> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.brieftech.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.brieftech.ai/reference/previewing-documents.md).

# Previewing documents

Whenever you open a document in BriefTech — from the Files or Review tabs, or from the Document Index — it opens in the built-in preview with a toolbar across the top. This page lists what each control does.

On a narrow preview pane, everything after the page controls collapses into a More controls menu (<img src="/files/06zJRONbLGh6zifHVx5g" alt="More controls" data-size="line">) to save space — the controls are the same, just tucked away.

## Opening a large document

To stay responsive, BriefTech does not load a large document into the preview automatically. When you open a file of **about 10.5 MB or larger** — the size BriefTech shows in the **Size** column — the pane shows a still image of its first page instead of the document itself. Move the pointer over the preview and it dims, showing an eye icon and **Click to preview**; click anywhere on it to load the document. Smaller documents load on their own.

While the document loads, a thin progress bar runs across the top of the preview. If the pointer is still over the preview you also see a spinner and **Loading…**; move away and the progress bar is the only sign, which is normal.

Until the document loads, a cut-down toolbar sits above the preview:

* It shows only the page, zoom, rotate and mode controls, all greyed out apart from the next-page button — click that to load the document and open it at the next page.
* On a single-page document the next-page button is greyed out too, so nothing on that toolbar is usable.
* The **Download original** button and the **More controls** menu are not on this cut-down toolbar at all.

Two things skip the wait whatever the file's size:

* A document BriefTech has no stored first-page image for. There is nothing to show in place of the pages, so it loads directly.
* The two sub-index actions that already name a page to look at — the source document shown beside the entry table in the **Edit Subindex** dialog, and the magnifier icon on a sub-index row, whose tooltip reads **Preview at page** followed by the page number (for example **Preview at page 12**). See [Add or edit sub-index entries](/how-to-guides/index/add-edit-sub-index-entries.md).

## Move through the pages

| Control                                                                                    | What it does                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| <img src="/files/NVvs3efYEirR9PJfSaaJ" alt="Previous page" data-size="line"> Previous page | Go to the previous page. Greyed out on the first page.                                                                                                                                                            |
| Page box — "of N"                                                                          | Shows the current page and the total number of pages. Type a page number and press Enter to jump straight to it. A number outside the document's page range is ignored and the box goes back to the current page. |
| <img src="/files/D005mKalaHtRqKRUkts4" alt="Next page" data-size="line"> Next page         | Go to the next page. Greyed out on the last page.                                                                                                                                                                 |

You can also turn pages with the Left and Right arrow keys — see [Keyboard shortcuts](/reference/keyboard-shortcuts.md).

## Zoom and rotate

| Control                                                                                          | What it does                                                                                                                                               |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| <img src="/files/iEhbLHsHeVvfsQtgdyLv" alt="Zoom out" data-size="line"> Zoom out                 | Make the page smaller, down to 50%. The current zoom level is shown next to it. Greyed out once the page is as small as it goes.                           |
| <img src="/files/Cx7TtUVoO3YqINXE7XQO" alt="Zoom in" data-size="line"> Zoom in                   | Make the page larger, up to 300%. Greyed out once the page is as large as it goes.                                                                         |
| <img src="/files/cvXagWlmyoJ4GoUgV8nd" alt="Rotate clockwise" data-size="line"> Rotate clockwise | Turn the document 90° clockwise — useful for one that was scanned sideways. The rotation applies to every page and stays as you move through the document. |

## Pan and select an area

| Control                                                                                      | What it does                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| <img src="/files/VswCTHnNoKbsGQIV3YgR" alt="Hand mode" data-size="line"> Hand mode           | Turn on to drag the page around when it is zoomed in. Click it again to turn it off.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| <img src="/files/Plt62MagosfsJEIdfBBr" alt="Selection mode" data-size="line"> Selection mode | Turn on to drag a box around part of the page. Finish the drag and BriefTech opens a snippet dialog; add a note (required) and save, and the snippet is saved to the matter as a fact. Drag a box smaller than about 20 pixels in either direction and BriefTech tells you the selection is too small instead. Click the button again to turn Selection mode off. |

By default — with neither Hand mode nor Selection mode turned on — you can select and copy text straight from the page. Turning on Hand mode or Selection mode switches out of text selection; clicking the button again returns to it. While a mode is on you can tell which: in the toolbar its button turns solid blue and its tooltip reads **Exit Hand Mode** or **Exit Selection Mode**; in the **More controls** menu, its entry turns blue and reads the same.

## Download the original

| Control                                                                                            | What it does                                                                      |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| <img src="/files/L83PvCeiK25F401AZeNn" alt="Download original" data-size="line"> Download original | Download the document's original uploaded file, in the format it was uploaded in. |

This is the same quick download covered in [Download the original or individual files](/how-to-guides/export/download-individual-files.md) — use that page's export flow when you want several files at once.

## Related

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>The preview pane</strong></td><td>The preview pane in BriefTech — the document tabs beside the Files, Review and Index tabs, the PDF, Text and Summary views of a document, and the full-screen pop-up viewer.</td><td><a href="/pages/27RuusA0QZnpV5mU83Ne">/pages/27RuusA0QZnpV5mU83Ne</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Keyboard shortcuts</strong></td><td>Keyboard shortcuts for moving through document lists and flipping preview pages in BriefTech.</td><td><a href="/pages/ohRdXm4lCMLRaoVuh4pi">/pages/ohRdXm4lCMLRaoVuh4pi</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Download the original or individual files</strong></td><td>Download original or searchable PDFs as separate files in a ZIP.</td><td><a href="/pages/IExBehyrdCrM48BN7Muz">/pages/IExBehyrdCrM48BN7Muz</a></td></tr></tbody></table>


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