Attach a file
What Attach a file actually does
A report and the data behind it are two files, and two files separate. They separate in email threads, in shared folders, in downloads directories and in archives, and six months later somebody has the report and no idea which version of the numbers produced it. A PDF can carry the other file inside itself. The format keeps a dedicated place for this, a list of enclosed files held at the top level of the document, and every mainstream reader exposes what is in it through an attachments or paperclip panel. Placing a file there changes nothing about the pages: the document opens, prints and reads exactly as it did, at the same page count, and the enclosure sits alongside rather than inside the content. What you gain is that the two can no longer be separated by accident, because there is only one file to move. The obvious use is a report carrying its source data, but the same reasoning covers a drawing carrying its model, an invoice carrying its timesheet, and a signed agreement carrying the schedule it refers to.
How to use it
- Choose the PDF that will carry the enclosure.
- Choose the file to enclose. Any type is accepted; it is stored as bytes.
- Run it. The enclosure is written into the document's list of embedded files.
- Download. Open the result in a reader and check the attachments panel to confirm the enclosure is listed.
Useful for
- Send a report with the spreadsheet that produced its figures, as one file.
- Ship a signed agreement together with the schedule or annex it refers to.
- Keep a drawing and its source model together in an archive.
- Hand over a deliverable and its checksums or manifest without a second download.
Limits worth knowing
- One enclosure per run. Enclosing several files means running it several times, or zipping them first.
- The enclosure is stored whole, so the result is at least as large as the two files together.
- Readers vary in how prominently they show enclosures, and some mobile and in-browser viewers do not show them at all. Say in the document that an enclosure exists.
- Some mail gateways and document systems strip or reject PDFs carrying enclosures. Check the route before relying on it.
Questions people ask
Does this change how the document looks?
No. The pages, the page count and the layout are untouched. The enclosure sits in a separate part of the file.
Where does the recipient find it?
In their reader's attachments or paperclip panel. It is worth saying in the document itself that an enclosure is there.
Can I attach more than one file?
One per run. Run it again to add another, or enclose a single archive.
Does the file get uploaded anywhere?
No. Both files are read in this tab and the combined document is handed straight back.