Is there any option to get the preview into it's own pane so you can still access the metadata with it open?
No, the preview tab stays inside the details pane.
Ok just finding if there is any way since often the preview is used when correcting metadata for a massive number of documents, so when they go to correct the data, they can't see it any longer because it gets covered up.
How were you using this before? There's no metadata pane in the folder browser where the preview pane is.
Would opening the document viewer on the folder and then using previous/next buttons to go from document to document offer the same functionality?
That is the way they were recommended to do it, going document by document with the next button. I was just asked if it was possible to use the preview instead without covering up the metadata. When they are in the preview pane they can still see the columns and rows of data in their folder/search results so it is a bit more useful.