With the release of Axigen 10.6.9, WebMail now includes in-app previews for Microsoft Office and OpenDocument files — both available as Beta features.
This update extends WebMail’s attachment preview functionality, making it easier for users to view common file types without downloading them. Axigen now supports a wide range of formats directly in the interface, securely and efficiently.
Background: From Browser-Based to Convenient In-App Previews
In the Axigen WebMail, we initially — that's literally years ago — delegated preview handling to the browser. While this allowed files such as PDFs, images, and HTML to open in a new browser tab, it also introduced potential security vulnerabilities — especially with content that could be exploited. As a side note, here you can gain more insight into how we see the Axigen security / threat model.
To address this, as a first step, we disabled browser-based previews entirely and switched to forced download for all attachment types.
From there, we began introducing in-app previews — rendered directly within the WebMail interface — to provide a more consistent and user-friendly experience.
What You Can Preview Today
As of 10.6.9, Axigen WebMail supports previewing the following file types:
- PDF files – .pdf
- Image files – .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .bmp, and more
- Text and code files – .txt, .html, .css, .js, .py, and others
- Email files – .eml
- Microsoft Office and OpenDocument files (Beta), starting with 10.6.9 – .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx, .odt, .ods, .odp
How To Enable Office Previews
Most attachment previews in WebMail are available by default. The exception is Office file previews, which must be explicitly enabled by administrators.
Enable Office Previews via CLI
Under the config server → config webmail context, use the following command:
SET [enableOfficeDocumentsPreview <yes|no>]
This enables or disables the preview of Office documents in WebMail.
Enable Office Previews via WebAdmin
- Navigate to WebMail → Extensions
- Locate the Attachments Preview section
- Toggle the Office attachments preview option
- Click Save Configuration
Note: Office previews are currently in Beta and are not supported in Safari. Performance may vary depending on browser or device capabilities.
What’s Next
We plan to continue evolving the attachment preview functionality in future updates. Here are some of the improvements currently in development:
- Thumbnails for Office attachments
- Dual-mode HTML previews: rendered view and source
- Performance improvements for large text / code files
Send Us Your Feedback
This feature was originally suggested in our product community and has evolved through multiple product updates based on customer input.
We would greatly appreciate your feedback — whether it’s about performance, rendering, or anything else — especially if you’re enabling Office previews now for the first time.
You can leave a comment directly on the original suggestion.
Resources
- Download the latest Axigen: https://www.axigen.com/mail-server/download/
- Read the change log: https://www.axigen.com/updates/axigen-10.6.9
- Contact support: https://www.axigen.com/support/contact/