The Sync.com web panel and mobile apps include built-in previews, making it easy to view documents directly in Sync, without having to download, open, or share them to third-party preview apps.
In this article:
Web panel previews
Sync lets you preview a wide range of file formats directly in your browser. Previews appear when you click a supported file in the web panel or open a shared link. This section focuses on supported web-based previews only. Mobile preview support may differ, as it depends on built-in functionality provided by iOS and Android.
| Format | File Extension(s) |
|---|---|
| Supported Document Formats | |
| Adobe Portable Document Format (client-side) | |
| Microsoft Word Format | .doc, .dot |
| Microsoft Word Open XML Format | .docx, .docm, .dotx, .dotm |
| Rich Text Format | .rtf |
| Microsoft Excel Format | .xls, .xlt |
| Microsoft Excel Open XML Format | .xlsx, .xlsm, .xltx, .xltm |
| Microsoft PowerPoint Format | .ppt, .pot, .pps |
| Microsoft PowerPoint Open XML Format | .pptx, .pptm, .potx, .potm, .ppsx, .ppsm |
| OpenDocument Text Format | .odt, .ott, .fodt |
| OpenDocument Spreadsheet Format | .ods, .ots, .fods |
| OpenDocument Presentation Format | .odp, .otp, .fodp |
| OpenDocument Math Formula Format | .odf |
| OpenDocument Drawing Format | .odg, .otg, .fodg |
| AutoDesk AutoCAD Format (v2.5 through 2014) | .dwg, .dxf |
| AutoDesk Design Web Format | .dwf |
| MicroStation Drawing Format (V7 and V8) | .dgn |
| HyperText Markup Language Format (client-side) | .html, .htm (renders as text) |
| Extensible HyperText Markup Language Format | .xhtml, .xhtm |
| Microsoft Outlook Format | .msg |
| Outlook Express Email Format | .eml |
| Text Format / text-based formats (client-side) | .txt, .js, .md, .php etc. (see supported text-based file types) |
| Comma-Separated Values Format (client-side) | .csv |
| Digital Imaging & Communication in Medicine Format | .dcm, .dicom, .dcim, .dicm |
| Supported Image Formats | |
| Tagged Image File Format | .tif, .tiff |
| JPEG File Interchange Format (client-side) | .jpg, .jpeg |
| JPEG 2000 File Format and Code Stream | .jp2, .jpc |
| Graphics Interchange Format (client-side) | .gif |
| Portable Network Graphics Format (client-side) | .png |
| Adobe Photoshop Format | .psd, .psb |
| Microsoft Windows Bitmap Format | .bmp, .dib |
| Macintosh Metafile Format | .pct, .pic, .pict |
| Windows Metafile Format (Windows only) | .wmf |
| Enhanced Metafile Format (Windows only) | .emf |
| ZSoft Paintbrush PCX Format | .pcx |
| ZSoft Paintbrush DCX Format | .dcx |
| Sun Raster Data Format | .ras |
| Kodak Photo CD Format | .pcd |
| Truevision Targa Format | .tga, .tpic |
| Continuous Acquisition and Life-cycle Support Format | .cal, .cals |
| Icon Resource Format | .ico |
| Windows Cursor Format | .cur |
| NCR Image Format | .ncr |
| X Window Dump Format | .xwd |
| Silicon Graphics Image Format | .sgi |
| Wireless Bitmap Format | .wbmp |
| Scitex Color Tone Format | .sct |
| WordPerfect Graphics Metafile Format | .wpg |
| X Bitmap Format | .xbm |
| Portable Bitmap Format | .pbm |
| Portable Graymap Format | .pgm |
| Portable Pixmap Format | .ppm |
| Xerox 9700 Graphic Format | .img |
| Dr. Halo Format | .cut |
Notes:
The maximum file size supported for preview is 40 MB (or 100 MB for PDF).
The maximum file size supported for Microsoft document editing is is 50 MB for .docx, 5 MB for .xlsx and 300 MB for .pptx.
Free and Basic Sync plans are limited to .jpg, .gif, .png, .pdf, and .txt previews.
Folder-based preview navigation is only available when previewing images, allowing you to scroll through other images in the same folder.
Sync previews are shown in a bandwidth-saving, print-preview quality. Sync does not alter or compress your files in any way; photos are stored exactly as they are uploaded.
Client-side indicates E2EE supported formats.
Web panel and mobile thumbnails
Sync displays thumbnail previews for many common file types in both the web panel and mobile app file listings. If a thumbnail isn’t available, a generic file type icon will appear instead.
| Format | File Extension(s) |
|---|---|
| Supported thumbnail formats: | |
| Portable Network Graphics Format | .png |
| Bitmap Image Format | .bmp (partial) |
| Portable Document Format | .pdf (partial) |
| Tagged Image File Format | .tiff (partial) |
| Tagged Image File Format | .tif (partial) |
| JPEG Image Format | .jpg |
| JPEG Image (Large, 29MB) | .jpg (partial) |
| Graphics Interchange Format | .gif |
| Icon Format | .ico (partial) |
| WebP Image Format | .webp |
| High Efficiency Image Format | .heif (partial) |
| High Efficiency Image Coding | .heic(partial) |
| QuickTime Movie | .mov (partial) |
| MPEG-4 Video | .mp4 (partial) |
Notes:
- For supported file formats, thumbnails are generated for files up to 40 MB in size. For files sizes below 250KB the original file is inserted as the thumbnail.
- Formats marked as partial have limited thumbnail support. This means thumbnails may appear for some files in that format, but not all. Or may not appear on all platforms. In cases where a thumbnail cannot be generated, a generic file type icon will appear instead.
- Thumbnails are E2EE.
Web panel and mobile streaming (video & audio)
Sync features a built-in media player that lets you stream media files directly from the web panel or mobile app, no downloading required.
| Format | File Extension | Web Panel | iOS (WiFi Only) | Android |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support Video Formats: | ||||
| MPEG-4 Video | .mp4 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| QuickTime Movie | .mov | Safari / Firefox | Yes | Yes |
| Audio Video Interleave | .avi | Safari / Firefox | Yes | - |
| MPEG Video | .mpg | - | Yes | Yes |
| DVD Video Object | .vob | - | Yes | - |
| Support Audio Formats: | ||||
| MPEG Audio Layer III | .mp3 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MPEG-4 Audio | .m4a | - | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced Audio Coding | .aac | - | Yes | - |
| Dolby AC-3 Audio | .ac3 | - | Yes | - |
| Free Lossless Audio Codec | .flac | - | Yes | - |
| Audio Interchange Format | .aiff | - | Yes | - |
| Enhanced AC-3 | .eac3 | - | Yes | - |
| Waveform Audio File | .wav | - | Yes | Yes |
| Ogg Vorbis | .ogg | - | - | Yes |
| MPEG Audio Layer II | .mp2 | - | Yes | - |
Notes:
- Media files are streamed in their original quality, as Sync does not re-encode or transcode them in any way.
- Streaming is not available on Free and Basic plans.
- For supported plans, video files must be at least 6 MB and up to 20 GB in size to stream reliably.
- MP4 streaming depends on the codec used. H.264 is more widely supported, while H.265 / HEVC may only work in some browsers.
- Streaming leverages secure server-side processing.