Inline document preview Pro

FileDeck lets visitors open a document in a preview lightbox without downloading it. The free version previews PDFs (in the browser’s built-in viewer) and images; FileDeck Pro extends the lightbox to Office documents, which display right in the lightbox, and to audio and video files, which play in a built-in player. File types that cannot be previewed simply fall back to the normal download.

FileDeck Pro — Office, audio, and video preview is included in all Pro plans; PDF and image preview is free. See pricing

Supported file types

• PDFs (free) — rendered by the browser’s own PDF viewer inside the lightbox.
• Images (free) — shown directly in the lightbox.
• Office documents (Pro) — displayed in the lightbox, so visitors can read them without downloading.
• Audio and video (Pro) — played with inline players, so visitors can listen or watch without leaving the library.

Anything else — archives, for example — is not previewable in the browser, so those documents keep their standard download behavior. Visitors are never shown a broken viewer.

Enable preview in your library

1. Go to Documents → Settings → Features in wp-admin.
2. Turn on Document preview lightbox.
3. A Preview button appears alongside the download link for supported documents in your library layouts.

Visitors can then check a document is the one they want before committing to a download — useful for long PDFs and media files.

Preview and protected files

Preview works with protected documents too. Under the hood, the preview lightbox fetches the file through the same signed, short-lived URL mechanism used for downloads, and permission is checked on every request. A visitor who is not allowed to download a document cannot preview it either, and the preview URL expires just like a download URL.

FAQ

Which file types can be previewed?

PDFs and images in the free version; Office documents and audio and video files with Pro. Other types fall back to a normal download link.

What happens when a document cannot be previewed?

Non-previewable types, such as archives, are offered as a standard download instead — the preview lightbox is only shown for supported types.

Can visitors preview documents they are not allowed to download?

No. Preview goes through the same permission check and signed-URL mechanism as downloads, so access rules apply equally to previewing.

Does preview require any browser plugins?

No. The preview lightbox works in any modern browser without plugins or extensions.