Form authentication is required to view images and files collected from File Upload and Signature fields. This means that non-authenticated Formstack Users and integrations, such as Google Sheets or Zapier, are not able to publicly view your files.
Examples of how files might behave:
- If you try to share a file collected via email: A link will be displayed that points to Formstack login page. If the user does not have authentication, they will not be able to view the file or image.
- If you try to share a file with Google Sheets: A link will be displayed that points to Formstack login page. If the user does not have authentication, they will not be able to view the file or image.
- If you share a file to Salesforce as an attachment: File can be uploaded, but must be downloaded to be viewed.
- If you try to send a file to Zapier: A link will be displayed that points to Formstack login page. If the user does not have authentication, they will not be able to view the file or image.
- If you send a file through API or webhook: To view the image a user will need to log in. If you need to send the URL to non-users, you can use a file upload integration. The API or webhook will send the URL created from the file upload integration instead of the URL created by Formstack.
If you’d like to allow uploaded files and images to be viewed publicly by external users and integrations, we recommend leveraging one of our many public file storage options, such as Dropbox or Box.net.
Here are a few examples of how your file uploads will behave when you add a public file storage integration to your form.
- If you try to share a file collected via email: A link to download the file will be displayed.
- If you try to share a file with Google Sheets: A link to download the file will be displayed.
- If you share a file to Salesforce as an attachment: A link to access the file will be displayed.
- If you try to send a file to Zapier: A link to access the file will be displayed.
Set up file storage integration
Once you’ve chosen a file storage solution, add the integration to the form you’re collecting files on.
Step 1: From the form builder, select the Settings tab from the navigation bar. Choose Integrations and select an option from the list of document storage solutions.
Step 2: Fill out the integration settings including your login credentials to connect and the designated storage folder.
Step 3: Once set up, turn on your integration.
Once the integration is turned on, current Formstack Form users, including participants, may access the attachments with secure file storage.