Manage Documents and Photos

Learn how to manage documents and photos in AroFlo Office

Updated on November 25th, 2024

Documents can be uploaded from your file system or you can take photos and video directly from AroFlo on your mobile device, laptop, or desktop computer using a webcam. You can even simply copy and paste images from your computer's clipboard. If you need to send images to your client, you can download them individually or as a zip file.

The documents and photos functionality is only available if you have Document Storage enabled for your AroFlo subscription. To find out more or to activate this feature, please call AroFlo Customer Support or log a support request.

 

Adding columns

Use the button to add or remove columns to give you additional info. For example, for Documents and Photos you can toggle file size on or off.

Show this

 
 
 

 

Upload a file

Firstly navigate to the area where you plan to upload a document or photo:

There is no limit to the number of files you upload, but AroFlo does limit file size to 250 Mb.

 

See the tabs below for the available methods when uploading Documents and Photos

Click Add Documents & Photos

Click Add Documents & Photos to add a new document or photo.
In this example, we're adding documents and photos to an inventory item
In this example, we're adding documents and photos to an inventory item
 
The Add Documents & Photos button may appear slightly different in some areas, e.g. for Documents and Photos custom fields, Expenses, or custom compliance forms.
 
 
 
 

Upload option

Upload: Choose one or more files from your computer.
 
 
 

Drop Files Here option

Drop Files Here: Drag one or more files from your computer. Click Done once your file shows as 'Complete'.

Copy and Paste

You can even copy and paste images here, e.g. images from a website. If doing this, the filename will say ‘image’ so you may want to rename the file. See Renaming a document or photo, below.

 

Each upload will show a preview and a progress bar so you can easily see how long the upload will take. You can also resize images by changing the Image Upload Size located in the bottom right of the Upload New Document window.

 
 
 
 

Take Photo option

Take Photo: Take a photo or video directly from a webcam attached to your desktop computer or built into your laptop*.

* The Take Photo functionality is browser-dependent. If the browser you are using does not support this feature or there is no webcam found, then the button will not work.

 
  1. Click Allow if asked.
 
2. Click Capture.
 
 
 

Drag and drop

You can even drag and drop files from your file system without clicking Add Documents & Photos.
 
 
 

Document Directory

Document Directory (available on Tasks, Assets, Inventory, and Expenses) allows you to add existing files located in your document directory. Accessed via the dropdown menu on the Add Documents & Photos button, it may be useful for adding existing files or internal company documentation such as marketing material.

See Document Directory for more info.

 
 
 

Task Documents

Task Documents (available from Tasks, Task Types, Task Invoices, and Work Orders), is accessed via the dropdown menu on the Add Documents & Photos button and allows you to:

  • For Tasks and Task Types: add existing files from a previous task
  • For Task Invoices and Work Orders: add files to the invoice/work order that have already been added to the Task.
 
 
 

Business Units filter

For Tasks and Task Types, if you have access to multiple Business Units, you will have an additional filter at the bottom of the search window to search for documents found on tasks in other business units (see image).

Filter option
Description

This Business Unit Only

 

Only displays tasks that are part of the selected business unit.

 

Include Child Business Units

 

Displays tasks that are part of the selected business unit, as well as child business units.

Include All Business Units

 

Displays tasks for all business units.

 
 

 

Viewing documents

To view a document such as Word, Excel, or PDF, click the thumbnail or name of the document.

When images are uploaded to the Documents & Photos tab, the top section will also display a thumbnail preview of all images.

Viewing Thumbnails

The thumbnail preview bar is hidden if there are no images. If you've uploaded an image to an asset, inventory item, or client card and you don't see the thumbnail, click (columns) and select Thumbnail.

Thumbnail previews are not available for documents such as Word, Excel, and PDFs. Supported file types that will show a thumbnail are .pdf, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .png, .bmp.

 
 

 

Search, filter, and sort

The search tool located at the top of the document list allows you to search and filter by document name, comment, filter, uploaded by, and category.

Simply enter a keyword into one of these fields and the documents list will automatically display the documents that match your criteria.

The list can also be sorted by clicking the column header.

 

 

Renaming a document or photo

To rename a document or photo, click the edit button (pencil icon) in the Name column. Update the Document Name and Save.

File extension

The file extension (e.g. jpg) will be shown but is read-only and cannot be edited.

 
 

 

Add comments

Comments can be added for each file using the Comment field. These comments can also be referenced if photos are added to layouts including quotes and invoices.

 

Set document visibility

Once the file has been uploaded you can set the access visibility from the Filter options.

