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Dynamics 365 Community / Forums / Service | Customer Service, Contact Center, Fie... / Is There an Out-of-the...
Service | Customer Service, Contact Center, Fie...
Suggested Answer

Is There an Out-of-the-Box Solution for Text Selection in PDF Preview in Dynamics 365?

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Posted on by MichaelFo96 135

When viewing PDF attachments in Dynamics 365 the built-in Attachment Preview only displays the document as a static view. Even if the PDF contains selectable text, the preview does not allow text selection or copying.

My questions:

  • Is there an out-of-the-box option or setting to enable text selection in the PDF preview?
     
  • If not, how have others solved this limitation?
    • Are there recommended PCF components or custom controls?
    • Any best practices for embedding a browser-based PDF viewer or using Power Automate for text extraction

This is a common productivity issue for teams that need to quickly copy order numbers, addresses, or other details from attachments without downloading the file.

Categories:
Dynamics 365 Customer Service
Case Management Agent
I have the same question (0)
  • Suggested answer
    Tom_Gioielli Profile Picture
    Tom_Gioielli 3,090 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at
    If users are needing to copy and grab that information regularly, is this a situation where you might look at using Copilot to extract the details from the files using Vision AI and using it to populate columns on your record? 
     
    For example, if you need to create an Opportunity or populate fields from an email form you could have Power Automate take the email, send it to a Copilot action to extract the details, and then create or update the record with the outputs.
  • MichaelFo96 Profile Picture
    MichaelFo96 135 on at
    Hello Tom_Gioeilli,
     
    we already use Copilot Document Extraction to extract specific information.
     
    We don't want to create fields for every "once in a lifetime" information. Sometimes, the customer's PDF contains specific information that is unstructured somewhere in the document and needs to be copied manually.
  • Suggested answer
    Tom_Gioielli Profile Picture
    Tom_Gioielli 3,090 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at
    Since you mentioned Power Automate for text extraction, I had assumed there was some standardization for the type of information that was often needing to be copied. 
     
    There is no OOB setting for enabling text extraction from the preview. This functionality works in SharePoint, so if you enable SharePoint integration with CRM and open records from there text extraction will work.
     
    You can try a PCF control like MultiFilePreviewControl | PCF Gallery, but I'm not sure if it supports text selection from the preview.
  • Suggested answer
    Daniyal Khaleel Profile Picture
    Daniyal Khaleel 764 Most Valuable Professional on at
    No, there isn’t an out-of-the-box setting in Dynamics 365 that turns the built-in attachment preview into a selectable / copyable PDF viewer. The preview that ships with model-driven apps is a simple render and does not expose selection/copy functionality for users.
    Option to allow text selection / text extraction from PDF attachments
    1) Replace the preview with a browser PDF viewer (recommended when users need selection)
    What it is: use a custom PDF viewer control (PCF or web resource) that embeds a browser-side viewer (PDF.js, PSPDFKit, etc.) so the PDF renders as text in the browser and becomes selectable/copyable.
    Why: full client-side rendering supports selection, searching, and improved UX. 
    How to implement (high level):
    Create a PCF control or web resource that loads the PDF binary/URL and renders it with PDF.js or a commercial viewer (PSPDFKit).
    Expose the control on the Notes/Attachment area or a form tab where users click to open the PDF.
    Pros: native selection; fast, good UX; can add zoom/search/annotations.
    Cons: development work (or licensing for commercial viewers); watch CORS and auth if files require authentication

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