Attachments
Attachments keep a file with the document it belongs to: a signed copy on an invoice, a delivery photo on a goods receipt, a supplier's quote on a purchase request. Anyone who can open the document can open its files, and the files stay with it.
Video coming soon: Attachments in 2 minutesWhere you can attach files
There are four places, and they all keep the files on the same document.
| Where | What you can do there |
|---|---|
| The Attachments tab beside a saved document | Add a file, preview it, download it. |
| The Attach item in a list row's menu | Add a file, download it, remove it. |
| The View Attachments button on the add or edit form | Add files, download them, remove them, then save the document. |
| The Documents tab when you expand a row in a list | See the file names and download them. |
On the Approvals screen, the files of the request you are deciding are listed under Documents beside the approval steps. See Approvals.
Which documents accept files
Files can be saved on:
| Area | Documents |
|---|---|
| Sales | Sales invoice, quotation, sales order, delivery challan, sales return, payment received, credit note, customer, lead, enquiry |
| Purchase | Purchase request, RFQ, bid, purchase order, purchase bill, goods receipt, purchase return, payment made, debit note, supplier |
| Finance | Expense, manual journal, landed cost |
| Stock | Stock adjustment, stock transfer, stock conversion, item |
| Production | Job order, work order, work order process, material issue, material receipt |
A few other screens, such as job cards, reimbursements, stores and packing lists, show an Attachments tab too, but they do not accept files. If you try, you see "Files cannot be attached to this kind of document."
Types and limits
| On the web | On the phone | |
|---|---|---|
| File types | PDF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX | PDF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, CSV, GIF, SVG, WEBP, ZIP, JSON, XML, TXT |
| Size | 5 MB for each file | 5 MB for each file |
| How many | Up to 5 files on a document | The phone does not count them. The web's limit of 5 applies when you add on the web |
| File name | Up to 255 characters, no slashes | Same |
A file that is too big is refused with "File size exceeds the maximum limit of 5MB". Shrink it, or split it into two.
How your file is named
If your business unit has attachment categories for the document, you pick a category before you choose the file. The file is saved as the document's name, then the category: a file added as Invoice Copy on a bill becomes Bill_Invoice Copy.pdf, and a second one in the same category becomes Bill_Invoice Copy_1.pdf. The category Others keeps your file's own name; if that name is already on the document, it becomes name (2).pdf.
On the phone, and with Add Files on a form that has no categories, your file keeps its own name. Payments, leads and enquiries never use categories. On the Attachments tab they use the word Payment (payments) or Document (leads, enquiries, and any document with no categories set) in place of one, for example Lead_Document.pdf.
Your administrator sets the categories for each document in Document settings. A category is a label. It does not stop a document from being saved without a file in it.
Who can do what
| To do this | You need |
|---|---|
| Open, preview or download a file | View on the document |
| Add a file, or remove one | Add/Edit on the document |
Removing a file comes with Add/Edit. There is no separate permission for it. If you do not have it, you see "Attaching a file to this document needs Edit access. Ask your admin for it."
What goes out with a document
Files on a document are not printed in its PDF, and they are not sent in its emails by themselves. To send one, click Attach in the email and choose the file from your computer. See Print, PDF and email.
A file added or removed from the Attachments tab, the Attach menu or the phone is recorded in the document's history, with the file name. See Activity and history.
Everything in one place
The Vault shows the files kept on your documents together, filed by document type, so you can browse them without opening each document. Who can open a file there follows who can view its document.
On mobile
Mostly the same on iPhone and Android. The phone can add, download and, on forms, remove files, but it cannot preview a file in the app. See Add a file and Open, download and remove. The two differ in how you choose a file and where a download goes.
The Android app is on Google Play. The iPhone app is coming soon to the App Store.
Who uses it
Accounts keep the supplier's bill or a payment proof with the entry. Warehouse teams add delivery photos to goods receipts. Sales keep the signed copy or the customer's purchase order. Production add drawings and inspection papers to job and work orders.