Work with attachments

Note:

The Collector for ArcGIS (Classic) help site is retired and no longer being updated. To learn about Collector retirement and to find the latest information on data collection, see Collector retirement.

Attachments provide additional information for features. Using Collector, you can add, rename, and delete attachments as part of editing features. You can also view attachments and save them to your device. While collecting data, you can restrict the size of the photos by specifying a preferred attachment size.

Add an attachment

Photos and videos can be added to features to provide additional information. For example, if you are reporting on the status of a building after an earthquake, you can include photos showing new damages.

Note:

Not all data supports attachments. If you do not see Attachments , you can't add attachments to the feature. To enable them, work with the author of the map and see How do I enable inclusion of photos during collection? in the map creation FAQ.

Photos can be large files. You can restrict their size by specifying a preferred attachment size.

Note:

The following steps assume you are already editing the feature to which you want to add an attachment. To begin editing a feature, see Select a feature and begin editing in the Update a feature topic.

1. Select Attachments .

   The Attachments page opens.

2. Select Add.
3. Select the attachment type to add, and create or select the item to add.
   • Select Take Photo or Video to add a new item using the device's camera. When the camera starts, use it to create a new item. On the Preview page of the item, select Use Photo to attach the created item or select Retake to re-create it. To cancel adding the attachment, select Cancel from the camera, or select Retake from the Preview page to be returned to the camera and then select Cancel.
   • Select Choose From Library to add an existing item from the device. Select OK to allow the app to access your photos. Browse to the item to attach, and select it to attach it to your feature. Select Cancel to cancel adding the attachment.

   The item appears on the Attachments page.

4. Select Done.

   The Map or Attributes tab reappears, and the attachments are ready to be added to the feature.

5. Save your edits by selecting Update if you are editing an existing feature or Submit if you are creating a new feature.

Note:

If you added an attachment in error, see the Delete an attachment section.

Rename an attachment

Attachments are added using the name they had on the device. Often, this is a default name with little meaning to the image. Rename the attachment to clarify what it is. For example, if taking photos of the north side of a valve, you could name the photo north-valve.

Note:

The following steps assume you are already editing the feature of which you want to rename an attachment, that you have already attached it, and that the attachment is already downloaded. To begin editing a feature, see Select a feature and begin editing in the Update a feature topic. To add an attachment, see Add an attachment. To download the attachment, select it.

1. Select Attachments .

   The Attachments page opens.

2. Select the attachment you want to rename.

   The actions that can be taken on the attachment display.

3. Select Rename.

   Tip:

   If there isn't a Rename option, make sure you are editing the feature and the attachment has been downloaded. For downloaded photos, you should see a thumbnail of it.

   The Rename page opens, showing the item and its name.

4. Type a new name for your attachment.
5. Select Done to close the Attachments page.
6. Save your edits by selecting Update if you are editing an existing feature or selecting Submit if you are creating a new feature.

Delete an attachment

Take the following steps to delete an attachment from a feature:

Note:

The following steps assume you are already editing the feature from which you want to delete an attachment. To begin editing a feature, see Select a feature and begin editing in the Update a feature topic.

1. Select Attachments .

   The Attachments page opens.

2. Select the attachment you want to remove.

   The actions that can be taken on the attachment display.

3. Select Delete.

   The attachment is deleted.

4. Save your edits by selecting Update if you are editing an existing feature or selecting Submit if you are creating a new feature.

View an attachment

Attachments are often added to features to provide additional context or visual information about the feature. You can view attachments while browsing a map and while editing a feature.

View an attachment while browsing a map

Take the following steps to view an attachment while browsing a map:

1. Select the feature.

   Results display along the bottom of the map. The first feature in the results list is highlighted on the map.

   Tip:

   The selection results are indicated by the Pin icon .

   

2. In the results list, locate the feature of interest. To show the actions you can take with the result, select the arrow to the right of it .

   

   Tip:

   To flip through the results, scroll through them by flicking the currently displayed result to move to the next or previous result. When there are next or previous results available, you see the edge of that result beside your current one. The active result is highlighted on the map. If it is outside the map extent, the map pans to include the active result.

   To view all of the results as a list, drag the results tab up on the screen.

3. Select Show details.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the details. If there are any attachments, they show here.
5. Select the attachment you want to view.

   The attachment is downloaded.

6. Select the thumbnail.

   The attachment displays.

View an attachment while editing a feature

Take the following steps to view an attachment while editing a feature:

1. Select Attachments .

   The Attachments page opens.

2. Select the attachment you want to view.

   The menu of actions available for that attachment displays.

3. Select Open.

   The attachment displays.

Save an attachment to your device

Saving an attachment to your device gives you access to it outside Collector. For example, if you want to send an email of the attachment to a coworker, save it to your device, compose the email, and attach the file as you would any other email attachment. You can save attachments to your device while browsing a map and while editing a feature.

Save an attachment while browsing a map

Take the following steps to save an attachment to your device while browsing a map:

1. Locate the feature with the attachment you want to save.
2. Display the details of the feature and scroll to the attachments.

   For details, see View an attachment.

3. If the attachment shows a download arrow and no thumbnail, select it to download the attachment from the server.
4. Select the thumbnail to display the attachment.
5. While viewing the attachment, select Action .

   The menu of available actions displays.

6. Select Save To Photo Library.

   The attachment is saved to your device.

7. Select Done to close the attachment viewer.

Save an attachment while editing a feature

Take the following steps to save an attachment to your device while editing a feature:

1. Select Attachments .

   The Attachments page opens.

2. Select the attachment you want to save.

   The menu of available actions displays.

3. Select Save To Photo Library.

   The attachment is saved to your device.

The attachment is now saved on your device. To view it, go to Photos on the device. In the Camera Roll, the attachment is available.

Specify attachment size

Photos can be large, and quickly grow your database. Instead of using the default size, you can limit the size of photos that you attach to features. The attachment size setting is located on the Settings page.

1. Open the Map Gallery.
2. Select Action .
3. Select Settings and then Collection Settings.
4. Under Preferred Attachment Size, select a size option that best fits the needs of your data collection project.
5. Select Done to save the settings.