Page Preview Stuck on Generating Preview

Page Preview is a real PDF built on our server. The first preview of a chapter is the slowest, most of all after an update or a long break.

A Page Preview is a real PDF built on our server, the same way your final export is built, and then drawn on your screen. The first preview of a chapter, format or template is the slowest, most of all right after the app has been updated or has not been used for a while.

What is Page Preview showing me?

Page Preview shows the literal real print-ready PDF page for the current chapter, generated the same way as the final export (not an approximation). It is built by the same print engine and the same request as the real PDF export: the whole book is laid out and the preview opens at the chapter you are editing, so every chapter page looks exactly like the exported PDF. Margins, running headers, fonts and page breaks are exactly what will print.

What is normal?

• ✦The first preview of a chapter, format or template is the slowest. This is most noticeable right after the app has been updated or has not been used for a while.
• ✦After you type, the preview refreshes a moment after you stop typing.
• ✦Previews already shown during your visit come back instantly when you return to the same chapter, format and template. Switching between two formats and back does not rebuild them. This memory lasts only until the page is reloaded.
• ✦The Front End tab builds its thumbnails from a full-book preview the first time it opens. It does not rebuild them when you leave the tab and come back, unless the book changed.
• ✦Preview page numbers are lower than the PDF's. While you are still writing, the preview leaves out only the front matter (title page, copyright, table of contents), so its page numbers are lower than the PDF's by the number of front pages. The front matter appears in the real exported PDF.
• ✦The preview uses lighter copies of your pictures for speed (same size and position). Export PDF always uses the full-quality pictures.

What if the preview does not appear?

A screenshot is useful. Note which page you are on and which browser you use, then see How do I contact support?

Is this the same as KDP's Print Previewer being slow?

No. That is Amazon's own screen after you upload your PDF to KDP, and it is an Amazon-side processing step. See KDP's previewer stuck when I upload my PDF.

Not sure where to start? The Course Coach inside the app guides you through each step, so you are never stuck on a button.

Last checked in the app: October 14, 2026.