Elgg allows to upload and share files within users. It is a basic feature that comes out of the box and does not provide a way to preview the files uploaded. In this article I will show you how to view files in elgg.

1. The Core Files plugin is the tool that lets users upload files. It is important to make sure this plugin is active. Also, you must enable Web Services API.

2. Download the plugin File Viewer here. This tool integrates two third party services. Those services provide the ability to embed and preview some file formats.

3. Install the plugin.

4. Log into the elgg Administration Dashboard and go to menu “Configure -> Plugins” and activate the plugin:

5. After activation, go to menu “Configure -> Settings -> File Viewer” to select the file formats that can be viewed within your site. Then save the settings:

6. Besides selecting the file formats with preview, you can select the service that will provide the file viewing. It can be either Google Docs Viewer or MS Office Web Viewer:

7. Save the files and run upgrade.php If you don’t know how to run upgrade.php read this article.

8. That’s it, you can preview files on your elgg network:

This concludes viewing files in elgg