Exact decoupling with preview, perfect tracking of previewed references, unknown-input state observation with fixed lag, and left inversion with fixed lag are considered from a unifying perspective where exact decoupling with preview is the basic problem. Necessary and sufficient constructive conditions for decoupling with finite preview are proved in the geometric framework. Structural and stabilizability conditions are considered separately and the use of self-bounded controlled invariant subspaces allows the dynamic compensator with the minimal unassignable dynamics to be straightforwardly derived. A steering along zeros technique is devised to guarantee decoupling with stability also in the presence of unstable unassignable dynamics of the minimal self-bounded controlled invariant.