Workiva Support Center

Using attachments allows you to link files outside of the Workiva platform directly in your documents.

Attach a file to text

To attach a file to a document:

1. Select the text you want to attach a file to.
2. In the Attachments panel, click the Upload File icon.
3. Choose a file.
4. Click Open.

After you've uploaded an attachment, you can create additional references to it in your document:

1. Select text in your document.
2. Find the file in the Attachments panel and click the arrow .
3. Choose Add Reference.

The number next to the file name indicates the number of times that attachment is referenced in your document. 

Light orange highlights in the text indicate an attachment. If there are multiple references, selecting a reference in the Attachments panel highlights the associated text.

Each attachment also includes a label. Click and drag the label to move it around the page.

To change the label's text, rename your attachment in the Attachments panel. You can rename the attachment to change all labels or just a specific reference.

Use placeholders

You can save a place for future attachments in your document using placeholders. Placeholders and their references appear in the Attachments panel, where you can upload a file at any time.

To add a placeholder to your document:

1. Select the text you want to attach a placeholder to.
2. In the Attachments panel, click the arrow next to the Upload icon.
3. Select Create Placeholder.

Placeholders work just like normal attachments. You can rename or add additional references by clicking the arrow next to the placeholder’s name. When you are ready to upload the attachment, select Upload File from the menu.

Modify attachments

Use the menu in the Attachments panel to edit your file, including renaming, deleting, and replacing existing attachments. Use the Open in Markup Viewer option to add markup to any attachment—learn more about adding markup to an attachment. 

Note: Editors and owners have access to all attachment options. Viewers only have access to Open and Download attachments.

You can use the Expand and Collapse icons to show or hide the reference information for each attachment. 

Use the Filter options to see attachments for your entire document or just the selected section. The numbers next to each option show how many attachments will be filtered.

Lock an attachment

To prevent any updates to an existing attachment, you can lock edits for a selected attachment. 

To lock an attachment:

1. Click the arrow next to your attachment.
2. Select Lock Edits from the menu. 

Locking an attachment prevents it from being renamed, replaced, deleted, or reverted to a placeholder. While you can still open it in the Markup Viewer, you won't be able to add or edit any markup.

To unlock an attachment, select Unlock Edits from the menu or select Unlock in the Markup Viewer toolbar.

Download attachments

You can download your attachments individually or as a packaged .zip file.

To download an individual file, select the file in the Attachments panel and select Download from the menu. Select the type of file you want to download.

To export multiple attachments:

1. From the Attachments panel, click Export Attachments .
2. Select whether you want to include all attachments or just the current section.
3. To export markup with your attachments, check Include markup. 
4. Select whether you want to include copies of your original files:
   • If you want to include an original copy of all of your files, select For all attachments.
   • If you'd only like to include one copy of each file, select Only for attachments without markup. Your folder will contain one version of each attachment—a marked-up PDF for all attachments with markup or the original file if your attachment does not contain markup.