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Dropbox lets you preview more file types without having to download

Find out what's in a ZIP file before you download it.

If you've ever received a ZIP or RAR file in Gmail, you'll have noticed that you can peek to see what's inside without having to download the file. If you've been hoping for a similar feature elsewhere, you're in luck: Dropbox has updated how it handles previews for a bunch of file types. You can explore a ZIP or RAR file's structure, and preview things like images without having to waste time and bandwidth on downloads if the contents aren't useful.

PDF and PowerPoint previews are getting a boost, too. A refreshed sidebar lets you hop to a certain page or slide when previewing those files, which is super useful if you're looking for something specific and know the page it's on. You also preview DWG files and give some feedback even without having AutoCAD installed. That could save designers and their clients a lot of time and headaches.

EPUB previews are new as well, which could be helpful for authors, publishers and agents who want to share manuscripts and keep them password-protected. Dropbox has also added MXF video previews; the company says videographers can capture up to 6 TB of video in a shoot, and previewing footage without having to download large files could prove immensely useful. You can preview these file types in Dropbox's collaborative document app, Paper, as well as on mobile and the web.