Would love to be able to preview Microsoft documents like Excel, PPT, Word.
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Hi @Summer, thanks for reaching out! If you attach an excel or word document in Asana, you will be able to click and see the document. Is this what you are trying to achieve? 
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Hi Emily thanks for the reply. Yes i am aware that I can attach files - however I would like to be able to preview them quickly, so like a built-in viewer. Right now, when I attach my files, when I click on it, it will download the same file into my desktop again
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Hey @Summer
The viewer is a helpful feature.
What we do is we stopped attaching documents to tasks and started using the integration with O365 - SharePoint/One Drive.
So now documents are attached directly from SharePoint - so it removes the mutliple versions / downloads of documents.
You can check it out:
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Overall, Asana should be have the ability to preview documents.
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Yes, this would be fantastic. We are constantly working with word docs and excel sheets on a given task. A viewer would be immensely helpful, just like Asana does for PDFs. Is this at all possible? Is there an add-on to achieve this?
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Any update on this feature?
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Please let us know. I had written about this back in 2018: Preview Function for WordDoc and PDFs
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I agree that this would save a lot of time when you are going through multiple different attachments. +1
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I came here after a quick google search because of this very problem. Images (jpegs, pngs, etc.), pdf documents, MS excel spreadsheets, and others preview in the Asana desktop app. MS Word documents download automatically when clicked in an Asana project. Really frustrating because you have to go find it and wait an eternity for Word to open.
Apparently there haven’t been any updates since @Austin_J_Holgard replied several times on this thread without a response.
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I came here for this issue as well. It would be great to have this implemented.
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Unfortunately, it still does not look like it has been developed at this moment.
I think this is very useful to have the preview.
On Mac, the simple space bar helps you preview a document wherever you are accessing it from. THIS would be immensely helpful.
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A post was split to a new topic: Unable to Attach Word Doc
Any updates on whether this is on the roadmap in the near future?
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Hello there,
We actively use Asana for project management and highly value the transparency and speed it provides. However, there is one critical workflow hurdle that significantly slows down our team: the lack of built-in file preview for Microsoft Word (.docx) and Excel (.xlsx) files that are uploaded directly from the computer (locally).
Currently, when clicking on such a file, a download process automatically starts, which is extremely inefficient and inconvenient for quick reference.
Justification for the Necessity:
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Speed and Flow: We often need to quickly check information (e.g., a number in a spreadsheet or a phrase in a document) without interrupting our workflow. The necessity to download, open, check, and then delete every file severely slows down our pace.
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Comparison to Alternatives: In modern work tools, such as Microsoft Outlook, the quick preview function for Office files works flawlessly, allowing us to instantly view the document content right in the browser.
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Local Upload is Sometimes Necessary: While we are aware of the option to attach files via Google Drive or OneDrive (where preview works), internal policies or urgency sometimes require us to upload the file directly.
Our Request:
We strongly urge the Asana development team to implement a built-in preview mechanism for locally uploaded MS Office files (especially Word and Excel).
This feature would significantly enhance the platform’s usability, make our workflow much faster, and free us from constantly having to download files.
Thank you for considering this important issue!
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As an option, I suggest converting the attached files to PDF and showing a PDF preview, and this will already work for you.
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Good afternoon.
I kindly request that you create Microsoft Document Preview in ASANA.
This will significantly expand ASANA’s capabilities and make the programme more applicable.
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Please create the Microsoft documents preview in ASANA.
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Hi, I’m moving from Trello and really want to have possibility to view .docx / .pdx / .xlsx / .ppt.
It’s important for me and as I see not only for me.
Or I will be forced to return to Trello… because there I had this opportunity.
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