diff --git a/src-ui/src/app/components/document-list/document-card-small/document-card-small.component.html b/src-ui/src/app/components/document-list/document-card-small/document-card-small.component.html
index 28dc84236..a6ac18b83 100644
--- a/src-ui/src/app/components/document-list/document-card-small/document-card-small.component.html
+++ b/src-ui/src/app/components/document-list/document-card-small/document-card-small.component.html
@@ -37,12 +37,30 @@
               <path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M12.146.146a.5.5 0 0 1 .708 0l3 3a.5.5 0 0 1 0 .708l-10 10a.5.5 0 0 1-.168.11l-5 2a.5.5 0 0 1-.65-.65l2-5a.5.5 0 0 1 .11-.168l10-10zM11.207 2.5L13.5 4.793 14.793 3.5 12.5 1.207 11.207 2.5zm1.586 3L10.5 3.207 4 9.707V10h.5a.5.5 0 0 1 .5.5v.5h.5a.5.5 0 0 1 .5.5v.5h.293l6.5-6.5zm-9.761 5.175l-.106.106-1.528 3.821 3.821-1.528.106-.106A.5.5 0 0 1 5 12.5V12h-.5a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V11h-.5a.5.5 0 0 1-.468-.325z"/>
             </svg>
           </a>
-          <a [href]="getPreviewUrl()" class="btn btn-sm btn-outline-secondary" title="View in browser" i18n-title>
+          <a [href]="previewUrl" target="_blank" class="btn btn-sm btn-outline-secondary" title="Hover to preview, click to view in browser" i18n-title
+          [ngbPopover]="previewContent" [popoverTitle]="document.title | documentTitle"
+          autoClose="true" popoverClass="shadow" (mouseenter)="mouseEnterPreview()" (mouseleave)="mouseLeavePreview()" #popover="ngbPopover">
             <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="16" height="16" fill="currentColor" class="bi bi-eye" viewBox="0 0 16 16">
               <path d="M16 8s-3-5.5-8-5.5S0 8 0 8s3 5.5 8 5.5S16 8 16 8zM1.173 8a13.133 13.133 0 0 1 1.66-2.043C4.12 4.668 5.88 3.5 8 3.5c2.12 0 3.879 1.168 5.168 2.457A13.133 13.133 0 0 1 14.828 8c-.058.087-.122.183-.195.288-.335.48-.83 1.12-1.465 1.755C11.879 11.332 10.119 12.5 8 12.5c-2.12 0-3.879-1.168-5.168-2.457A13.134 13.134 0 0 1 1.172 8z"/>
               <path d="M8 5.5a2.5 2.5 0 1 0 0 5 2.5 2.5 0 0 0 0-5zM4.5 8a3.5 3.5 0 1 1 7 0 3.5 3.5 0 0 1-7 0z"/>
             </svg>
           </a>
+          <ng-template #previewContent>
+            <ng-container *ngIf="getContentType() == 'application/pdf'">
+                <div class="preview pdf-viewer-container" *ngIf="!useNativePdfViewer ; else nativePdfViewer">
+                  <div class="spinner-border spinner-border-sm" role="status">
+                    <span class="sr-only">Loading...</span>
+                  </div>
+                  <pdf-viewer [src]="previewUrl" [original-size]="false" [show-borders]="false" [show-all]="true" [render-text-mode]="2" (after-load-complete)="pdfPreviewLoaded($event)"></pdf-viewer>
+                </div>
+                <ng-template #nativePdfViewer>
+                    <object [data]="previewUrl | safe" type="application/pdf" class="preview" width="100%"></object>
+                </ng-template>
+            </ng-container>
+            <ng-container *ngIf="getContentType() == 'text/plain'">
+                <object [data]="previewUrl | safe" type="text/plain" class="preview" width="100%"></object>
+            </ng-container>
+          </ng-template>
           <a [href]="getDownloadUrl()" class="btn btn-sm btn-outline-secondary" title="Download" (click)="$event.stopPropagation()" i18n-title>
             <svg width="1em" height="1em" viewBox="0 0 16 16" class="bi bi-download" fill="currentColor" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
               <path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M.5 9.9a.5.5 0 0 1 .5.5v2.5a1 1 0 0 0 1 1h12a1 1 0 0 0 1-1v-2.5a.5.5 0 0 1 1 0v2.5a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H2a2 2 0 0 1-2-2v-2.5a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5z"/>
diff --git a/src-ui/src/app/components/document-list/document-card-small/document-card-small.component.scss b/src-ui/src/app/components/document-list/document-card-small/document-card-small.component.scss
index a4af1bb11..ba3a180c7 100644
--- a/src-ui/src/app/components/document-list/document-card-small/document-card-small.component.scss
+++ b/src-ui/src/app/components/document-list/document-card-small/document-card-small.component.scss
@@ -34,3 +34,21 @@
 .doc-img-background-selected {
   background-color: $primaryFaded;
 }
+
+::ng-deep .popover {
+  max-width: 40rem;
+
+  .preview {
+    min-width: 10rem;
+    min-height: 10rem;
+    max-height: 25rem;
+    overflow-y: scroll;
+  }
+
+  .spinner-border {
+    position: absolute;
+    top: 4rem;
+    left: calc(50% - 0.5rem);
+    z-index: 0;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src-ui/src/app/components/document-list/document-card-small/document-card-small.component.ts b/src-ui/src/app/components/document-list/document-card-small/document-card-small.component.ts
index 5db0e30c0..a19e19533 100644
--- a/src-ui/src/app/components/document-list/document-card-small/document-card-small.component.ts
+++ b/src-ui/src/app/components/document-list/document-card-small/document-card-small.component.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
-import { Component, EventEmitter, Input, OnInit, Output } from '@angular/core';
+import { Component, EventEmitter, Input, OnInit, Output, ViewChild } from '@angular/core';
 import { map } from 'rxjs/operators';
 import { PaperlessDocument } from 'src/app/data/paperless-document';
+import { PaperlessDocumentMetadata } from 'src/app/data/paperless-document-metadata';
 import { DocumentService } from 'src/app/services/rest/document.service';
+import { NgbPopover } from '@ng-bootstrap/ng-bootstrap';
+import { SettingsService, SETTINGS_KEYS } from 'src/app/services/settings.service';
 
