File Store Selection
Lets a user choose a file already held in a file store, rather than uploading a new one.
Where to find it
Architect Panel → Data:
- Datastores — the datastore, then Table Designer to add or edit a field
Architect Panel → Data:
- File Stores — the stores selectable files live in
- Documents — document management
What it is for
Referencing shared material. Where many records point at the same file — a standard terms document, a product image, a policy — uploading a copy per record is waste that gets worse over time.
The argument for a reference
- One copy to update. Replace the file once and every record referencing it is current.
- No duplication. A thousand records referencing one document store one document.
- One place to control access and retention.
And the argument against
A reference changes when the file changes — which is exactly what you want for a current policy and exactly wrong for evidence.
If a record needs to show what a document said at the time, an upload is correct and a reference is not. A quotation referencing "our standard terms" that silently updates when the terms change is a real problem, and it will be discovered during a dispute.
The test
Ask whether this record needs today's version or the version as it was. Current material — reference it. Evidence — attach it.
Keep the store organised
The field is only as usable as the store behind it. A store with four hundred files in no order makes selection slow and wrong choices likely. Structure it, name files meaningfully, and remove what is obsolete.
Removing a referenced file
The familiar rule. Deleting a file that records point at leaves them pointing at nothing, and the breakage appears wherever somebody tries to open it rather than at the moment of deletion.
Check what references a file before removing it.
Permissions are the store’s
Whether somebody can open a referenced file depends on the store, not on the record. A user with access to the record may or may not be able to open what it points at — worth checking rather than assuming, particularly where the store holds a mix of sensitivities.
Worked example
A quotation datastore references the current product datasheet from a file store, so a datasheet revision reaches every open quotation. The customer's signed acceptance is a file upload on the same record, because that must remain exactly as signed — the two fields sit side by side and are deliberately different types.
Recommendations
- Reference current material, attach evidence.
- Keep the store tidy — the field inherits its usability.
- Check references before deleting a file.
- Confirm store permissions match who can see the record.