# Reference

The percent-encoded URL or file path of the document whose content you want to view.

NOTE: Viewing displays documents only for directories that you define in the ViewLocalDirectoriesCSVs configuration parameter. With this parameter, you can specify a comma-separated list of local directories (including absolute paths) from which the viewing service can display documents.

IDOL View Component does not use the value of ViewLocalDirectoriesCSVs as a prefix for relative paths. You must always specify the full path to any document to display. For example, if ViewLocalDirectoriesCSVs is set to `/mnt/documents`, then to display the document at `/mnt/documents/sample.doc`, you must use the following action:

    http://localhost:9080/action=View&Reference=/mnt/documents/sample.doc

For a View action with the ViewUpload parameter, `Reference` is optional. However, when you send View actions with the ViewUpload parameter to a Distributed Action Handler (DAH) set up to distribute View requests by reference, you can use `Reference` for consistent routing. For more information about distribution by reference, refer to the Distributed Action Handler Administration Guide.

Actions: | ViewGetDocInfo View
Type: | String
Default: |
Example: | `Reference=http://news.bbc.co.uk/summary.pdf`
See Also: | ViewUpload ViewLocalDirectoriesCSVs configuration parameter

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