 @Component({
   selector: 'app-document-card-small',
@@ -10,11 +13,11 @@ import { DocumentService } from 'src/app/services/rest/document.service';
 })
 export class DocumentCardSmallComponent implements OnInit {
 
-  constructor(private documentService: DocumentService) { }
+  constructor(private documentService: DocumentService, private settings: SettingsService) { }
 
   @Input()
   selected = false
-  
+
   @Output()
   toggleSelected = new EventEmitter()
 
@@ -29,7 +32,17 @@ export class DocumentCardSmallComponent implements OnInit {
 
   moreTags: number = null
 
+  @Output()
+  showPreview = new EventEmitter<DocumentCardSmallComponent>()
+
+  @ViewChild('popover') popover: NgbPopover
+
+  metadata: PaperlessDocumentMetadata
+
   ngOnInit(): void {
+    this.documentService.getMetadata(this.document?.id).subscribe(result => {
+      this.metadata = result
+    })
   }
 
   getThumbUrl() {
@@ -40,7 +53,7 @@ export class DocumentCardSmallComponent implements OnInit {
     return this.documentService.getDownloadUrl(this.document.id)
   }
 
-  getPreviewUrl() {
+  get previewUrl() {
     return this.documentService.getPreviewUrl(this.document.id)
   }
 
@@ -57,4 +70,27 @@ export class DocumentCardSmallComponent implements OnInit {
     )
   }
 
