Thumbnails not generating for PDFs or Figma files

Grey placeholder thumbnails have different causes depending on the file type, so start by checking which kind of file is affected.

For PDFs: password-protected files can’t be rendered (the preview service can’t open them), and PDFs over 500 MB are skipped for performance. Remove the password, or upload a small first-page export alongside the protected original.

For Figma files: a frozen or grey preview almost always means the Figma integration’s token expired or the file’s Figma workspace changed hands. Reconnect under Settings → Integrations → Figma and previews regenerate within the hour.

For anything else, open the file and choose “Refresh preview” from the file menu. After large imports the thumbnail queue can run up to an hour behind — refreshing jumps a single file to the front.