Flex: Documents

A global document is not linked to a project or contact.  An example of a global document is, you may wish to store a template document (with company branding) that is not linked to a contact or project, but you always want to access it easily. It is also possible to unlink a document from a contact or project, and it will still be shown on the documents tab. There is a filter tick box Global documents which will show only unlinked documents so you can access them quickly.

Filtering and search options are shown in a row across the top of the screen, and help you locate documents.

 Any document(s) can also be uploaded directly through the Flex platform. The maximum limit per file is 50Mb. There are two methods of doing this.

Method 1 - attaching a document to a specific project's alternative

1. On the Projects tab open the project you wish to add a document to.
   
   
2. Click on the Documents tab within this project and a list of your alternatives can be seen.
   
   
3. Drag and drop the document, over the name of the alternative you wish to add it to.
   
   
4. In the Upload files window the Project and Design fields will be pre-populated based on where you dragged and dropped the document.  However these can be changed via the drop-down list.
   
   
5. More documents can be added by dragging and dropping them into this window or clicking +Attach new document to browse your computer.
   
   
6. Select the document Type from the drop-down list.
   
   
7. By clicking More options you can associate the document with an existing Contact or Vendor by using the drop-down lists.
   
   
8. Click Upload files to complete the document upload. You will see a progress dialog box at the bottom right of your screen which will show a green tick by each document uploaded.
   
   
9. The document(s) can be emailed by
   - opening the alternative you attached them to
   - tick the document(s) you want to email
   - click Send Email on the toolbar.
   You can email multiple documents merged into one pdf or converted into a .ZIP file.  For more information see section in this article - Send multiple documents via email.

Method 2 - attaching a global document for general use

On occasion you may require company documents to be stored on the Flex platform in which case you do not want them associated with a project or alternative.  To do this:

1. On the Documents tab click the Attach new document button on the top toolbar.
   
   
2. Browse your computer to select your file(s), or drag and drop the file.
   Note: If you want to select more than one file to upload hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard until you have finished selecting.
   
   
3. If you have browsed your computer click Open.
   
   
4. Upload files window will open. If, for example, you have more files in a different location on your PC that you wish to upload you can click on +Attach new document at the foot of this window and browse to select additional documents.  Alternatively you can drag and drop files into the window.
   
   
5. Select the remaining properties for this document(s):
   Note: In the case of uploading multiple documents, which may have different individual properties, these can be amended later via opening a document and editing its properties, see more information in section Open a Document for Editing of this article.
   - Project: select the project (from the drop-down box) you wish to attach the document(s) to.
   - Design: Select the alternative (from the drop-down box) you wish to attach the document(s) to.
   - Type is the document type which synchronises with your desktop app.
   
   
6. Click on More options drop-down you can associate the document with an existing Contact or Vendor by using the drop-down lists.  In Privacy Level you can select which other users can access this document(s):
   Shared with shop – All users in the current shop have access.
   Shared with company – All users in this shop and all company shops have access.
   Private document – Only you, the current user has access. 
   
   
7. Click Upload files to complete the document upload. You will see a progress dialog box at the bottom right of your screen which will show a green tick by each document uploaded.
   
   

   Note for Winner Flex users: If you want to bring existing invoices from a local Winner database to be held in the Flex platform see article Flex Invoice Migration
   
   

Since you can use Flex on different devices (including tablet devices), it is helpful to load or take a photo and add measurements and notes.  It is also useful to use when you're with a client to sketch out ideas.

With the whiteboard function, you can write or draw something fast and highlight content on an image.  Access the document later from anywhere via the Flex platform. 
Note: for more detailed information on the tools and what they do, see article What is the whiteboard function?

In the documents tab you can add a New Note which is like a notepad. If you add a note in the Documents you can then assign it to a project using the properties tab in the side bar. You can also assign the note to a contact or a specific design. 

A note can also be added directly into a project by going to the document tab in the project you wish to add the note to. 

To view documents attached to a specific project or alternative:

1. Click the Projects tab, which lists all projects on the Flex platform.
   
   
2. Search by name or number of the project and click it to open.
   
   
3. Click the Documents tab within this project view.
   
   
4. This opens the project and under the heading Project Documents it lists all documents attached to the project.
   Note: to see documents attached to Alternative(s) within the project, click on the drop-down under the heading Designs.

In the list check the tick box next to a document to select it and you’ll see a quick preview in the sidebar on the right of the screen.  If you click on the Properties tab you can amend the properties of the document for example change the Type of document it is, its name and many other properties.

To see all a full view of the document, click the Open button on the top toolbar, or click the name of the document.

Once open, depending on the document type, there will be some controls at the top for quick editing (e.g. editing a PDF file), printing and saving.

You may wish to send more than one document at a time to a client via email.  It is possible to do this by either merging the documents in one pdf or creating a zipped file with them all in to download and send to the customer:

1. Click the Project tab and open the project containing the documents to be emailed.
   
   
2. Click the Documents tab within the project.
   
   
3. Open the document folder of the alternative containing the documents you wish to email.
   
   
4. Check the tick boxes to select documents to be emailed, this will open a side bar listing the selected documents in the order you selected them.
   Note: it is possible to select documents from more than one alternative but these can only be sent as a .ZIP file.
5. In the side bar click the more options button and click on the type of file you want to email - either Merge into one PDF or Save as ZIP.
   Note: The order that you select documents to merge in, is the order they will appear in the new merged document.
   
   
6. Give the new document or zip file a name and click Save.
   
   
7. This file will now appear in the document list.

To see a full view of the document you can use the Download button:

1. Click the check box to select the document.
   Note: do not click on the document name as this opens the document.
   
   
2. Click the Download button on the top toolbar.
   Note: If you click the download button (without selecting a file) it will download all files from the current Alternative/Project and then open the local Export Directory. 

Your browser will download the file and allow you to view it in the correct application on your PC. You may have more control to view, zoom and navigate the document like this.

1. Click the check box to select the document. 
   Note: do not click on the document name as this opens the document.
   
   
2. Click the Delete button on the top toolbar

Note: If you delete a file locally, that is within the Export folder, it will be downloaded again, however if you delete the file on the Flex Platform it will be moved to a backup sub-folder locally, named Backup/DeletedInFlex.

For more information on deleting invoices see Deleting an already printed invoice