How to Set Up the SharePoint Document Viewer in MinutesSharing and reviewing documents directly in SharePoint speeds collaboration and reduces friction. The SharePoint Document Viewer lets team members preview Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, and other common file types without downloading them. This step-by-step guide walks you through setting up the Document Viewer quickly, plus configuration tips, permissions, troubleshooting, and best practices to get your team viewing documents smoothly.
What the SharePoint Document Viewer does (quick overview)
The Document Viewer provides in-browser previews of stored files so users can:
- Preview documents without downloading.
- Navigate multi-page files and slide decks.
- Search within documents (when indexing is enabled).
- View Office documents, PDFs, images, and many common formats.
Prerequisites
Before starting, make sure you have:
- A SharePoint site (Online or on-premises SharePoint Server with the appropriate feature set).
- Site Owner or Administrator permissions to edit pages and web parts.
- Documents uploaded to a Document Library.
If you’re on SharePoint Online, the built-in file viewer web part covers most needs. For on-premises SharePoint, ensure the Web Parts and Office Web Apps / WAC (Office Online Server) are configured if you want rich in-browser rendering.
Quick setup (SharePoint Online) — under 10 minutes
- Upload files to a document library
- Go to your SharePoint site > Documents (or any document library).
- Click “Upload” and add files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, images).
- Edit the page where you want the viewer
- Navigate to the page (Site Pages) and click “Edit”.
- Choose the zone where you want the viewer.
- Add the File Viewer web part
- Click the + icon to add a web part.
- Search for and select “File viewer” (or “File” / “Document” depending on your tenant UI).
- Click “Add a file” and choose a file from the current site, recent files, or upload a new one.
- Configure display options
- After selecting the file, choose the display mode (e.g., fit to page, page-by-page).
- Set web part size or section layout so the viewer appears at a usable height.
- Save and publish the page
- Click “Republish” (or “Save as draft” if not ready).
- Users with access can now preview the document in-browser.
Quick setup (SharePoint On-Premises with Office Online Server)
If your environment uses on-premises SharePoint and you want Word/Excel/PowerPoint previews:
- Deploy and configure Office Online Server (OOS)
- Install Office Online Server on a supported Windows Server.
- Configure a new OOS farm and ensure HTTPS certificates are in place.
- Connect SharePoint to OOS
- On the SharePoint server, run PowerShell to create a WOPI binding:
New-SPWOPIZone -Zone "internal-https" New-SPWOPIBinding -ServerName "oos.example.local" - Configure the Service Application and add the OOS URL.
- Use the Page Viewer / Page viewer Web Part or default file preview
- Upload documents to a document library.
- Use the built-in preview or add a page web part that references files.
Note: Exact PowerShell cmdlets and steps vary by SharePoint version (⁄2019). Refer to your version-specific admin docs.
Permissions and access control
- File previews follow SharePoint permissions. Users need at least Read permission on the document and the library.
- If documents are in a limited-access library, grant group or user permissions rather than anonymous links.
- For external sharing, ensure tenant and site-level sharing settings allow it; preview for anonymous users may be limited.
Customizing the viewer experience
- Use Section layouts and web part sizing to control visible area.
- Add multiple File Viewer web parts for different documents on one page.
- Embed documents in communication sites or hub sites for broad visibility.
- For tailored UI, consider third-party document viewers or custom SPFx web parts.
Search and indexing for content inside documents
- SharePoint Search can index document contents if the crawler has access.
- Ensure the Search Service (on-premises) or Microsoft 365 search is configured and content is crawlable.
- PDFs may require an OCR or PDF iFilter for accurate full-text indexing if they’re image-only.
Troubleshooting common issues
- File doesn’t preview: check file type support, permissions, and that Office Online Server is configured (for on-prem).
- Viewer shows a blank area: ensure web part height is sufficient and page has been published.
- Large files load slowly: optimize file size, convert to PDF, or link to download for heavy media.
- External users cannot preview: verify sharing links and tenant external sharing settings.
Security considerations
- Preview respects SharePoint permissions; avoid publicly linking sensitive documents.
- Office Online Server requires HTTPS and proper certificates—don’t use self-signed certs in production.
- Audit access via SharePoint audit logs to monitor who viewed documents.
Best practices
- Keep documents organized in libraries with clear permission groups.
- Use PDFs for stable, consistent previews when format fidelity matters.
- Limit the number of heavy, multimedia files embedded in a single page.
- Train users on using the File Viewer and how to share view-only links safely.
Sample checklist to complete setup quickly
- [ ] Site owner/admin access confirmed
- [ ] Files uploaded to library
- [ ] Page edited and File Viewer web part added
- [ ] Display options configured and page published
- [ ] Permissions verified for intended viewers
- [ ] Search/indexing checked (optional)
If you want, I can create step-by-step screenshots for SharePoint Online, a SharePoint On-Premises PowerShell snippet tailored to your version, or a short SPFx web part example to embed a custom viewer.
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