File Upload Control
The File Upload control lets the user upload one or more files from within a checklist task. Uploaded files are stored in CheckFlow's cloud storage and remain accessible from the checklist.
Use it to collect evidence and paperwork as part of the process — a signed form, a photograph of completed work, a supplier invoice, a certificate.
File Upload vs. File
The File Upload control and the File control are two modes of the same control:
| File Upload | File | |
|---|---|---|
| Who supplies the file | The user, in the checklist | You, in the template |
| Direction | Upload | Download |
| Read-only in the checklist | No | Yes |
If you want to collect a file from the user, use File Upload. If you want to give the user a file, use File.
Add to the Template
The File Upload control can be added from the controls toolbar in the Template.
Once you have added the control you must set the label text that will be displayed above the upload button. The label is required — use it to tell the user exactly what to upload, for example Upload the signed delivery note.
Minimum and Maximum Files
You can set how many files the user is expected to provide:
- Minimum Files — the number of files that must be uploaded before the parent task can be completed. Leave this at
0(the default) to make uploading optional. - Maximum Files — the largest number of files the user is allowed to upload.
Set a minimum of 1 where a file is mandatory. Setting both minimum and maximum to 1 collects exactly one file.
Populating from a Data Set
The File Upload control cannot be linked to a Data Set. Only the Dropdown, Multi-Choice, Sub-Tasks and Table controls can be.
Use in the Checklist
The user sees the label with an Upload File button beneath it. Clicking the button opens their device's file picker; a progress bar is shown while the file uploads.
Each uploaded file is then listed with its file name, and can be downloaded by clicking it or removed with its delete button. The control records who last changed it and when.
Validation
When a Minimum Files count greater than 0 is set, validation is performed when the user completes the task. The task cannot be completed until at least that many files have been uploaded.
Validation error messages are shown below the upload area.
If you try to complete a task outside of the checklist (e.g. from the Dashboard) and it fails validation we will notify you of the validation failure via a pop-up message.
Conditional Logic
A File Upload control cannot be used as the source of a Conditional Logic rule — you cannot branch on whether a file has been uploaded.
It can still be the target of a rule, so a File Upload control can be shown or hidden by a condition driven by another control. A common pattern is a Dropdown asking whether evidence is available, which reveals the File Upload when the answer requires it.
Dynamic Values and Parameters
A File Upload control holds files rather than a value, so it cannot be used as a Dynamic Value, cannot receive one, and cannot be bound to a Template Parameter.
The files it collects can still be used elsewhere: a Mail-To control in the same template can attach them to an outgoing email.
Linked Checklists
A File Upload control can be the parent side of a Linked Checklist control mapping, but not the child side. It is the only control in CheckFlow with this restriction — files uploaded in a parent checklist can be passed down, but a File Upload control in a child checklist cannot receive a value from anywhere else.
Reporting
File Upload answers are available in Reports and can be added as a column, displayed as a link to view the uploaded files.
Control columns are only available in a report when a single template is selected. Add the column from the Columns dropdown, under Tasks & Fields. See Report Columns.
Limits
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Minimum files | Configurable. 0 by default, which makes uploading optional. |
| Maximum files | Configurable. |
| Maximum file size | No limit imposed by CheckFlow. See the note below. |
| Accepted formats | Any. No file type is blocked. |
CheckFlow does not cap the size of an upload. In practice a very large file is limited by your connection and browser rather than by CheckFlow, and there is no storage quota per checklist or per team.
Related Pages
- File — the same control in the other direction, giving a file to the user.
- Mail-To — can attach the files collected here to an outgoing email.
- Linked Checklist — files can be passed down to a child checklist, but not received from one.
- Task Comments and Attachments — for ad hoc files that are not part of the process.