All documents in AvailSuite (except for Time Cards) support file attachments, just like your e-mail program. This is especially useful when you have electronic documents related to the work and want to be able to access them quickly. For example, you may use file attachments to:

• attach a file with special instructions to a new Order
• attach photos of the performed work to an Invoice
• attach pictures or driving instructions to the Customer's card
• attach customer's faxes with job details to the Orders or Tasks

Usually, every grid has a column with indicator in its caption. If a document has any file attachments, this column will have the indicator displayed for this document's row in the grid.

A detailed document screen has indicator in its upper left corner. If the indicator is not displayed, it means that there are no attachments to this document.

To attach a file to a document, click the attachment button on the toolbar of the detailed document screen:

You may choose between actually copying the file into AvailSuite database (File) and just storing the link to the file (Link to file). Copying the file is preferrable when the file is important and you want to be sure it is always accessible from AvailSuite. Copying the file is also a good choice when you have several users working with AvailSuite. Any user with appropriate security permissions will be able to access the file.

If you have many files that are used in your business, or if your files are already well organized through Windows folders and so on, you should consider just storing the file links. File links are very similar to Windows desktop shortcuts. Creating a shortcut doesn't make another copy of a file, but it simplifies access to the file.

First, you can only view and manage attached files when in detailed document form. Simply right-click on the file name and choose appropriate action from the popup menu.

You can only delete attached files when in detailed document form. Right-click on the file name and choose Remove from the popup menu. If the file has been actually copied into AvailSuite database, it will be removed from the database. If just the file link has been stored, that link will be removed. Like with Windows desktop shortcuts, the file will not be actually deleted from the disk, just a file link from AvailSuite will be removed.