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Preview cloud files without downloading

Posted: 13 Jul 2026 03:11
by Edemi
I am quite new to XYplorer, and I've got to say, I love it. However, all of my work files are on Onedrive, and anytime I try to preview an item in the preview pane, it downloads the item first. This, is eventually taking up a lot of storage on my device.
I assume the download process requires a lot of resources, and so it freezes XYplorer until the download is complete.
In windows explorer, I can preview files, especially image files.

Is there a way to stop files from downloading while still allowing me to preview them? Also, is there a setting i can change to stop this process from freezing XYplorer?

Re: Preview cloud files without downloading

Posted: 13 Jul 2026 06:56
by Native2904
Hi, I’d be surprised… if that were possible, because what would XY show as a preview if the file isn’t on the hard drive?
So the file must be available, at least temporarily, in order to be displayed.

Re: Preview cloud files without downloading

Posted: 13 Jul 2026 13:59
by Edemi
I understand this, but I wonder how windows explorer is able to preview these same files without having to download them first.

Re: Preview cloud files without downloading

Posted: 14 Jul 2026 17:22
by driftnet
OneDrive installs a filter that lets Windows Explorer present the cloud files as if they were local. I think Google Drive does the same thing. I don't know if these filters or drivers can be used by other Windows applications like XYplorer.