Docs and Files

Here you can easily organize all your reference materials, shared files, and other important documents. You can sort these files alphabetically, by date, or drag and drop them in your preferred order. You can color code Docs and uploaded files and put them into specific folders. You can also switch to the list view for easy navigation:

Screenshot of the "Docs&Files" page with a red arrow pointing at the switcher between List view and Grid view

Jump ahead to:

Files

Documents

Adding Files to Messages and Docs

Anywhere you see the text editor in Basecamp 4, you can attach a file one of two ways:

1. Add from your computer.

Click the paperclip icon and then select a file from your computer:

A screenshot of the Message edit window with an arrow pointing to the paperclip icon.

An animated GIF of using the paperclip icon to add an image to a document.

NOTE: You always need to use the paperclip icon 📎 in the editor to upload files and images to Basecamp, not copy and paste them in. When you copy/paste, it isn't actually uploading a copy of the file to our servers, it's only pasting a copy of the file/image in your browser's local cache. It then breaks when the copy in your cache clears out. When you upload a file correctly, you'll see "view full size" and "download" links directly under the file.

2. Drag and drop.
Drag a file from anywhere on your computer and drop it onto the page where the text editor is open. The file will appear where your cursor is, so be sure the cursor is in the place where you want the file.

A screenshot of a file added to a document.

NOTE: Image files (PNG, JPG, GIF) will appear with previews in your browser! ✨

You can delete a file from your post by clicking on it, then selecting the trash bin.

A screenshot of a file uploaded to a doc with the 'put in trash' option available.

NOTE:Unlike Basecamp 2, files added as attachments in other project tools cannot be found in the Docs & Files section — they'll only live right where you attached them. If you're looking for a file attached to a message, say, use the Find feature. 🔎

Adding standalone files to your Project

First, go to the Project and click the Docs & Files option. Then, click the green New button. You can select files from your computer, or drag and drop them.

A screenshot of the top of the 'Docs & Files' screen with an arrow pointing to the "New" button.

After you've added the files, you can change their file name, add extra notes or notify users on the project. A screenshot of the filename field available when uploading a file.

A screenshot of the filename field available when uploading a file.

To delete a file attached to an item, click ... and Put in the trash.

File Size Limitations

Uploading a file as an attachment is limited to 10 GB in size.

Uploading a standalone file is limited to 5 GB in size.

If you need to upload a standalone file larger than 5 GB to the Docs & Files section of a project, you can consider creating a Basecamp Doc and attaching your file to that document.

Viewing PDFs and Image Files

You can view some files (PDF, JPG, PNG, GIF) directly in Basecamp. Just click the file!

A GIF showing a multi-page PDF clicked on and viewed in the Basecamp Desktop app

File Versioning

If you made changes to a file and need to add a new version, no worries! Go to the file in the project, and click the Replace with a new version link to add your updated file.

Screenshot of an arrow pointing to the "Replace with a new version" link

Want to see a list of every version of the file? Just click the See all versions link!

Screenshot of an arrow pointing to the "See all versions" link

Deleting and searching for files

Need to delete a file or restore a deleted file? Here's how!

Searching for a specific file? Try this!

Link to Cloud Files

Are your files saved in another program? You can link to those files in your Basecamp projects!

You can link to your documents and files in: Adobe Creative Cloud, Airtable, Basecamp, Box, Dropbox, Figma, Google Drive, iCloud Drive, Invision, Notion, OneDrive, and Zoho. There's a really handy "Other" category that allows anyone to link to anything hosted elsewhere.

To start, head to your Docs & Files section in your Project. Click the green New... button, then click the option you need from the list of Cloud File services.

A screenshot of the "new" menu with the cloud file options.

Add a title, and paste the link to your file. Add a note for more detail, and click the "Post this" button:

A screenshot of the cloud file upload page with details entered for a Notion file.

Viewing Cloud Files

To view a linked cloud file, click the View on... button. This will open a browser tab taking you directly to the document, file, or page that's linked.

You'll need to be logged in and you'll need to have permissions to view where that link takes you. If you don't, you can request permission from the creator so clicking on a link from Basecamp will be seamless.

A screenshot of a linked Notion file in Basecamp

Basecamp Docs

Need a place to take notes during a meeting? Use a text doc. Want to add reference material that others on the project need? Use a text doc.

When you're ready to set up a text doc, click the green New button. Then, click to Start a new doc.

A screenshot of a Docs & Files area of a project with the "new" menu open.

Give it a title, add your text, and then use the buttons below to Save it as a draft, Post your document, or Schedule it to post later. You can also choose who should be notified about your post:

Screenshot of a document with a red arrow pointing at the options below -- Save as a draft, Post it, or Schedule to post later

After you post it, you can add comments and notify other users:

Screenshot of a comment with an arrow pointing at the "Add this comment" button

NOTE: A scheduled document will not be posted and remain a draft if:

The author was removed from the project
The author was removed from the account
The account is cancelled or inactive

Document Versioning

Ever need to review or restore past versions of a Basecamp document? If you want to take a look at the changes a document has gone through, just click View change log from the ... menu.

A screenshot of a document with the Options menu open and an arrow pointing to the 'View change log' option You'll see an updated view of all the changes that have happened to the document.

A screenshot of the 'History of Changes' page for a document.

Wanna ditch the changes and go back to the way it was before? No problem, just open up the last good version and click the button to "Make this the current version."

A screenshot of the top of a document when comparing different versions.

Folders

Folders let you group stuff together in a way that makes sense for you and your team!

To create a new folder, click the green New button and then click to make a new folder.

A screenshot of the Docs & Files section of a project with the "new" menu open and an arrow pointing to the 'Make a New Folder" option.

You'll see a small card with Untitled in it. Type the name of the folder and then click Save

A screenshot of a new folder in the Docs & Files area. Now, simply drag Basecamp Docs, files, and cloud files from the Docs & Files section into the folder:

An animated GIF of dragging and dropping a document into a folder in a Basecamp project.

To move files or folders up to their parent folders, choose Move from the ... menu, and choose a destination folder:

A screenshot of the Move options available for a File

You can also move or copy docs and files into other projects. Read more about that here.

Downloading

Need to download or use your Docs & Files outside of Basecamp? You can download an entire folder in a couple clicks. Here’s how:

1: First go to the folder you'd like to download.
2: Click the ... menu in the top-right.
3: In that menu you’ll find an option to Download this folder, click that.

Removing the Docs & Files tool

You can hide a tool from a Project if it's not needed. See if a clear space really does organize the mind!

Here's how: Changing Tools

Next up: Doors →

Jump to: