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:

Jump ahead to:

Files

• Adding Files to Messages and Docs
• Adding Standalone Files
• File Size Limitations
• Viewing images and other documents
• File Versioning
• Deleting and Searching for Files
• Link to Cloud Files
• Viewing Cloud Files

Documents

• Basecamp Docs
• Document Versioning
• Folders
• Downloading

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:

Double-click the file or select the file and click the Open button:

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.

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

Adding standalone files to your Project

First, go to the Project and click the Docs & Files tool. Then, click the +New button located on the top-left. You can select files from your computer, or drag and drop them.

After you've added the files, you can change their file name, add extra notes or notify users on the project:

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 images and other documents

If you want to quickly preview images and documents in your Docs & Files, you can click the zoom button at the top:

With the preview open, use the side arrows or your keyboard to flip through the files. Images, videos, and PDFs look great, but Basecamp docs and folders also have cool previews. To get to the full document page, just click the file or hit "Go to page" in the preview:

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. 

Want to see a list of every version of the file? Just click 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 "External Service" 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.

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

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.

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.

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:

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

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.

You'll see an updated view of all the changes that have happened to the 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."

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.

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

Now, simply drag Basecamp Docs, files, and cloud files from the Docs & Files section into the folder:

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

Want to move or copy docs and files into other projects? Here's how!

Looking to share a folder with others using a public link? Try this!

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.

Next up: Doors →

Jump to:

• Intro to the Project Tools
• Chat
• Message Board
• To-Dos
• Card Tables
• Hill Charts
• Schedule
• Automatic Check-Ins
• Docs and Files (you're here!)
• Doors
• Templates
• Forwards
• Drafts
• Boosts
• Searching
• Trash, Archive, and Restore
• Moving and Copying
• Printing
• Embedding Outside Content
• Lineup