Access visibility restricts who can view the document. The available options are:

  • Internal Only - visible only to internal staff.
  • Internal Admin Only - visible only to internal staff with Admin user permission.
  • Internal Admin and Manager Only - visible only to internal staff with Admin or Manager user permission.
  • Show Client - visible to your clients that have a client login / visible to clients in the Online Quote Viewer
  • Show Contractor - visible to your subcontractors that have a contractor login.
  • Show All - visible to all users who can access your AroFlo site.

Permission Groups
If using Permission Groups, the user types shown above also need to be represented by a Permission Group. When using pre-built permission groups:

  • users in the Management permission group will represent an Administrator
  • users in the Supervisor permission group will represent a Manager.

Custom permissions

If using a custom permission group, you can define which performer to represent via Settings > General > Permission Groups > Documents and Photos > Filters.

 
 
 

If you want to include a specific document or photo on a print layout or email, you will need to set the filter to 'Show Client' or 'Show All'.

A document or photo set as 'default' will appear on layouts and emails if chosen (regardless of filter setting).

 

Set filter for multiple files

In certain areas of AroFlo, you can set a filter for multiple files at once. See Download files and Bulk Actions, below

 
 

 

Sharing a document or photo

Documents and photos can be shared with external contacts using shareable links. Shareable links can be included in an email or a document. You can enable or disable a link at any time. Alternatively, you can set a sharing duration which will automatically disable the link when the duration has ended.
 

Create a shareable link

  1. In Documents and Photos, search for the document or photo you want to share.
  2. Click (Get Shareable Link)
  3. Select a duration from the dropdown list beside Set the sharing duration.
  4. Click Set Duration. The screen will update to show the expiry of your shareable link (see next image)
  5. Copy the Link URL and paste it into an email.
  6. Click to close the Shareable Link window.

    Refresh the page with the documents and photos table. The expiry date for the link will also appear under the Public Expiry column. Expiry only applies to users not logged into AroFlo.

     
 
 
 

Disable a shareable link

  1. In Documents and Photos, search for the document or photo which will no longer be shared.
  2. Click (Get Shareable Link).
  3. Click Make Private. The screen will update to show 'You must be signed into AroFlo to access this document'.
  4. Click to close the Shareable Link window.
 
 
 
 

Set a default photo

Only applicable to assets, inventory, and users

 

Once photos have been uploaded, a default can be set for assets, inventory, and users. The default photo is displayed as a thumbnail when it appears in a list.

Where multiple files exist, set a Default.

 

 

Default images

AroFlo allows you to assign default images in different areas of the system. Click each tab for examples:

Inventory list default photo

An example of the default photo on an inventory item.

Items with more than one document or photo will also show a counter on the preview.
 
 
 
 

Asset list default photo

An example of the default photo in an asset list:

 
 

User list default photo

An example of the default photo in a user list:

 
 

AroFlo Field default photo

An example of the default photo in AroFlo Field:
 
 
 

 

Delete a Document or Photo

You can delete a file from Documents & Photos areas using the (red trash can).

Delete multiple

In certain areas of AroFlo, you can delete multiple files at once. See Download files and Bulk Actions, below

 
 

 

Download files and Bulk Actions

In many areas of AroFlo e.g. Tasks, Quotes, Invoices, and Projects, you can download multiple files at once and also use the bulk actions to update multiple files at once.

Areas that don't have these features

  • Inventory
  • Users
  • Clients
  • Suppliers
  • Contractors
  • Locations
  • Work Orders
  • Credit Notes
  • RFQs
 
 

Bulk Actions

Use the Bulk Actions to apply a single action to multiple files:

  • Change the document filter
  • Move files to other document folders (for areas that have document folders)
  • Download files
  • Delete files.
  1. Navigate to any area of the system that has a Documents & Photos area.
  2. If the area has document folders, select the folder or sub-folder the file is stored in, or choose All Folders to view all
  3. Tick each applicable file you want to apply bulk actions to
  4. Hover over the Bulk Actions button and make a selection
  5. Follow the prompts on-screen as applicable.

    Downloading files

    If downloading a selection of files, you may need to allow popups, depending on your internet browser settings. Alternatively, click Download to bypass this step.

     

Download all

If you want to download all files (or all files within a document folder), use the Download All feature instead. See next tab.

 
 
 
 

Download All

  1. Navigate to any area of the system that has a Documents & Photos area.
  2. If the area has document folders, select the folder or sub-folder the files you want to download are stored in, or leave as All Folders to download all files from all folders.
  3. Click Download All Documents & Photos.
  4. Wait for the files to be downloaded as a zip file.

    Popups

    You may need to allow popups, depending on your internet browser settings. Alternatively, click Download to bypass this step.

     
  5. Locate the files on your local drive. From there, you can rename them if required.

Download multiple

If you want to download multiple files but not all, use the Bulk Actions. See previous tab.

 
In this instance, we are downloading all files from one folder
In this instance, we are downloading all files from one folder