How to Preview and Download Documents

(updated 11/7/24) This article will walk you through the methods in which you can preview and download documents to your local machine. Utilizing the document viewer allows users to browse our resource repository conveniently via your laptop or mobile phone as well as save content offline for future reference.

3 steps

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Any user on our platform has the ability to search for public resources in their environment. Content types (objects) such as Lesson Plans, Outlines, and Projects can be uploaded to the platform formatted as documents (or can be created with our in-house tools). Currently, our supported file upload types are **Microsoft Word** (.doc, .docx), **Microsoft Excel** (.xlsx), and **Portable Document Format** (PDF).

Preview and Download PDFs

Any uploaded resources that are PDFs can be viewed directly on the platform, regardless of browser or device (computer/mobile). There is a "Download Document" button available if you wish to store this resource offline! The typical PDF viewer will have a toolbar where you can zoom and rotate the pages from within the designated screen space.

Preview and Download Microsoft Word Docs

Microsoft Word documents are loaded on the platform and converted to PDFs so that they can be accessible to all users. The Word Docs will appear the same in the PDF viewer with all of the pages shown, dependinig on your browser or device. **Note:** Ideally, Word docs will populate as expected on a Google Chrome browser (example below). If you are using Safari, Edge, or Firefox browsers, the preview may appear slightly different.

Please contact us with any feedback or questions regarding this functionality!

Update: Thumbnail images have historically shown a default colored block with a PDF/Word doc icon. Now, our enhanced platform allows the thumbnail to be replaced with a rendering of the first document page!