Storing Your Project Files and Photos
What Files is for, uploading with the right category, who can see your files, why there is no rename or versioning, and how Files differs from Takeoff plans, vendor documents and lender packets.
Help Center location: `/help/files/files-page-guide` — category **Files & Photos**.
Stored unpublished for administrator review. Editable source: `docs/help/files-page-guide.md`.
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**Files** is a single storage drawer for one project: permits, site photos, paper receipts,
contracts, stamped drawings, bank letters — anything you want to keep and be able to hand over.
It stores what you put in it. It does not read your budget, it does not sign anything, and it does
not send anything anywhere.
Everything on this page belongs to the project shown in the sidebar project selector. Switch
projects and you are looking at a different drawer.
Start here
1. Check the project name in the sidebar first. The upload goes wherever you are.
2. Choose the **Category** dropdown — **General**, **Permits**, **Photos**, **Receipts**,
**Contracts**, **Plans & Drawings**, **Inspections** or **Bank Documents**.
3. Select **Upload Files** and pick one file or several. The button reads **Uploading…** while it
works, then **Uploaded**.
4. Find anything later with **Search files…** or the **All categories** dropdown.
Pick the category *before* you upload. It is applied to that upload, and there is no way to change
a file's category afterwards.
Common actions
| I want to | Do this |
|---|---|
| Add files | **Category**, then **Upload Files** — several at once is fine |
| Find a file | Type in **Search files…** (matches the file name) or filter by category |
| Open or download | Select the file name, or the download icon on its row |
| Hide a file from your client | The eye icon — it becomes **Hidden from client** |
| Remove a file | The bin icon. It is immediate and permanent |
Files are listed newest first. There are no folders — the category badge and search are how you
organise things, so a clear file name is worth the effort.
What you should know before you rely on it
**Formats and size.** No format is blocked: PDFs, photos, spreadsheets, Word documents, anything.
Very large files (long video walkthroughs, raw camera folders) can fail on upload, and a phone on
mobile data fails sooner than a laptop. If an upload fails you get **Upload failed** with the
reason, and you can simply select **Upload Files** again. If you sent several files and one failed,
the ones that went before it are already saved — check the list before re-sending everything.
**Uploading the same name twice does not replace anything.** There is no overwriting and no version
history. You get two rows with the same name and two separate files. If you are replacing a
superseded document, upload the new one and delete the old one yourself.
**There is no rename and no move.** Give the file a sensible name on your computer or phone before
you upload it. To correct a name or a category, upload it again correctly and delete the first copy.
**Deleting is final.** The record and the stored file both go, with no undo and no recycle bin.
Nothing else in OwnerDraw reads these files, so deleting one does not damage a budget line, an
expense, a draw or a document — but it also means nobody can get it back for you.
Who can see your files
| Seat | Sees | Can do |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Every file on the project | Upload, hide from client, delete anything |
| Partner / Collaborator | Every file on the project | Upload; delete files they uploaded |
| Client | Files you have not hidden, plus their own uploads | Upload their own; delete their own |
| Banker | Files you have not hidden | Read and download only |
**Uploads are visible to your client by default.** If a file is internal — a vendor's price
breakdown, your own notes, a bid you are still comparing — upload it and then select the eye icon
straight away. The row shows **Hidden from client** once it is private to your team.
Nothing here is public. Every file opens through a private link that expires after about ten
minutes, so an address you copied out of the browser will stop working, and it is not a way to
share a file with someone who has no seat on the project.
*Builder's note:* a Collaborator's **Documents / Files** setting decides this page. Set it to
**None** and they cannot see the drawer at all — not by opening the address directly either, because
the same rule is applied where the files are stored. Set it to read and they can look and download
but not upload; set it to write and they can upload, and change or remove what they uploaded
themselves. Only you, as Owner, can remove or unhide someone else's file. One caveat: a download
link already handed out stays usable for the few minutes until it expires, even if you switch
someone's access off in the meantime.
Files, and the other places OwnerDraw keeps documents
These are separate stores. Nothing moves between them automatically in either direction.
| Kept where | What lives there | Shows in Files? |
|---|---|---|
| **Files** | Anything you upload here | — |
| **Takeoff** plan sets | The plan PDFs you measure on | No |
| **Expenses** receipts | The receipt attached to one expense row | No |
| **Vendors** | W-9s, insurance certificates, signed lien waivers | No |
| **Documents** | Agreements and client invoices, and their signed copies | No |
| **Bank Ready → Supporting Documents** | The lender's ten listed documents | No |
So uploading your plans here does not give you a takeoff, and uploading a receipt here does not
attach it to an expense. Do those on their own pages.
Files are not the packet
A generated lender packet or draw packet is a PDF that OwnerDraw builds from your budget, stages
and records. **It does not contain the files you upload** — the lender packet lists its Supporting
Documents by name and status only. Whatever your bank actually needs to read, you send yourself,
alongside the packet.
What do I do next?
| If this is you | Do this |
|---|---|
| Building a paper trail from day one | Upload the permit, the plans and your insurance certificates, with **Category** set properly |
| A file is internal | Select the eye icon so it reads **Hidden from client** |
| You uploaded to the wrong project | Upload it to the right project, then delete it from the wrong one |
| Two rows with the same name | The newer one is on top — download both if you are unsure, then delete the old one |
| You want the receipt on the expense | Log it on **Expenses** and attach the receipt there instead |
| You want to measure a drawing | Upload it under **Upload Plans** on **Takeoff**, not here |
| Your lender asked for documents | Upload them under **Supporting Documents** on **Bank Ready**, and send the real files yourself |
Common questions
**Is there a size limit?** No fixed limit is set, but uploads do fail when a file is very large or
the connection drops. Compress a long video, or share it another way and keep a note here.
**Can I make folders?** No. Use the eight categories, search and clear file names.
**Can I rename a file?** No. Re-upload it with the right name and delete the old row.
**Does uploading a receipt here reduce my budget or record a payment?** No. Nothing on this page
touches money. Costs are recorded on **Expenses**.
**Will my bank see these?** Only a Banker seat on the project sees them, and only files you have
not hidden. Generated packets do not include them.
**Can I recover a deleted file?** No. Deletion is permanent.
**Does it work on a phone?** Yes — the controls stack, and **Upload Files** opens your camera or
photo library. Progress photos from site are the main reason people use this page.
Related guides
- *Recording and Managing Expenses* — receipts belong on the expense
- *Measuring Your Plans with Takeoff* — plan PDFs belong in a plan set
- *Managing Vendors and Their Documents* — W-9s, insurance and waivers
- *Preparing Your Lender Packet* — what the packet does and does not contain