# Place a document (PDF) in a scene

A document from your library goes straight into a scene: one page, several pages in turn, or two side by side. Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files work the same way, because the library turns them into a PDF when you upload them. So notices, flyers, and menus reach the displays without a detour through an image editor.

> **Type:** guide
> **For:** Anyone who designs a scene.
> **Prerequisite:** the permission to edit this scene and a document (PDF, Word, PowerPoint, or Excel) in the library.
> **Where in the portal:** **Scenes** › open a scene › **Insert and settings** bar › **Media**

## Steps

1. In the bar, open the **Media** area. Under **All** or **Documents**, your documents sit next to images and videos.
2. Click the document. It appears as a **Document** widget in the **Page** template, upright like a sheet of paper, centered on the stage.
3. Open the settings window with the gear icon **Settings**. In the **Content** tab, **File** names the document with its format and page count, such as “12 pages · from the library”. **Other file** lets you choose a different one.
4. Under **Pages**, all pages appear as thumbnails. Without your selection, the widget shows all pages except blank ones. A click on a page removes it or adds it. **All except blank** restores the default.
5. In the **Playback** tab, choose how the pages appear under **Show** and how a page sits in the frame under **Fit page**.
6. In the **Appearance** tab, choose the **Surface** behind the pages. **Apply** writes everything into the scene.

## The settings

| Field | Choice | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| **Show** | **One page**, **In sequence**, **Two side by side** | One page stays still. In sequence cycles through the chosen pages, and fine lines at the bottom edge show the position. Two side by side shows double pages, and “Pages 2–3 of 6” appears at the bottom right. |
| **Change every** | **5 s**, **10 s**, **20 s**, **30 s** | How long a page stays. All displays with the same scene show the same page at the same time. The field is missing for **One page**. |
| **Fit page** | **Whole page**, **Fill width**, **Fill frame** | The whole page fits into the frame, or it fills the width, aligned to the top, or it covers the whole frame. What reaches beyond the frame is not visible. |
| **Surface** | **Dark**, **Light**, **Transparent**, **Brand**, **Custom** | The surface around the pages. Transparent lets the scene's background show through. **Brand** takes a color of your brand, **Custom** a color you choose. |
| **Corners** | **Rounded**, **Sharp** | The corners of the widget. |

All pages sit in the same box, sized by the first page shown. A later page with another shape is fitted into it, so the frame doesn't jump with every change. With **One page**, **Pages** lets you choose only one page. A click on a page keeps only that one, and **First page** discards your choice.

The templates **Page** (upright), **Double page**, and **Full screen** (both landscape) only set the shape. If the frame is too narrow for two pages, the widget shows one page, and the settings window says so below the preview.

## What happens to a document

The library prepares each page as an image, the first 50 pages of a document. The displays receive these page images, not the file, so every device shows the same pages the same way, even without a network. While the pages are being prepared, the surface stays still at the display. If the document comes from a place such as OneDrive and you change it there, all scenes with it show the new pages ([Files from OneDrive](/content/onedrive-places)). If you chose pages and the new version has a different page count, the scene reports “Document page count changed” under **Integrity issues**. Then choose the pages again.

## Check the result

The stage shows the chosen pages in the frame. **Preview** shows how the pages change over time, the way the display will show them.

## If something goes wrong

| What you see | Why | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| The widget stays empty, and the editor says “No document chosen yet” | The widget has no file. | Choose a document in the settings under **File**. |
| The editor says “The pages of this document are not ready yet” | The pages are still being prepared, or processing failed. | Wait a moment. If the document shows **Error** in the library, the details name the cause and the next step, see [When processing fails](/content/media-library#when-processing-fails). |
| Pages are missing at the end | The document has more than 50 pages, and the details say “First 50 of 150 pages”. | Save the pages you want as a separate document and upload it. |
| A piece of the page is missing at the edge, and below the preview it says “Hidden in this frame: Fit page.” | **Fill width** or **Fill frame** cuts off what reaches beyond the frame. | Choose **Whole page** or make the frame larger on the stage. |
| With **One page**, a different page shows than you expected | Pages you chose earlier stay saved, and the first of them shows. | Click the page you want under **Pages**, or choose **First page**. |

## Related

- [Place and arrange widgets on the stage](/content/place-widgets)
- [Configure widgets: template, preview, and fields](/content/configure-widgets)
- [File types, sizes, and storage](/content/file-types-and-storage)