The new job record is in open beta and is switched on for all accounts except those on Legacy plans. It's still being refined and may change, and you can switch back to the legacy job view if you need to.
The Files tab acts as the digital filing cabinet for a specific job. It stores all related documents, photos, and attachments in one secure location. This ensures that everyone, from office staff to field technicians, has access to the same up-to-date information without relying on scattered email attachments.
Tip: Need to send a file attachment in an email? Attach the file to the job first, and it will then be available to select in the email attachments list.
Uploading files
You can quickly add multiple files to the job record directly from your computer.
Open the job record and navigate to the Files tab.
Click the Add new files button at the top of the tab to open the upload panel.
To select your files, you can either:
Drag and drop: Click and drag the files from your computer directly into the upload area.
Browse: Click to open your computer's file browser and select the file(s).
Optional: Before saving, you can select pre-defined Tags from the dropdown menu, turn off Mobile access to keep the files from technicians on site, or turn on Customer portal access so your customer can see them. Mobile access is on and Customer portal access is off when the panel opens.
Click Save.
The system will process the upload and add the files to the main grid.
Note: The system enforces a 10 MB size limit per file. Any files exceeding this limit, or files with an unsupported format, will be flagged and blocked from uploading. Which file formats are supported within Commusoft?
Tip: You can also quickly add files without leaving the Timeline tab. Simply click the Add record button in the top right corner and select Attach new file.
Controlling who can see a file
Every file on a job has two separate access settings. One controls whether your technicians can see it in the mobile app. The other controls whether your customer can see it in the customer portal. You can set both when you upload a file, or change them at any time afterwards.
The Access column in the grid shows who can currently see each file:
Mobile device icon: The file is visible to technicians in the mobile app.
Eye icon: The file is shared in the customer portal. Hover over the icon to see Shared on customer portal.
Sharing a file with technicians on mobile
Not all files uploaded by the office need to be seen by the technician. To keep their mobile app clutter-free, choose which files to share with them.
To change a file's mobile access:
Click the Edit action link next to the file.
Turn Mobile access on or off. The helper text reads Allow engineers to view this file in the mobile app.
Click Save.
Any photos a technician uploads directly from the mobile app appear in this tab automatically, with mobile access already turned on. Customer portal access is a separate setting, and stays off until someone turns it on.
Sharing a file in the customer portal
Customer portal access is turned off by default on every file your team uploads from 24 September 2026 onwards. This gives your office a chance to review photos and documents before your customer sees them. Files that were already on a job before that date keep the access they had.
To share a file in the customer portal:
Click the Edit action link next to the file.
Turn Customer portal access on. The helper text reads Allow the customer to view this file in the customer portal.
Click Save.
The file appears in the portal the next time your customer refreshes the page.
Important: The job itself must have customer portal access turned on before any of its files appear there. This is on by default and is set on the Admin tab of the job record. If it has been turned off, your customer sees none of that job's files, even ones with access turned on.
Note: When your customer uploads a file through the customer portal, customer portal access is turned on for that file and the setting is locked, so it cannot be turned off.
Viewing files
You can quickly review images and documents without needing to download them first.
Locate the file in the grid and click the row, or click the View action link on the far right.
The file viewer will open. Depending on the file format, the viewer behaves differently:
Supported files: Images (such as JPG and PNG) and PDFs will display a visual preview directly within the side panel, allowing you to review them without leaving the screen.
Unsupported files: Formats such as spreadsheets (Excel) or Word documents cannot be previewed natively in the browser. In these cases, the panel will display the file's details, and you will be prompted to Download the file to view its contents.
Use the up and down keyboard arrows to seamlessly cycle through all the files attached to the job.
From the viewer, you can also download the file or edit its tags without needing to return to the main grid.
Organizing and renaming files
To keep your digital filing cabinet easy to navigate, you can rename confusing file names (e.g., IMG_09823.jpg) and apply organizational tags.
Locate the file in the grid and click the Edit action link.
The edit panel will open, displaying the current name, tags, and access settings.
Type a clear, descriptive name in the field. You do not need to type the file extension (like
.jpgor.pdf); the system automatically preserves the original extension for you.Use the Tags field to add or remove categorization labels (e.g., "Site Survey" or "Boiler").
Click Save to apply the changes to the grid.
Filtering and sorting files
If a job has a large history of documentation, you can use the filter and sort tools to locate specific files quickly.
Filtering files
Use the Filter toolbar above the grid to narrow down the list. You can apply multiple filters at the same time:
Created by: Find files uploaded by a specific user.
Created on: Find files uploaded on a specific date or within a date range.
Type: Filter by specific file formats (e.g., PDF, JPG, DOCX).
Tags: Filter by specific categorization labels.
Sorting files
Click any sortable column header to organize the files in ascending order. Click the header again to reverse the sort to descending order.
You can sort the grid by Name, Type, Created by, and Size.
Deleting files
If a file was uploaded in error or is no longer needed, you can remove it.
Single file: Click the Delete action link on the far right of the row and confirm your choice.
Multiple files: Select the checkboxes on the left side of the specific files you want to remove. Click the Delete button that appears in the header area above the grid, and confirm your action.
Important: Deleting a file is permanent and cannot be undone.
Downloading files
If you need to send photos to a customer or save job documents to an external hard drive, you can download them directly from the system.
Single file: Click the Download action link on the far right of the row. The file will save directly to your browser's download folder.
Multiple files: Select the checkboxes on the left side of the specific files you want to download. Click the Download button that appears in the header area above the grid. The system will bundle the selected files into a single compressed
.ziparchive and download it to your computer.
Common questions
How can I tell if a file was uploaded from the office or the field?
How can I tell if a file was uploaded from the office or the field?
You can check the Created by column in the main grid. This column displays the name of the user who added the file, along with the date and time of upload. An icon next to the user's name identifies whether the file was added on the web app or via the mobile app.
Why can't my customer see a file I've shared?
Why can't my customer see a file I've shared?
If your customer can't see a file you've shared, check the job itself. The job must have customer portal access turned on, on the Admin tab, before any of its files appear there. A file with customer portal access turned on stays hidden while its job does not have it.
Can my customer still see files added before this feature was released?
Can my customer still see files added before this feature was released?
Yes. Customer portal access controls were added on 24 September 2026. Files added from that date onwards have customer portal access turned off until you turn it on. Files that were already on a job before that date keep the access they had, so anything your customer could see before is still visible to them. To hide one of those older files, click Edit next to it and turn Customer portal access off.
Why can't I turn off customer portal access on a file?
Why can't I turn off customer portal access on a file?
You can't turn off customer portal access on a file your customer uploaded themselves. Files added through the customer portal have customer portal access turned on, and the setting is locked.
Tip: Read more about the job record and the job tabs.