What types of files can I preview in Dropbox?

Updated Nov 13, 2023

Dropbox can preview the types of files listed in this article. If a file type isn’t shown, you can still open it by downloading the file first.

We recommend searching this article for your file type by pressing control-f (Windows) or command-f (Mac) on your keyboard.

See a list of file types that preview with Dropbox on a mobile device.

Not using Dropbox yet? See how Dropbox helps you effortlessly share files and folders.

Why can’t I preview my file?  

If you’re having trouble previewing a file, Dropbox may be unable to support your file type, or it might be too big to be previewed. Check the table in this article for size limits and file types that Dropbox supports.

You can also check this article for common error messages and fixes.

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Notes

  • Previews will be generated only for the file types available to the file owner. For example, if a user on a Dropbox Basic plan shares a .mxf file with a user on a Dropbox Professional Plan, the user on the Dropbox Professional plan will not be shown a preview, even though the Dropbox Professional plan allows previews for those file types.
  • Customers who have purchased the Dropbox Replay Add-On (formerly the Creative Tools Add-On) can preview files up to 150 GB in size. 

File types that preview as a presentation

If your file has one of the following extensions, it will preview as a presentation.

For the preview to work, your file must be smaller than the size limit listed in the chart.

File type

Size limit

.key*

288 MB

.kth*

288 MB

.odp

288 MB

.ppt

288 MB

.pps

288 MB

.ppsm

288 MB

.ppsx

288 MB

.pptm

288 MB

.pptx

288 MB

.xd

1 GB

File types that preview as an image

If your file has one of the following extensions, it will preview as an image. 

For the preview to work, your file must be smaller than the size limit listed in the chart.

File type

Size limit

.3fr

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.ai

256 MB or 50 megapixels

.arw

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.bmp

100 MB or 50 megapixels

.cr2

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.crw

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.dcr

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.dcs

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.dng

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.dwg (Dropbox Professional, Advanced, Enterprise, and Education accounts only)

100 MB

.erf

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.gif

100 MB or 50 megapixels

.heic

100 MB or 50 megapixels

.jpeg

100 MB or 50 megapixels

.jpg

100 MB or 50 megapixels

.kdc

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.mef

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.mos

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.mrw

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.nef

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.nrw

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.orf

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.pef

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.png

100 MB or 50 megapixels

.ppm

100 MB or 50 megapixels

.psd

1024 MB or 50 megapixels

.r3d

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.raf

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.rw2

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.rwl

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.sr2

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.svg

48 MB or 50 megapixels

.svgz

48 MB or 50 megapixels

.tif

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.tiff

200 MB or 50 megapixels

.wbmp

100 MB or 50 megapixels

.webp

100 MB or 50 megapixels

.x3f

200 MB or 50 megapixels

File types that preview as a video

If your file has one of the following extensions, it will preview as a video. 

For the preview to work, your file must be smaller than 100 GB.

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Note: File limits are 150 GB with the Dropbox Replay Add-On.

.3gp

.3gpp

.3gpp2

.asf

.avi

.dv

.m2t

.m4v

.mkv

.mov

.mp4

.mpeg

.mpg

.mts

.mxf†

.ogv

.rm

.ts

.vob

.webm

.wmv

 

 

 

File types that preview as a zip file

If your file has one of the following extensions, it will preview as a zip file. You’ll be able to see a list of all folders and files within the zip. 

For the preview to work, your file must be smaller than 512 MB.

.7z

.bz

.bz2

.cpio

.gz

.iso

.lha

.lz

.lzh

.lzma

.rar

.tar

.taz

.tbz

.tbz2

.tgz

.tlz

.txz

.tz

.xar

.xz

.z

.zip

 

File types that preview as an audio file

If your file has one of the following extensions, it will preview as an audio file. 

For the preview to work, your file must be smaller than 1 GB.

.aac

.aif/.aiff

.m4a

.m4r

.mp3

.oga

.ogg

.wav

.wma

 

 

 

File types that preview as a text file

If your file has one of the following extensions, it will preview as a text file. 

For the preview to work, your file must be smaller than 8 MB.

.as

.as3

.asm

.aspx

.bat

.c

.cc

.cmake

.coffee

.cpp

.cs

.css

.cxx

.diff

.erb

.erl

.groovy

.gvy

.h

.haml

.hh

.hpp

.hxx

.java

.js

.json

.jsx

.less

.lst

.m

.make

.markdown

.md

.mdown

.mkdn

.ml

.mm

.out

.patch

.php

.pl

.plist

.properties

.py

.rb

.sass

.scala

.scm

.script

.scss

.sh

.sml

.sql

.swift

.txt

.vb

.vi

.vim

.xhtml

.xml

.xsd

.xsl

.yaml

.yml

 

 

File types that preview as a document

If your file has one of the following extensions, it will preview as a document. 

For the preview to work, your file must be smaller than the listed size limit.

File type

Size limit 

.csv

40 MB

.doc

160 MB

.docx

160 MB

.docm

160 MB

.eps

256 MB

.hwp

40 MB

.numbers*

40 MB

.ods

40 MB

.odt

40 MB

.otf

32 MB

.pages*

40 MB

.pdf

500 MB

.ps

256 MB

.rtf

160 MB

.sketch

1 GB

.ttf

32 MB

.wpd

160 MB

.xd

1 GB

.xls

40 MB

.xlsm

40 MB

.xlsx

40 MB

File types that preview as a link

If your saved website has one of the following extensions, it will preview as a shortcut to the website.

For the preview to work, your file must be smaller than 10 MB.

.url

.webloc

.website

 

 

 

*Only the first page will display in preview.

†Dropbox Professional, Advanced, Enterprise, and Education accounts only.

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