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Once a file is uploaded to the application, it can be previewed using two different methods:
  • Direct embed: A standard HTML <iframe> component with a custom embed link.
  • Customized previewer: A fully customized preview widget using Box .

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Direct Embed (iframe)

The direct embed link provides limited options to customize the preview experience in your application. Due to the light-weight nature of the method, the API doesn’t give you options to respond to client-side actions such as scrolling in the case of documents, play/pause interactivity for videos, rotating an image, etc. There are two steps to create a direct <iframe> embed for Box View:
  1. Generate an embed URL for the file
  2. Add the embed URL to an <iframe>

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Generate an embed URL for the file

To create a public file preview URL for a file that was uploaded to the application, you may either use a direct SDK method or make the request directly to the APIs.
When generating the embed URL directly from the APIs, use the and request expiring_embed_link via the fields parameter.
curl https://api.box.com/2.0/files/FILE_ID?fields=expiring_embed_link \
    -H "authorization: Bearer [ACCESS_TOKEN]"

String fileId = "12345678";
Uri embedUri = await client.FilesManager.GetPreviewLinkAsync(id: fileId);

String fileID = "12345678";
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, fileID);
URL embedLink = file.getPreviewLink();

file_id = '12345678'
embed_url = client.file(file_id).get_embed_url()

const fileId = '12345678';
client.files.getEmbedLink(fileId).then(embedURL => {
    // ...
});
Within the response object will be a public embed URL like the following: 
https://app.box.com/preview/expiring_embed/gvoct6FE!YT_X1LauQ8ulDTad96hTl9xLCRYJ
5iU6O61KxiduxFIgX9HSWMcCWf7zju1XkEsf6-Ul2qtKXeaFeKPT4SysQJQdxrc144KgTIBuoI3bWMf4
cfhp3jdLYrK5hnr6KMq5H6r-AW31AcFtDJi1lnT0M4b3bvvZUaE2RRJGGINMauvS6MAT2luae5PvbFSx
Ctqqx6XlN6QrqbhfJc0UeJF9qwMv3-O8q5fWn0qr8OTY4lkeYidtTs3Ux...
For security reasons, the generated embed link will expire after 1 minute and should be immediately embedded in the app once generated.

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Add the embed URL to an <iframe>

Within the HTML of your application, create an iframe elements with the src attribute set to generated embed URL. 
<iframe src="https://app.box.com/preview/expiring_embed/gvoct6FE!ixgtCKQAziW
  9tHPm-jueq4cmS4GnL9RTJRcVEsK_3W8xcxtVo_v6gKpoXY45odgG1QrcjBVYZMrriUyGvcoSM
  SX8s-smpaFFYQik0R-PCKFtwvbv0lonid6ZfYNbuNFl2j9hOIqBccvHrdVor7i6WvOm6zELzTY
  4EWshcyYYBhDbJmYMrq61RtU_kvBe5P..."></iframe>

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Customized Previewer (UI Elements)

To leverage advanced preview customization and event handling capabilities, use the Box . To set up the Preview Element, start by installing the required components.

Install Box Elements and Preview

The basic code will resemble the below when adding the JavaScript code to display a new previewer. 
var preview = new Box.Preview();
preview.show("FILE_ID", "ACCESS_TOKEN", {
    container: ".preview-container",
    showDownload: true
});
Replace the placeholders in the code sample with the following:
  • FILE_ID: The ID of the file uploaded to the application, which can be obtained from the object returned when uploading the file.
  • ACCESS_TOKEN: The primary Access Token set up when configuring the application or a downscoped version of the token.
Due to the elevated privileges of the primary access token it’s highly recommended that you use a downscoped version of the token in the Javascript code. See .
Last modified on June 19, 2026