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How to Fix SharePoint Preview Showing Duplicate Images in TIFF and PNG Files
Question details
Users report that TIFF or PNG files containing a single image offline display two images when viewed through the SharePoint online previewer, often with one image appearing at a lower quality.
- Product
- SharePoint
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Uploading single-image TIFF or PNG files to a SharePoint document library and viewing them via the web-based preview interface.
- Observed behavior
- The SharePoint online preview renders duplicate images for a single image file, while the downloaded version of the file remains unaffected and contains only one image.
Before troubleshooting, download the affected image from SharePoint to your local drive to verify if the file itself has been altered. If the local file displays normally, the issue is strictly isolated to SharePoint's online preview renderer or a background processing flow.
Review Power Automate Flows Attached to the SharePoint Library
Automated workflows triggered upon file upload can sometimes alter file metadata, generate hidden thumbnails, or cause display glitches in the previewer.
In many Microsoft 365 environments, Power Automate flows are set up to process incoming files. A malfunctioning flow might process the image twice or append a lower-quality thumbnail that the previewer misinterprets as a second image page.
Navigate to the specific SharePoint document library where the TIFF or PNG files are experiencing the duplicate preview issue.
Click on the 'Automate' or 'Integrate' button in the top command bar, then select 'Power Automate' followed by 'See your flows'.
Look for any active flows related to file uploads, image processing, or approvals. Temporarily disable suspicious flows to see if newly uploaded images still duplicate in the preview.
If you do not have permission to view or manage library workflows, contact your tenant administrator or IT team to review and troubleshoot the active Power Automate flows.
Verify File Origin and Local Editing History
Confirming how the file was handled before uploading can help rule out metadata or thumbnail corruption caused by specific local software.
Open a Microsoft 365 Support Ticket
If no workflows are altering the files and the downloaded files are perfectly normal, the issue is likely a bug within the SharePoint preview engine itself.
Use WPS Office for Reliable Document and Image Management
If you're dealing with frustrating Microsoft 365 bugs or simply want a lightweight, free alternative for your daily tasks, WPS Office provides a robust suite of tools. It handles documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and PDFs natively, ensuring your inserted images and graphics display exactly as intended without unexpected duplication or preview glitches.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the downloaded SharePoint file only have one image?
The duplication is a visual artifact generated by SharePoint's online file viewer. The actual source file remains intact on the server, which is why downloading it yields the original, single-image file.
Can Windows Photo Viewer cause images to duplicate in SharePoint?
While older apps like Windows Photo Viewer do not add duplicate images, they might embed specific thumbnails or modify metadata when rotating or saving. SharePoint's preview processor may misinterpret this metadata as a second page or image layer.
How do I know if a Power Automate flow is causing this issue?
You can check by navigating to your SharePoint document library, clicking the 'Automate' dropdown menu, and selecting 'See your flows'. If there are automated processes running on file creation, they may be modifying the files or triggering backend glitches.
Are other image formats affected by this SharePoint preview bug?
Currently, this specific preview duplication behavior is most commonly reported with TIFF (which naturally supports multiple pages) and PNG formats. Standard JPEG files generally do not exhibit this issue.
