---
title: Open and preview a file
type: how-to
section: drive
summary: Choose a row to open the file's own page. It shows the file itself, with panels for Info, Comments and History, and a Download action.
sources:
  - evolve-front-end/app/[lng]/drive/items/[itemId]/page.tsx
  - evolve-front-end/components/content-platform/content-platform-item-preview-page-client.tsx
  - evolve-front-end/components/content-registry/content-registry-rich-preview.tsx
  - evolve-front-end/lib/content-registry/preview-profile.ts
verified:
  at: 2026-09-04
  env: code
  by: content-lane-drive
ttl_days: 45
related: [drive/renditions, drive/file-will-not-open, drive/home]
---

Choose a file's row in any Drive list. Drive opens the file's own page with the file rendered in the middle and a way back to where you came from. Choosing a folder's row opens the folder in place instead.

## What the file page gives you

The header carries the file's title, its workflow status, and buttons that open the panels down the right-hand side:

| Control | What it opens |
| --- | --- |
| **File info** | **Info**: **Access**, the processing lifecycle, **File details**, **Review**, **Activity**, **Metadata** and **Versions**. |
| **Comments** | The review threads and comments on the file, with a box to add one. |
| **History** | **Activity**: everything that happened to the file, filtered by **All**, **Status** or **Versions**. |
| **Ask** | **Ask AI**, for a question about this file. |

The header also holds **Download**, **Copy link**, **Share** and **More actions**. Editing the title in place offers **Save title** and **Cancel title edit**.

## Preview and Text

Most files show a rendered preview. Where Drive also has the extracted text, a switch offers **Preview** and **Text**. **Text** shows what Drive pulled out of the file, which is the same text search and retrieval use.

**Text** is not offered for a site, for an archived web capture, or for a file type Drive cannot extract text from.

## What renders inline

Drive renders a preview for images, video, audio, PDFs, Word documents, spreadsheets and tables, presentations, plain text and code, Markdown, notebooks, JSON, email, contacts, archives (as a file listing), 3D models, point clouds, building models, and scientific and medical formats. Word documents and PDFs render in your browser rather than as server-made page images.

A `docx` file is paginated in the browser. A Markdown file is rendered as a document. A `csv` file is shown as a table. A site opens in a sandboxed frame. An archived web capture opens as **Archived capture** with an inert replay that never reaches the live web.

## Audio and video

A video or audio file plays in place. Captions come from the transcript, offered as **Captions** on the player, with **Download transcript (.vtt)** beside it.

Where no transcript exists yet, the panel says **Transcript is not available yet.** and offers **Generate transcript**. While it runs it says **Transcribing audio…** or **Transcribing video…**, and a long job reports **Transcription is taking longer than expected.**

## Download the original

**Download** always fetches the original file, not the preview. It announces **Preparing download...** while it prepares the file.

A download is refused while security checks are still running, and refused outright for a file a security check blocked.

## If it did not work

- A file with no preview names the reason in its place. Every message and what it means is in [File will not open](/help/drive/file-will-not-open).
- **Preview unavailable** with **File too large to preview. Download to view locally.** appears above 100 MB. Use **Download**.
- A folder shows **Open this folder from the table to view its contents.** Go back to the list and choose the folder.
- If the page itself will not load, the file may have been deleted, or your access withdrawn. Ask the owner.