Manage asset previews

Asset previews are images that show the contents of assets. They are displayed when you view an asset, view thumbnails on the home page, browse assets, and in collections in a project. P4 DAM uses P4 Search to generate asset previews.

If a preview cannot be generated, P4 DAM shows a default icon for the file type. To use a different image for a preview, you can upload an image.

Supported file types for generated asset previews

The file types that asset previews are generated for in P4 DAM depend on the version of P4 Search that P4 DAM uses.

For a list of supported file types, see Thumbnail generation: Supported file types in the P4 Search Documentation.

If a preview cannot be generated, you can download the asset to view it or upload a preview image. Some file types have specific supported versions. If there is an asset version that is not supported, a Version not supported message is displayed to indicate which version to use.

3D model asset previews

Automatically convert 3D asset formats, such as .blend, .usd, .obj, .x3d, and .dae, to GLB format to preview in P4 DAM. P4 Render converts these file types to the GLB format and displays them in P4 DAM.

If your system does not have P4 Render enabled, talk to your P4 DAM administrator.

To learn more about P4 Render, see Configure P4 Render service.

Converted original asset to GLB

If you see a message titled 'Converted original asset to GLB' in an asset preview, the model is a preview.

This means the quality might be lower than the original, and the 3D model file type is not directly supported by P4 DAM. The file is converted to GLB format so that P4 DAM can display it without the need to open it in your editor.

Upload an asset preview

You can upload an image to use as the asset preview.

  1. In a project, open the asset.

    • If there is no preview image, click Upload preview image.

    • To replace the existing preview image, click the vertical ellipsis icon and click Upload preview image.

    The Upload preview image dialog box opens.

  2. Drag and drop an image file to the dialog box or browse for a file to upload. The following file types are supported: .jpg, .jpeg, .png, and .webp. The maximum file size is 5 MB.

    The preview image is displayed.

  3. Click Save.

Delete an asset preview

Deleting an asset preview is only supported if P4 DAM is using P4 Search 2025.2 or later. If P4 DAM is using an earlier version of P4 Search, P4 DAM displays an error when you try to delete an asset preview.

  1. In a project, open the asset.

  2. Click the vertical ellipsis icon and click Delete asset preview.

    You are prompted to confirm the deletion. There is no undo available.

  3. Click Delete.

    The asset preview is deleted.

You can create a new asset preview by uploading an image or by regenerating the asset preview. To learn more, see Upload an asset preview and Regenerate an asset preview.

Regenerate an asset preview

Regenerating an asset preview image is only supported if P4 DAM is using P4 Search 2023.4 or later. If P4 DAM is using an earlier version of P4 Search, P4 DAM displays an error when you try to regenerate an asset preview image.

You can regenerate an asset preview image if:

  • P4 DAM failed to generate a preview image when the asset was uploaded.

  • You want to revert a preview image to the original asset preview generated by P4 Search.

  1. In a project, open the asset.

  2. Click the vertical ellipsis icon and click Regenerate preview image.

  3. Click Regenerate to confirm regenerating the preview image.

    When the regeneration is complete, a success message is displayed and you return to the asset.

    If regeneration fails, an error is displayed. See the Troubleshoot asset preview regeneration errors.

Regenerate multiple asset previews

Only P4 Search administrators can regenerate multiple asset preview images.

To regenerate multiple asset preview images, re-index them in P4 Search. Re-indexing the entire P4 Server database can take a long time to complete. It is better to split the re-indexing task into a number of smaller batches. Assets can be re-indexed by date range, revision range, depot path, user, or use multiple criteria to re-index them.

To learn more, see Index P4 Search in the P4 Search Documentation.