In the evolving landscape of digital workplaces, enhancing user experience within SharePoint forms is essential to streamlining business processes and improving productivity. One powerful way to enrich SharePoint forms is by integrating file previews directly into the form interface, allowing users to view documents seamlessly without leaving the form itself. This article explores how to maximize SharePoint forms by utilizing file preview controls, focusing on the innovative features provided by skybow’s File Viewer control for Modern SharePoint Forms.
Why File Previews Matter in SharePoint Forms
Traditionally, if a user needed to see a document related to a form—such as guidelines, related contracts, or reports—they had to open the file in a separate tab or application. This disrupts workflow and diminishes user experience, especially when quick decision-making or data entry is involved. Embedding file previews inside forms streamlines this process, enabling users to see the content of files like PDFs, Excel sheets, Word documents, or PowerPoint presentations directly within SharePoint forms, enhancing efficiency and context without switching contexts.
Introducing skybow’s File Viewer Control for Modern Forms
Skybow has developed a versatile File Viewer control tailored for SharePoint Modern Forms—whether New Form, Edit Form, or Display Form. This control leverages SharePoint’s out-of-the-box file viewing capabilities and supports various file types natively, ensuring compatibility and ease of use.
The control can be added easily from the control section of skybow’s solution and is designed for flexibility, catering to multiple real-world use cases, including:
1. Displaying Static Files
In this use case, a pre-defined static document is embedded inside the form, typically displayed in a side panel. This is excellent for showing important reference materials without leaving the form—such as process guidelines, policy documents, or Excel spreadsheets that provide calculation logic or standards related to the current form. The file is usually uploaded to the form’s assets and can be set to open on a specific page for enhanced user guidance.
2. Preview After Uploading Documents
For forms that involve uploading files—like expense reports or receipts—the File Viewer can automatically preview the uploaded file inside the form’s Edit mode. This enables users to verify content instantly and even extract key details from the document (such as expense dates, amounts, or categories), making metadata entry faster and reducing errors. The control opens the Edit Form after the file is saved, ensuring the file data is ready to be previewed, which improves workflow fluidity.
3. Dynamic Preview of Selected Files in Sub-libraries
If a form includes a document library or sub-library where multiple files are listed, the source file to preview can be dynamically selected by the user. Once a file is chosen from the sub-library, the control automatically displays its preview alongside the selection pane within the form. This avoids navigating away from the form and enhances context sensitivity—for instance, quickly reviewing invoices, contracts, or supporting documentation relevant to the current list item.
Behind the Scenes: Setting up the File Preview Control
Skybow’s File Viewer control is seamlessly configurable within the Solution Studio:
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Static File Display: A common setup involves adding a button on the form that opens a panel displaying the File Viewer control with the uploaded file. The file is stored in the solution’s assets so it packages and deploys correctly across environments, preserving link integrity.
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Upload Preview: To show previews immediately after upload, certain settings on the SharePoint document sub-library must be enabled. Notably, forms need to save the upload before opening the Edit Form to prevent empty previews. The Edit Form itself uses a two-column layout — metadata fields on the left and the file viewer on the right, where the file reference is dynamically used to retrieve and display the document.
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Dynamic Selected Files: For dynamic previews, skybow leverages the selected item context from the sub-library control on the form. With a small code snippet (provided in skybow’s documentation), the file reference path is computed and passed to the File Viewer control to render the preview dynamically without manual intervention.
Benefits and Considerations
- Improved User Efficiency: By reducing the number of clicks and window switches, users can complete their tasks faster and with fewer mistakes.
- Contextual Awareness: Users stay on the form while accessing necessary documentation, enhancing understanding and adherence to requirements.
- Broad File Support: Integration with SharePoint’s native File Viewer means support for numerous file types without additional software.
- Deployment Ready: The solution is designed to work across environments, maintaining asset links and functionality after deployment.
However, some considerations include the need for Office Online Server configuration for optimal file rendering on SharePoint Server setups and ensuring document libraries are correctly configured to save files before Edit Forms open, to support live previews.
Conclusion
Incorporating file previews in SharePoint forms redefines the user experience, enabling businesses to create more interactive, informative, and efficient forms. Skybow’s File Viewer control exemplifies how modern tools can be leveraged to seamlessly embed document previews in forms, catering to various use cases—from static guidance documents to dynamic file uploads and selections.
By maximizing SharePoint forms with these enhanced capabilities, organizations can significantly streamline their internal workflows and elevate the productivity of their SharePoint users.
For more details on implementation, sample code snippets, and best practices, skybow provides comprehensive documentation and community support to help you start embedding file previews in your SharePoint forms today.
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