File will not open

Drive replaces a failed preview with a short statement of why. Read that statement first: it distinguishes a file that is still being processed from one that will never preview, and only some cases are worth retrying. Download works in almost every case, because it fetches the original rather than the preview.

The file is still being processed

Message	What to do
Preview not yet available, scan in progress. under Scan in progress	Wait. The malware scan has to pass before anything is generated.
Preview is being generated, check back shortly. under Preview processing	Wait, then reload the page.
Partial preview available. Full content may be missing. under Partial preview	Use Retry extraction for a full pass, or work with what is shown.

The file cannot be previewed here

Message	What to do
This file type cannot be previewed here.	Use Download. Drive could not identify the format.
Preview not available for this file type.	The same: download it.
File too large to preview. Download to view locally.	The file is over 100 MB. Use Download.
Metadata is available, but no browser-safe preview artifact was generated for this file type.	The facts Drive read are on the Info panel. The file downloads normally.

Something went wrong with the file

Message	What to do
Preview generation failed. Try re-uploading or contact support. under Preview generation failed	Use Retry extraction first. If it fails again, upload the file again.
Preview unavailable: file may be corrupt. Try re-uploading.	Download the file and open it locally to confirm. Re-upload a good copy.

Access or security stopped it

Message	What to do
Preview blocked: malware detected. Contact administrator. under Preview blocked	Nothing to retry. The file will not be served, and the download is refused too.
You do not have permission to preview this item. under Access restricted	Ask the owner to share it with you, or to give you Can edit if you need to change it.
Preview blocked. with Preview URL is not allowed.	The preview source failed a policy check. Report it with the file's identifier from the Info panel.

The page itself will not load

• A link that reports You do not have access to view this content means you are not on the item's access list. The page adds Ask the owner to share the file or folder with your Evolve account.
• This content link is unavailable means the link expired or was withdrawn. Ask for a new one; public links last 30 days.
• Drive sends you to a not-found page when the item was deleted, and to a session page when your session lapsed.
• A server error offers Try again. Use it before anything else.

An image shows facts but no picture

Some image formats need a generated browser copy before they can be shown. The viewer says which, for example TIFF originals require a derived browser image before inline rendering. or Camera RAW originals require a derived browser image before inline rendering. The extracted facts are under Image facts, and Download gives you the original. See What Drive makes from your files.

A PDF opens but has no text

The document is a scan. Choose Run OCR on the file's Metadata panel. Until it finishes, Drive says Extracted text is unavailable for this item. This PDF may require OCR.

Related

• Note the exact wording. The message decides whether waiting, retrying or downloading is the fix.
• Use Download to confirm the file itself is sound; a preview failure rarely means a damaged file.
• Retry extraction exists only for a failed or partial extraction. Its absence means retrying will change nothing.
• Quote the Item ID from the Info panel when you report a preview problem.