Attachment Tab

The Attachments tab allows users/managers to associate documents with a job. These documents can represent any information related to a job. Examples of these documents could be

• Word documents of instructions
• Proposals for work
• Scanned maps for digitizing
• TIFFs to georeference

These documents can be added by a manager or somebody who needs to convey information to another user. The user can then find the job and any associated files with it.

There are two ways to store an attachment with a job:

• Store as Link—Stores a link to the file in some location. For this method to be effective, the file must be accessible from multiple locations (on a shared file system).
• Store as Embedded—Stores the file inside the database. This method can take up significant room in the database, but the file will be accessible from all locations via Workflow Manager. Contact your database administrator to find out the file size limit for your particular database (MAXBLOBSIZE).

Clicking the Attachments tab when a job is selected in the job list shows something similar to the figure above. Attachments are shown as icons in the large area. Icons should represent the file type of the attachment. There are three different types of views for viewing the attachments—icon, list, and details.

Note:

Control of Attachments is restricted by the ManageAttachments privilege. Without this privilege, the user cannot add or remove attachments.

Using the Attachments Tab

Adding an attachment to the job

You can add attachments to jobs by using the Add button. The Add button will present you with a regular file browser so you can choose any file on your file system to add to the job.

Steps:

1. Click the Attachments tab.
2. Click Add on the side panel.
3. Choose whether you want to store inside the database or as a link.
4. Select the file you want to attach.

   The icon appears on the Attachments tab.

   Note:

   If a MAXBLOBSIZE error appears, it means that the file is too large for the database. Either store the file as a link or contact your database administrator to increase the allowed size.

Deleting an attachment from the job

The attachments added to the job can be deleted from the system by using the Delete button. If the attachment was embedded, it will remove it completely from the database. If it is linked, it will only remove the reference to the file and not delete it from your file system.

Steps:

1. Click the Attachments tab.
2. From the list of available attachments, select the icon of the one you want to delete.
3. Click Delete on the side panel.
4. Confirm the deletion.

   The icon disappears to show that the attachment has been removed.

Viewing an attachment from the job

The attachments added to the job can be viewed by using the View button. This will open the file with the windows associated program or you can choose the appropriate program to view the contents of the attachment with.

Steps:

1. Click the Attachments tab.
2. Select the attachment you want to view.
3. Click Open on the side panel.
   Tip:

   You can also double-click the icon.

   The attachment opens in the appropriate application.

Saving an attachment from the job

The attachments can be saved from the job. This can be useful if you want to update the contents of the attachment based on findings on the job. You can save it to modify the contents, then readd this as an attachment for the job.

Steps:

1. Click the Attachments tab.
2. Select the attachment you want to save.
3. Click Save As on the side panel.
4. Navigate to a folder and choose a file name.