Alternative restore method for offloaded media files

Written by Svenja T. | February 3, 2026

In rare cases, when a media file has been offloaded and you try to open it by clicking directly on the file in SharePoint (one-click restore), SharePoint may display a message indicating that the file preview is not available.

In this situation, the file is still archived correctly, but the automatic restore via preview does not complete successfully.
You can restore the file using an alternative ShArc restore option.

Step 1: Open the file menu in SharePoint

Go to the document library that contains the offloaded media file.

Click the three dots (⋯) next to the file to open the file menu.

Step 2: Use Restore with ShArc

In the file menu, select:

Open → Restore with ShArc

This starts the restore process using ShArc directly, instead of relying on the file preview.

Step 3: Wait for the restore to finish

The restore runs in the background.
After completion, the file will be available again in its original format (for example .mp4) and can be opened normally.

Summary

If an offloaded media file cannot be restored via one-click preview and shows a “Can't preview this file.” message, using Restore with ShArc is the recommended workaround.

View full post