- View attachments in Gmail in your browser without downloading them
- View attachments in default Gmail
- Supported attachments in Google Docs Viewer
- Supported Microsoft File Types
- Supported Adobe file types
- Other supported file types
- View attachments in Gmail Basic
- Supported HTML View Attachments in Basic View
View attachments in Gmail in your browser without downloading them
In Gmail, you can view some attachments in your browser without downloading them first. Learn how to open text documents, spreadsheets, PDFs, and other attachment types that are supported for viewing in your Gmail inbox.
The information in this article applies to the web versions of Gmail.
View attachments in default Gmail
In the standard web version of Gmail, you can open attachments using Google Docs Viewer, the same pop-up window used on Google Drive.
While viewing a message in Gmail, click the attachment preview to open it.
If the file type is supported, it will open in Document Viewer.
Supported attachments in Google Docs Viewer
Gmail lets you send almost any type of file as an attachment, but only certain files can be viewed in the browser.
Supported Microsoft File Types
| File type | extension |
|
Microsoft Word Documents |
.doc and .docx |
| Microsoft Excel Tables | .xls and .xlsx |
| Microsoft PowerPoint presentations | .ppt and .pptx |
| XML Paper Specifications | .xps |
Supported Adobe file types
| File type | extension |
|
Adobe PDF documents |
|
| Autodesk AutoCAD Images | .dxf |
| Adobe Illustrator graphics | .ai |
| Adobe Photoshop Images | .psd |
|
PS files |
.eps and .ps |
| Scalable vector graphics | .svg |
| truetype files | .ttf |
Other supported file types
| File type | extension |
|
Archive files |
.zip, .rar, .tar and .gzip |
| sound files | .mp3, .mpeg, .wav and .ogg |
| image files | .jpeg, .jpg, .png, .gif, .bmp and .tif |
| Video files | .webm, .mpeg4, .3gpp, .mov, .avi, .mpegps, .wmv, and .flv |
| Text files | .text |
View attachments in Gmail Basic
The regular HTML version of Gmail does not support Google Docs Viewer, but you can view certain attachments as HTML before downloading them.
Select Display as HTML below the attached file.
If supported, the file will open in a separate window.
Supported HTML View Attachments in Basic View
The following file types are supported for HTML rendering in Gmail Basic:
| File type | extension |
|
Microsoft Word Documents |
.doc and .docx |
| Microsoft Excel Tables | .xls and .xlsx |
| Microsoft PowerPoint presentations | .ppt and .pptx |
|
OpenOffice/StarOffice documents |
.sxw td> |
| Open Office/Star Office Spreadsheets | .sxc |
| Open Office/Star Office Presentations | .sxi |
| Star Writer Documents | .sdw |
|
Star Calc Electronic Chips |
.SDC |
| Star Impress Presentation | .sdd |
| Adobe PDF documents | |
| Archive files | .zip and .rar |