+  get useNativePdfViewer(): boolean {
+    return this.settings.get(SETTINGS_KEYS.USE_NATIVE_PDF_VIEWER)
+  }
+
+  getContentType() {
+    return this.metadata?.has_archive_version ? 'application/pdf' : this.metadata?.original_mime_type
+  }
+
+  mouseEnterPreview() {
+    this.mouseOnPreview = true
+    if (!this.popover.isOpen()) {
+      setTimeout(() => {
+        if (this.mouseOnPreview) {
+          this.showPreview.emit(this)
+          this.popover.open()
+        }
+      }, 600);
+    }
+  }
+
+  mouseLeavePreview() {
+    this.mouseOnPreview = false
+  }
 }
diff --git a/src-ui/src/app/components/document-list/document-list.component.html b/src-ui/src/app/components/document-list/document-list.component.html
index cfc2e655d..630395b69 100644
--- a/src-ui/src/app/components/document-list/document-list.component.html
+++ b/src-ui/src/app/components/document-list/document-list.component.html
@@ -170,5 +170,5 @@
 </table>
 
 <div class="m-n2 row row-cols-paperless-cards" *ngIf="displayMode == 'smallCards'">
-  <app-document-card-small [selected]="list.isSelected(d)" (toggleSelected)="toggleSelected(d, $event)"  [document]="d" *ngFor="let d of list.documents; trackBy: trackByDocumentId" (clickTag)="clickTag($event)" (clickCorrespondent)="clickCorrespondent($event)"></app-document-card-small>
+  <app-document-card-small [selected]="list.isSelected(d)" (toggleSelected)="toggleSelected(d, $event)" (showPreview)="closeAllPopovers($event)"  [document]="d" *ngFor="let d of list.documents; trackBy: trackByDocumentId" (clickTag)="clickTag($event)" (clickCorrespondent)="clickCorrespondent($event)"></app-document-card-small>
 </div>
diff --git a/src-ui/src/app/components/document-list/document-list.component.ts b/src-ui/src/app/components/document-list/document-list.component.ts
index 0d1562c24..e1c2457e6 100644
--- a/src-ui/src/app/components/document-list/document-list.component.ts
+++ b/src-ui/src/app/components/document-list/document-list.component.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import { SavedViewService } from 'src/app/services/rest/saved-view.service';
 import { Toast, ToastService } from 'src/app/services/toast.service';
 import { FilterEditorComponent } from './filter-editor/filter-editor.component';
 import { SaveViewConfigDialogComponent } from './save-view-config-dialog/save-view-config-dialog.component';
+import { DocumentCardSmallComponent } from './document-card-small/document-card-small.component';
 
 @Component({
   selector: 'app-document-list',
@@ -41,6 +42,8 @@ export class DocumentListComponent implements OnInit, OnDestroy {
 
   private consumptionFinishedSubscription: Subscription
 
+  @ViewChildren(DocumentCardSmallComponent) smallCards: QueryList<DocumentCardSmallComponent>
+
   get isFiltered() {
     return this.list.filterRules?.length > 0
   }
@@ -204,4 +207,10 @@ export class DocumentListComponent implements OnInit, OnDestroy {
   trackByDocumentId(index, item: PaperlessDocument) {
     return item.id
   }
+
+  closeAllPopovers(cardOpening: DocumentCardSmallComponent) {
+    this.smallCards.forEach(card => {
+      if (card !== cardOpening) card.popover.close()
+    })
+  }
 }
diff --git a/src-ui/src/theme_dark.scss b/src-ui/src/theme_dark.scss
index 4e850f017..8526284a8 100644
--- a/src-ui/src/theme_dark.scss
+++ b/src-ui/src/theme_dark.scss
@@ -366,6 +366,18 @@ $border-color-dark-mode: #47494f;
   .progress-bar.bg-primary {
     background-color: darken($primary-dark-mode, 5%) !important;
   }
+
+  .popover {
+    .popover-header,
+    .popover-body {
+      background-color: $bg-light-dark-mode;
+      border-color: $border-color-dark-mode;
+    }
+
+    .arrow::after {
+      border-top-color: $bg-light-dark-mode;
+    }
+  }
 }
 
 body.color-scheme-dark {