How to Attach Files to a Call or a Customer
You can attach any kind of file to a call or a customer: a signed docket, a quote, a photo from site, an e-mail saved from Outlook. Open the call or customer, open its Attachments section from the sections sidebar, then use Attach files or drag the files in.
How do I attach a file to a call or a customer?
Open the Attachments section of the call or customer and select Attach files at the top right of the section. Choose one or more files in the window that opens, and they are attached straight away.
- Open the call or the customer.
- Select All attachments under Attachments in the sections sidebar on the left.
- Select Attach files at the top of the Attachments section.
- Choose the files on your computer and confirm. You can pick several at once.
The files go into the category the sections sidebar has selected. With a category selected, such as a category for quotes, the new files are filed in it; with All attachments or No category selected, they have no category. You can change a file's category afterwards in its details panel.
You can attach the same file twice: choosing it again attaches a second copy. Each file can be up to 50 megabytes (MB).
Note: A new call or customer has to be saved before files can be attached to it.
Can I drag files onto the Attachments section?
Yes. Drag files from your computer, for example from File Explorer or your desktop, and drop them anywhere on the Attachments section of the call screen or customer screen. The words Drop files here, or beside Attach files are a reminder that you can.
While you hold the files over the section, the whole section says where they will go: "Drop to attach to" followed by the customer's name or the call, and underneath "Category:" with the category the files will be filed in, "— you can change it afterwards". Let go to attach them. Drag away without letting go to change your mind.
Dragging works the same way in the browser and in the ABM Service desktop app.
How do I put new files straight into a category?
Drop the files on the category's name in the sections sidebar of the call screen or customer screen. The files are attached and filed in that category, and the Attachments section opens on it.
- Open the call or customer.
- Drag the files from your computer over the sections sidebar on the left. A folded sidebar opens by itself when files are dragged over it.
- Drop them on the category you want under Attachments.
Dropping on All attachments or No category attaches the files with no category.
The sidebar lists only the categories this call or customer already has files in. To file into another category, attach the files first, then choose the category in each file's details panel. Alternatively, select a category in the sidebar first and then use Attach files: the new files go into whichever category is selected.
What does the upload tray show while files are uploading?
While files are on their way, a tray appears above the list in the Attachments section. Its heading says how many files are uploading and where, such as "Uploading 2 files to" the customer or call, followed by "· into" the category, or "· no category".
Each file has a line with its name and a progress bar:
- waiting: the file is queued. Two files are sent at a time, in the order you added them.
- preparing: ABM Service is making the file's picture before sending it.
- A percentage: how much of the file has been sent.
To stop a file, select the cross at the end of its line, named "Stop uploading" and the file's name. A file is only attached once it has finished, so a stopped file is not attached at all.
A file that was not attached stays in the tray with the reason, such as "This file is larger than 50 MB, the most that can be attached." Select its cross, named "Dismiss" and the file's name, to clear it. The tray goes once every file has landed and every refusal has been dismissed.
What happens after a file is attached?
When the first file of a batch has been attached, the Attachments section marks it in the list and opens its details panel with the cursor in Comment, so you can say straight away what the file is. Type a comment, choose a category if you need one, and select Save changes.
The counts in the sections sidebar and the section's own count go up as each file lands, and No category or a category appears under Attachments in the sidebar when the file is the first one there.
ABM Service also makes a small picture for each new photo and for the first page of each new PDF, which is what the list, the thumbnails and the details panel show. Files of other kinds show the icon for their type. A picture that takes more than three seconds to make is skipped, and the file is attached without one.
What happens if I leave the screen while files are uploading?
The upload carries on. You can open another call, go to the Scheduler or open the customer's Overview, and the files keep going. While you are on another screen, a reminder in the bottom-left corner says "Uploading" with the number of files and where they are going. Select it to go back.
Closing the browser tab or reloading the page asks you first, because files still on their way would not be attached. In the ABM Service desktop app, closing the window does not ask, so let the uploads finish before you close it. Discarding the reminder stops the uploads, and nothing is attached for them: select its cross, named Discard, then select Discard? to confirm.
Can I paste a file or take a photo straight into Attachments?
No. The Attachments section has no paste and no camera. Save the picture or document as a file first, then use Attach files or drag it onto the section. To put a screenshot into a call's notes instead, paste it into the call's Details or Resolution document.