Business Central 2026 Wave 2: Preview Images Directly in the Web Client

One of the most practical user experience enhancements in Dynamics 365 Business Central 2026 Release Wave 2 (BC29) is the ability to preview image attachments directly in the web client without downloading them first. This feature brings image files in line with the PDF preview experience introduced in earlier releases and makes working with attachments much more seamless.

What's New?

With BC29, users can open supported image attachments directly within Business Central and view them in a dedicated preview window. There's no need to download the file locally before viewing it.

The viewer experience is similar to the existing PDF and print preview experiences. Users can zoom, navigate, print, and download the image if they want to keep a local copy.

Supported Image Formats

Microsoft has included support for a wide range of image types:

• JPEG / JPG
• PNG
• BMP
• SVG
• WEBP
• ICO
• GIF (including animated GIFs)
• AVIF (including animated AVIFs)

Safari users also gain support for:

• TIFF
• TIF

 

Additional Benefits

Beyond simply opening images, Microsoft has included a couple of nice enhancements:

Animated GIF Support

GIF thumbnails can now be displayed in FactBoxes, including animation support for GIFs up to 48 frames.

Clickable Thumbnails

Image thumbnails and PDF thumbnails become clickable and automatically open the preview window.

These small improvements make document-heavy processes much more user friendly. 

Where This Helps

This feature can be useful in many scenarios:

• Product images
• Item catalogs
• Quality inspection photos
• Purchase documentation
• Service department attachments
• Employee receipts and supporting documents
• Images generated or uploaded by custom extensions

Instead of downloading multiple files while reviewing records, users can quickly preview them directly inside Business Central.

What About Custom Extensions?

The good news is that Microsoft has made this capability available to extension developers.

For Business Central Online, developers can use:

File.ViewFromStream(...)

Customization Example: Preview an Image Stored in a Custom Table/Field

Suppose you've added a custom Table/field and want users to preview the image directly without downloading it.

Table 

table 50100 "Image Test"

{

Caption = 'Image Test';

DataClassification = CustomerContent;

fields

{

field(1; "No."; Code[20])

{

Caption = 'No.';

}

field(10; Description; Text[100])

{

Caption = 'Description';

}

field(20; "File Name"; Text[250])

{

Caption = 'File Name';

}

field(30; "Image Blob"; Blob)

{

Caption = 'Image';

}

}

keys

{

key(PK; "No.")

{

Clustered = true;

}

}

}

page 50100 "Image Test List"

{

Caption = 'Image Test List';

PageType = List;

SourceTable = "Image Test";

UsageCategory = Lists;

ApplicationArea = All;

layout

{

area(Content)

{

repeater(Group)

{

field("No."; Rec."No.")

{

ApplicationArea = All;

}

field(Description; Rec.Description)

{

ApplicationArea = All;

}

field("File Name"; Rec."File Name")

{

ApplicationArea = All;

Editable = false;

}

}

}

}

actions

{

area(Processing)

{

action(UploadImage)

{

Caption = 'Upload Image';

ApplicationArea = All;

Image = Import;

Promoted = true;

PromotedCategory = Process;

trigger OnAction()

var

FileName: Text;

InS: InStream;

OutS: OutStream;

begin

if UploadIntoStream(

'Select Image',

'',

'All Files (*.*)|*.*',

FileName,

InS)

then begin

Clear(Rec."Image Blob");

Rec."Image Blob".CreateOutStream(OutS);

CopyStream(OutS, InS);

Rec."File Name" := FileName;

Rec.Modify(true);

Message('File uploaded: %1', FileName);

end;

end;

}

action(PreviewImage)

{

Caption = 'Preview Image';

ApplicationArea = All;

Image = View;

Promoted = true;

PromotedCategory = Process;

trigger OnAction()

var

InS: InStream;

begin

Rec.CalcFields("Image Blob");

if not Rec."Image Blob".HasValue() then

Error('No image uploaded.');

if Rec."File Name" = '' then

Error('No filename stored.');

Rec."Image Blob".CreateInStream(InS);

File.ViewFromStream(

InS,

Rec."File Name"

);

end;

}

}

}

} 

 

When the user selects Preview Image, the image opens directly inside the BC29 web client without downloading it first.

Why This Matters for Developers

Prior to this feature, many developers had to rely on:

• JavaScript control add-ins
• SharePoint previews
• Temporary downloads
• External viewers

With native image preview support now built into the platform, custom solutions become simpler, cleaner, and more consistent with the standard Business Central user experience. 

Final Thoughts

The new Preview Images Directly in Web Client feature is one of those enhancements that users will immediately appreciate. It removes unnecessary downloads, provides a familiar viewing experience, and gives developers a standard way to surface image content directly within Business Central.

Combined with support for animated GIFs, clickable thumbnails, and extension development support through File.ViewFromStream, this feature helps make Business Central's document experience more modern and productive.