enable the service, then read the file again.

Why can't I edit cells in a spreadsheet preview?

The spreadsheet preview is read-only: you can select and copy cells, but nothing edits the file. Results show as they were saved, so a workbook with formulas warns This workbook contains formulas. Displayed results may be missing or inaccurate. Charts and conditional formatting are not displayed, and a notice reads This preview does not support charts, conditional formatting in this workbook. Open it in a system application for the full experience.

Can a previewed HTML file run scripts?

By default, no: the file is shown as a safe static page, with scripts and external content removed, in its own frame that cannot reach the app's pages. With Developer tools enabled, the page's own scripts may run in the same locked-down frame.

What if the file changes while I am reading it?

The preview follows the file: when it changes, the preview refreshes. If that watching is lost, the preview reports an error instead of keeping stale text; reopen the preview to read the file again.

Can I preview files outside my workspace folder?

Yes, when a link or a step points to one: reads use the rights of your computer account, so a file outside the folder opens too. Listing folders and watching for changes stay inside the workspace folder.

How do I open a file in its usual app?

In a tab that cannot show the file, use its controls: Open opens the file in the application set for it, More ways to open lists other applications, and Show file location reveals the file in the file manager. Opening a file this way never changes your system default. See Open files and folders in other apps.

Does the preview show which branch my folder is on?

The app shows the folder's repository state: the checked-out branch, a detached commit, or nothing when the folder is not in a repository or the state cannot be named. Oda reads the folder's git metadata directly; it does not run git commands.