What are Thumbnails?
Thumbnails are automatically generated preview images that provide visual representations of your digital assets. They enable fast browsing and asset identification without requiring users to download or open the original files.
When a file is uploaded to Data Dwell, the platform automatically creates thumbnails in web-friendly sizes. This ensures acceptable loading speeds across the library, search results, and distribution channels while preserving your original files unchanged.
Why Thumbnails Matter
Thumbnails serve several critical functions in digital asset management:
Performance - Preview images load significantly faster than original files, particularly for high-resolution images, large videos, or complex documents. This enables smooth browsing even when working with extensive asset libraries.
Accessibility - Users can view previews of file types they may not have applications installed to open. For example, specialized image formats, video codecs, or proprietary document types become viewable directly in the platform.
Asset Identification - Visual previews help users quickly identify and select the correct asset, reducing the need to download multiple files to find what they need.
Distribution - Thumbnails appear in Portals, Showcases, and Public Links, ensuring recipients can browse and preview assets before downloading.
How Thumbnail Processing Works
Thumbnail generation happens automatically after upload:
- Upload - When a file is added to Data Dwell, it is stored as a digital asset in its original format
- Processing - The platform analyzes the file and generates preview images optimized for web viewing
- Availability - Once processing completes, thumbnails appear throughout the platform wherever that asset is displayed
No user action is required to trigger thumbnail generation. The system handles this process in the background for all supported file types.
Supported File Types
Data Dwell has no restrictions on which file types can be uploaded. However, thumbnail generation is available for a comprehensive range of formats.
Images
Thumbnails are automatically created for common image formats including:
- JPEG, JPG - Standard compressed images
- PNG - Images with transparency support
- GIF - Animated and static graphics
- TIFF - High-quality print images
- BMP - Bitmap images
- WEBP - Modern web format
- SVG - Scalable vector graphics
- PSD - Adobe Photoshop files
- AI - Adobe Illustrator files (Post CS2)
The platform also supports specialized and RAW camera formats including CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, DNG, and many others used by professional photographers.
Documents
Preview generation is supported for:
- PDF - Portable Document Format
- DOCX, DOC - Microsoft Word documents
- XLSX, XLS - Microsoft Excel spreadsheets
- PPTX, PPT - Microsoft PowerPoint presentations
Videos & Audio
Video thumbnails capture representative frames from:
- MP4 - Standard web video format
- MOV - QuickTime videos
- AVI - Windows video format
- MKV - Matroska multimedia container
- WEBM - Open web video format
- FLV - Flash video format
Audio files receive placeholder thumbnails with format identification.
The complete list of supported codecs and formats includes hundreds of professional, proprietary, and legacy file types. For the comprehensive list, refer to the FAQ.
File Limitations
While Data Dwell supports uploading any file type, thumbnail generation may not be available for:
- Unsupported formats - Proprietary or uncommon file types not included in the supported format list
- Corrupted files - Files with data integrity issues that prevent processing
- Encrypted or protected files - Assets with security restrictions that block content analysis
- Extremely large files - Files that exceed processing resource limits
When thumbnail generation is unavailable, the platform displays a generic file type icon in place of a preview image. The original file remains accessible for download. Administrators can replace this icon with their own image. See How to Set Up Type Thumbnails.
If you encounter a file type that fails to generate thumbnails, please contact Data Dwell support. We continuously expand format support and improve processing capabilities based on customer needs. Reporting unsupported formats helps us prioritize enhancements to the platform.
Thumbnails and Permissions
Thumbnail visibility follows the same permission structure as the underlying asset. Users can only view thumbnails for assets they have permission to access based on folder permissions, user groups, and role assignments.
Thumbnail processing itself does not require special permissions-it occurs automatically for all uploaded assets. However, triggering reprocessing of thumbnails may require specific user permissions depending on your platform configuration.
For information on managing and reprocessing thumbnails, see the How to Manage Thumbnails article.