new-post: previewing workspace files in the web UI

content/posts/2023/previewing-workspace-files.md

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+---
+title: "Previewing workspace files"
+date: 2023-11-13T14:00:00+01:00
+---
+
+For a long time, the REANA web UI has allowed users to preview certain types of files present in the
+workflow workspace. This has proven to be very convenient for users who want to quickly glance through
+images and text files in their workspaces without having to download them. 
+Expanding on this, recent enhancements in REANA now include the previewing of PDF and ROOT files, 
+increasing the number of file types that can be inspected within the browser.
+
+<!--more-->
+
+## Images and text files preview
+
+Probably amongst the most common file types in a workflow workspace are images and text files. The web UI has
+always allowed to preview them from a modal window opened just by clicking on the name of the file in the workspace list.
+From there, you can also download the file if needed. Note that text files are not limited to `.txt` files, 
+but they also include logs, code, and other text-based files.
+
+![Text file preview](/images/text-file-preview.png)
+
+## HTML files preview
+
+Since REANA 0.8.1, users have been able to preview HTML files directly in the web UI.
+This feature remains a valuable asset, allowing for example immediate visibility into Snakemake
+reports and other HTML-based documentation pages directly within the browser.
+
+![HTML file preview](/images/snakemake-support-report.png)
+
+## PDF files preview
+
+Starting from REANA 0.9.1, when you click on a PDF file in your workflow's workspace in the web UI, an embedded
+PDF viewer will load the document. You will be able to scroll through pages, zoom in and out,
+or even download the PDF if necessary.
+You can use it to quickly inspect the content of any PDF generated by your analysis or uploaded to your
+workspace.
+Here is a sneak peek of how it looks:
+
+![PDF file preview](/images/pdf-files-preview.png)
+
+## ROOT files preview
+
+[ROOT](https://root.cern.ch) files can also be previewed directly in the web UI.
+We have embedded a ROOT file viewer, based on [JSROOT](https://root.cern/js/), enabling you to inspect your
+ROOT files without leaving your browser.
+You can navigate through the file structure, interact with charts and ROOT objects, zoom on some details,
+and download the file if needed.
+Here you can see the ROOT file viewer in action:
+
+![ROOT file preview](/images/reana-0.9.1-root-preview.png)
+
+These enhancements aim to save time and streamline the process of navigating and inspecting files
+in your workflow workspace.
+We are continually working on improving your experience with REANA, and we hope that
+they will prove beneficial in your research and data analysis.
+If you have any feedback or suggestions for supporting previewing other file types,
+please don't hesitate to reach out.
+
+## See also:
+- [Previewing HTML files (since REANA 0.8.1)](/posts/2022/reana-0.8.1/#previewing-html-workspace-files-directly)
+- [Previewing PDF and ROOT files (since REANA 0.9.1)](/posts/2023/reana-0.9.1/#previewing-pdf-and-root-files)