The Document Portal user interface gives you a flexible way to interact with and manage your files. This page covers most of the interface. More specific features are covered in the other Features and Functionality pages in this section.
Layout
When you open Document Portal, the window is split into the areas below. On a desktop, the buttons run down a vertical bar on the left edge of the window. On a phone-sized screen, the same buttons appear in a horizontal bar across the top.
File Management Buttons—The icon buttons at the top of the left bar (or the left side of the top bar on mobile). They let you interact directly with your chosen Cloud storage, and with Quickbase if you are in Details mode. Hover over a button to see its tooltip. From top to bottom (or left to right on mobile):
Refresh (circular arrows icon, tooltip Sync Files)—Reloads the files from the chosen Cloud. In Details mode, this does not refresh Quickbase field data. For a "hard refresh" of that data, refresh the entire page. If you only want to refresh what is in the Cloud, use this button.
Delete (trash can icon, tooltip Delete Files)—Deletes the selected file(s) from the Cloud. If you are in Details mode with detailsdeleterecord set to true, it also deletes the related record. When Archive Mode is on, this button shows an archive box icon instead (tooltip Archive Files)—see Archive Mode.
Upload (cloud with an up arrow, tooltip Upload Files)—Opens your device's file picker so you can upload file(s) to the Cloud.
Download (cloud with a down arrow, tooltip Download Files)—Downloads the selected file(s) from the Cloud. If multiple files are selected, they are downloaded as a single .zip file.
Grid Edit (lines with a pencil icon, tooltip Toggle Grid Edit)—Only appears in Details mode. Starts Grid Edit mode so you can edit multiple records at once.
File Grid—The table in the center of the window. It lists the files related to the record you launched Document Portal from. The first column is always File Name and the last is File Size (KB). In Details mode, any additional fields you have configured appear as columns between them.
File Grid Header Row—The column headings at the top of the grid. Click a heading to sort by that column, or click the funnel icon next to a heading to filter.
Portal Buttons—Two buttons that apply to the portal itself, at the bottom of the left bar (or the right side of the top bar on mobile):
Settings (slider icon)—Opens the Settings window, where you can change several settings while in the portal, unless your app admin has locked them (see Formula URL Parameters). The Document Portal version number is also shown here.
Close (X icon)—Attempts to close the Document Portal window. Some browsers block this. If the button does not work, close the window any other way.
File Amount Readout—At the bottom right of the grid. Shows the range of files on the current page and the total number of files related to the record, for example 1 - 4 of 4 items. When there are no files, it reads No items to display.
Pagination Controls—At the bottom left of the grid: first page, previous page, the current page number, next page, and last page. Use these when you have more files than fit on one page. The number of files per page is set by the pagesize parameter.
Cloud Folder Readout—Below the grid on the right. Shows exactly where the displayed files are stored in your Cloud, for example Files from my-bucket/bxxxxxxxx_12. For Quickbase as a Cloud, it shows the name of the table used to store the files, for example Files from File Details.
Context menu
For additional functionality, right-click (secondary-click) any file in the grid to open the context menu. On a touchscreen, press and hold a file for about 1 second. On a phone-sized screen, the menu opens across the bottom of the screen instead of where you touched.
The menu is divided into groups: file actions, record actions (Details mode only), selection, and utilities. Options that don't apply to your current selection are hidden or grayed out. Keyboard shortcuts are listed next to each option; on a Mac, use Command instead of Ctrl.
