Introduction
Web Access lets you preview many Microsoft-format documents using a rich preview experience powered by Microsoft 365. This provides a high-fidelity preview directly in the browser—so you can review content without downloading the file.
Previewing
Supported File Formats for Previewing
Web Access supports Microsoft 365 previews for the following file types:
Microsoft PowerPoint
pptx, pptm, ppsm, ppsx, potx, potm, ppt, pps, pot
Microsoft Excel
xlsx, xlsm, xlsb, xls
Microsoft Word
docx, dotx, docm, dotm, dot, doc
Microsoft Visio
vsdx, vsdm, vsd, vdw
OpenDocument
Presentation: odp
Spreadsheet: ods
Text: odt
Other formats
csv (Comma-Separated Values)
rtf (Rich Text Format)
How To Preview
There are two ways to preview files in Web Access:
Sidebar preview
Use the sidebar preview to quickly review a document alongside your file list.
You can open the sidebar preview by:
Selecting a file in the file list and clicking the Preview icon in the top toolbar, or
Right-clicking a file and selecting View details
Full-screen preview
To view a larger version of the document:
Open the sidebar preview, then
Select the Expand icon to switch to full-screen preview
Editing or Co-Authoring
Web Access lets you edit supported documents directly in your browser using Microsoft 365 for the web. Editing also supports real-time co-authoring, so multiple users can work in the same document at the same time.
Supported File Formats for Editing
Web Access supports Microsoft 365 editing and co-authoring for the following file types:
Microsoft PowerPoint
pptx, ppsx
Microsoft Excel
xlsx, xlsm, xlsb
Microsoft Word
docx, docm
Editing a Document
Editing is available only to users who are logged in to Web Access.
To start editing:
Open the file in either Sidebar Preview or Full-screen Preview.
Select Edit in Word for the web, Edit in Excel for the web, or Edit in PowerPoint for the web (button label varies by file type).
The document opens in a new browser tab for editing.
Editing with Other Users (Co-authoring)
When you edit a document through Web Access, other users with access to the file from the same Web Access installation can open and edit it at the same time.
While co-authoring:
Presence indicators (icons or avatars) appear for other users who are currently editing.
Microsoft 365 synchronizes changes automatically in real time.
What to expect while editing
Autosave and saving changes
Changes are saved automatically by Microsoft 365 while you edit (no manual “Save” required in most cases).
If a user closes the tab, the latest edits are typically already saved.
If a connection is temporarily lost, Microsoft 365 typically continues attempting to synchronize. After the connection returns, Microsoft 365 resumes saving.
Seeing other people (presence)
When other users open the same document for editing, presence indicators (icons or avatars) appear.
In many cases, the editing location of other users appears (for example, cursor or selection highlights), depending on the document type and Microsoft 365 behavior.
Co-authoring behavior
Co-authoring is real-time: edits from others appear as they are made.
Users do not need to “merge” changes because Microsoft 365 coordinates updates automatically.
Conflicting changes
If another user changes the document outside of Microsoft 365 while you are editing (for example, by updating the file through a different tool or workflow), Microsoft 365 may detect a conflict.
What happens next:
User edits are not lost. User changes remain preserved.
Web Access retains the edited version and renames the file to indicate a conflict.
The user can continue editing the open document.
After editing finishes, compare the two files and reconcile the differences manually (for example, copy changes from one version to the other).
Performance tips
Large files (especially complex spreadsheets or presentations) might take longer to open in the editor.
If editing appears slow, close other resource-intensive browser tabs and reload the editor tab.