# Attachment viewer

> How to open photos, videos, PDFs, Office documents and spreadsheets received in the chat: zoom, print, download, moving between the conversation's attachments and what it means when a document is «being converted».

Last updated: 23 October 2026. Source: https://narciso.io/en/docs/allegati/

Clicking an attachment in a conversation ([Reading messages](https://narciso.io/en/docs/leggere-messaggi/)) opens the **viewer**: a full-screen window with the file on the left and, on the right, the **MEDIA EXPLORER** column with all the conversation's attachments.

It opens with a click on a **photo**, a **video**, a **PDF**, a **Word** document, a **PowerPoint** presentation or a **spreadsheet**. Voice messages are listened to directly in the conversation, without opening anything. Attachments that have not passed the antivirus check do not open and do not appear in the viewer ([Reading messages](https://narciso.io/en/docs/leggere-messaggi/)).

## What the window looks like

**On the left (about 55%)**

- At the top, the **file name** (in full when you hover the mouse over it) and below it the **size** (in KB or MB), or the **number of pages**, or the type («Immagine» (Image), «Documento PDF» (PDF document), «Foglio di calcolo» (Spreadsheet)...).
- To the right of the bar, the buttons, described in the table below.
- Below, the content.

**On the right (about 45%)** the **MEDIA EXPLORER** column: at the top the contact's name and their channel (the channel is written the way the program knows it, for example «whatsapp_personale»), a summary line such as «3 Foto | 1 Video | 2 Documenti» (3 Photos | 1 Video | 2 Documents) and, below, the **thumbnail grid**, three per row.

It closes with the **×** at the top right, with **Esc** or with a click outside the window.

### The buttons at the top

| Button (hint) | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Zoom** | Opens the **−** and **+** controls with the percentage: from 100% to 300% for photos, from 50% to 300% for documents, in steps of 25% |
| **Stampa** (Print) | Appears only for what can be printed: photos (not GIFs), PDFs, Office documents, spreadsheets and text files. For a photo it opens the browser's print dialogue; for the others it opens the file in a new tab, from which you print |
| **Scarica** (Download) | Saves the file on the computer with its original name. For a converted document it downloads the **original**, not the converted pages |
| **Apri Originale** (Open original) | Opens the original file in a new browser tab |
| **Chiedi all'AI** (Ask the AI) | Appears only for documents (PDF, Word, PowerPoint, spreadsheets): opens the chat with the assistant ([Asking the AI about a document](https://narciso.io/en/docs/assistente-documenti/)) |

If the download fails no alert appears: the file simply does not start, and you try again or use **Apri Originale**.

## Moving between attachments

The viewer contains **all the attachments of the conversation you are looking at**, in order of arrival, and starts from the one you clicked. You move with:

- the keyboard's **left and right arrows** (they do not work while you are typing in the chat with the assistant);
- a click on a **thumbnail**: the active one has a light blue border. Each thumbnail shows the **date** at the top right and a label with the **extension** (PDF, JPG, XLSX...) coloured by type.

> **Note.** The viewer knows only the attachments of the messages **already loaded** in the conversation. If the chat is long, older attachments appear after you have reached them by scrolling the conversation upwards ([Reading messages](https://narciso.io/en/docs/leggere-messaggi/)).

## What you see, by file type

| Type | How it is presented |
|---|---|
| **Photos and GIFs** | It is enlarged with the **mouse wheel** (from 100% to 300%) and, once enlarged, it is **dragged** with the mouse to move it; it never goes beyond the edges of the image |
| **Video** | Player with the browser's controls (play, volume, full screen) |
| **Audio** (audio files, not voice messages) | Icon with the file name and a player |
| **PDF, Word, PowerPoint** | The document is **converted into pages**: you scroll vertically; pages are drawn three at a time and more arrive as you get close to the bottom. **Ctrl + wheel** to zoom (50%–300%), **Alt + wheel** to scroll sideways. Presentations have a dark background |
| **Spreadsheets** (Excel, CSV) | Table on screen, with the sheet's tabs |
| **Other files** (archives, texts...) | The **Apri Documento** (Open document) button, which opens the file in a new tab |

### Document still being converted

A PDF or Office document that has just arrived is prepared by the program before it can be browsed. In the meantime, in place of the document a loading indicator appears with one of these messages:

- **«Elaborate: 3/12»** (Processed: 3/12): the pages already ready out of the total;
- **«Conversione del documento in corso…»** (Converting the document…);
- «Il file è in fase di conversione grafica sul server. L'operazione potrebbe richiedere alcuni secondi.» (The file is being graphically converted on the server. The operation may take a few seconds.).

The window updates by itself when the document is ready. If the conversion fails, **«Errore durante l'elaborazione»** (Error during processing) appears with the **Scarica il file originale** (Download the original file) link, and the thumbnail in the grid becomes a broken-attachment box: the original file can still be downloaded.

## What to do if...

| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| The PDF does not open and the indicator keeps spinning | Wait a few seconds: it is being converted. If it stays like that for a long time, use **Apri Originale** |
| «Errore durante l'elaborazione» | The file could not be converted: use **Scarica il file originale** |
| An attachment does not appear among the thumbnails | It is not yet loaded in the conversation, or it has not passed the antivirus check |
| There is no print | The file type cannot be printed (videos, GIFs, audio, archives): download it |
| I cannot find «Chiedi all'AI» | It appears only for documents, not for photos, videos and audio |
| The photo does not move | It moves only if it is enlarged: take the zoom beyond 100% |

## Related entries

- [Reading messages](https://narciso.io/en/docs/leggere-messaggi/)
- [Asking the AI about a document](https://narciso.io/en/docs/assistente-documenti/)
- [Writing and sending a message](https://narciso.io/en/docs/scrivere-messaggi/)
- [File formats and sizes](https://narciso.io/en/docs/file-formati-e-dimensioni/)
- [Comunicazioni](https://narciso.io/en/docs/comunicazioni/)