Option | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
Download Selected | Ctrl+S | Downloads the selected file(s). If multiple files are selected, they are downloaded together as a .zip. |
Delete Selected | Ctrl+D | Deletes the selected file(s) from the Cloud. If you are in Details mode with detailsdeleterecord set to true, it also deletes the related record. In Archive Mode, this option is Archive Selected. |
Preview Selected | — | Available when one file is selected and its type can be previewed: jpg, png, gif, apng, avif, jpeg, jfif, pjpeg, pjp, svg, webp, or pdf. This option is grayed out if you have more than one file selected or the file cannot be previewed. If you are using Quickbase as a Cloud, you must be signed in to Quickbase in your browser for the files to load, and PDF files can't be previewed. With Egnyte, or when the hostedpreviews parameter is on, previews load through our server, and SVG files can't be previewed. |
Replace Selected | Ctrl+H | Details mode only, with one file selected. Replaces the file on a record while keeping the rest of the record's details. |
Edit Record | — | Details mode only, with one file selected. Opens the Edit Record window for that record. |
Open Record | Ctrl+Q | Details mode only, with one file selected. Attempts to open the Quickbase record in your browser. You need access to the record to view it, and your browser may block the new window. |
Select All | Ctrl+A | Selects all files in the grid. |
Deselect All | Ctrl+Shift+A | Deselects all selected files in the grid. |
Copy File Name(s) | — | Copies the names of all selected files to your clipboard, separated by commas. |
Refresh | Ctrl+R | Reloads the files from the chosen Cloud. In Details mode, this does not refresh Quickbase field data. For a "hard refresh" of that data, refresh the entire page. |
In Grid Edit mode, right-clicking a cell opens a different menu with Fill Up and Fill Down. See Grid Edit (multi-records).
Drag and drop
You can drag files from your computer directly into the File Grid. While you hold files over the grid, it dims, a dashed border appears around it, and a large cloud-upload icon is shown with the text Drop files here. Release the files to upload them.
Preview
When you preview an image or a PDF, it opens in an overlay centered over the grid. To close the preview, click the round X button at the top-right corner of the overlay.
Edit a record
Editing a single record opens the Edit Record #<Record ID#> window. It lists each field in your grid with its label and an input. Fields that can't be edited, such as File Name or rich-text fields, are grayed out. Click Save to save your changes, or Cancel (or the X at the top right) to discard them. We go into further detail in Details—Edit Records.
Delete files
When you delete files, a Confirm Delete window asks you to confirm, for example: Are you sure you would like to delete 1 file? If detailsdeleterecord is on, the window also says NOTE: This will also delete the Quickbase records where the files are kept. Click Delete to continue or Cancel to keep the files. In Archive Mode, the window is titled Confirm Archive and shows the folder the files will move to.
Status and errors
Whenever Document Portal interacts with the Cloud or Quickbase, a status message appears near the bottom of the grid. Each message has an X to dismiss it.
Success messages are green, for example Download Success., Upload Success., or Edit Success. They mean Document Portal completed what you asked it to do.
Information messages are blue, for example Grid Edit Enabled!
Notices are gray, for example No files selected or Changes Canceled.
Error messages are red and attempt to explain what happened, for example Error downloading file(s). Longer error messages ask you to click the notification (Click to see more.) to learn more.
If an error stops the process from continuing, Document Portal shows its error page instead. The grid is replaced by a striped background with a message card that reads Oops! Something went wrong., followed by a brief explanation of the error—for example, Given parameters not supported - cannot use Quickbase as a cloud without Details turned on.—and Please close this window. The Cloud Folder Readout shows Fatal Error.
A session lasts 120 minutes from when you open the portal. After that, your next action covers the grid with You've been inactive for too long. and Please refresh the uploader or refresh the page. Close the window and open the portal again from the record.
For every message, its cause, and what to do, see Document Portal messages and troubleshooting. If the error does not tell you how to fix it, we suggest you submit a technical support case. These errors should not be common, and may be caused by a bug on our end.
Settings
Click the Settings button to open the Settings window. Unless your admin has locked them, you see the following settings:
Theme—A drop-down to change the portal's color theme, for example Portal Light.
Allow Upload?, Allow Delete?, Allow Replace File?, Allow Edit Record?, and Allow Grid Edit?—Toggle switches that turn each action on or off.
Changes you make here affect only your current window. Any setting your admin has locked is removed from this window. The Document Portal version number (for example, v1.0.0) is shown at the bottom right. To learn how admins set and lock these defaults, see End-user permissions.