Why Aren't My Previews Working?

If you receive this error when trying to view your previews, read on to find out what may be the problem!

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Preview Files Can Only Be PDFs

The only file type valid for use as a Preview File is a PDF. To see what your preview file is currently set to, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to your Publisher Hub (click the Publish tab)
  2. Under Title Management, click Manage previews of my titles
  3. Under Quick Preview and Full-Size Preview, check the Preview File
  4. If the Preview File type is not set to a PDF, click the drop-down and select the correct file
  5. Hit "Submit Changes" for each preview type, and you're good to go!

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Your Preview Is Too Long

If your product page is loading slowly or your customers are receiving an error when trying to view your preview file, check how many pages you're offering for your preview. Previews longer than 20 pages may cause loading delays and error messages.

We recommend setting your preview to 12 pages total from any section of your book.

Black Pages in Quick Preview

If your product's pages are displaying all black in your Quick Preview, it may be because your PDF does not have flattened transparencies. To read more on flattened transparencies, see here. Depending on the program used to create your PDF, your pages may have exported with transparent backgrounds. In our Quick Preview, these transparencies will appear as black boxes instead. Adding a background image (even a fully white background) to your pages may fix this. 

We will be retiring the Quick Preview tool with our site redesign, PHNX, so we recommend removing your Quick Preview altogether if this issue persists.

Still Receiving an Error

If you've tried the above solutions and nothing has worked, here are a few troubleshooting tips:

  • Disable your previews, hit "Save Changes", and then re-enable your previews. Sometimes turning it off and on again does work!
  • Give our site a few hours to process those changes. Due to the way our site caches, any edits you make may not reflect right away. We recommend trying again later, or even the next day.

If all else fails, contact us by submitting a request through our webform. We're always happy to help!

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