File Questions

A File question is one of the question types that can be added to a Form action. This article discusses File questions in more detail.

NOTE: Familiarity with Form actions is recommended to better understand this article. For more information, see Form Action.

Table of Contents

• What is a File Question?
• Setting Up a File Question
• Advanced Options
• Supported File Types

What is a File Question?

When used in a Form action, a File question displays a box on the User Application that allows a file to be attached to the workflow. For example, a File question might be needed in a workflow that allows users to submit expense reports for approval by their manager.

NOTE: If the file had been added earlier in the workflow, you can use a Content Block instead of a File question. Content blocks also support the other six (6) types of attachments other than static files allowed in AUTTO. For more information, see Content Blocks.

The image below shows a File question as it appears in the User Application.

What happens to the attachment in the File question depends on the next Action in the workflow. For example, you can attach a file to a Task Email action that then sends it along to the next user in the workflow. You can also use it in any other action that supports file attachments, e.g. Assign User and Page actions.

As for workflow users, they can download file attachments sent using a File question by clicking on a link on the User Application or in an email.  For more information, check out How File Attachments Appear in a Workflow.

NOTE: You can also attach files to a select group of Actions (other than the Form action) using another method described in Attaching Files to Actions.

Setting Up a File Question

To add a File question to a Form action, select it from the list on the Action Editor. You can then start setting up the File question. For more information, see Setting Up a Form Action.

Advanced Options

Under a File question's Advanced options section, you can set up the following:

• Select the only file types allowed for file upload: All supported file types are allowed to be uploaded by default. To limit the file types that can be uploaded, select any of the supported file types from the list (see Supported File Types).
• Button name: Form actions are set to be non-scrollable by default, meaning you have to click a button at the bottom of each Question page to go to the next question. The button name is set to Continue by default. You can set a new name for the button here.
• Set File Name: Change the name of the uploaded file to another, with the file extension remaining the same. The new file name will be used when saving and downloading the file. You may use either text or a combination of text or square brackets when naming the file. For example, sales [current_date|dd-MM-yyyy] document, where current_date|dd-MM-yyyy is a sales bracket.
• Conditional Questions: Each question type you can use in a Form action can be set to include Conditional Questions, if required. With Conditional questions, a question can be made to appear or disappear, depending on certain conditions. For more information, see Conditional Questions.

Supported File Types

A File question supports the following file types:

• .JPG
• .JPEG
• .PNG
• .DOC
• .DOCX
• .XLSX
• .PPT
• .PPTX
• .PDF
• .EML
• .ZIP