Documents Help

Use this guide to organize project files, control folder access, and prepare files for download or sharing. Documents is the project folder tree; every file inherits access from the folder that contains it.

Start here

Set up a new project: Create or import folders.
Add project files: Upload and open documents.
Control who can see files: Manage folder sharing.
Send files to someone: Download, link, or package documents.
Clean up the folder tree: Rename, move, or delete content.
Something is missing or blocked: Troubleshoot Documents.

Common task recipes

Reuse a standard folder layout: Select Actions → Import Folder Structure, choose another project, and import. This copies folders and their permission levels, not files.
Give a project member live access: Update the folder's Edit Shared With settings, then use Copy Link.
Send a fixed file package: Select the files and use Share Selected Download Link.
Protect sensitive content: Put it under a folder whose audience is no broader than the people who need it.

Set up and organize

Create or import folders

Build the folder tree manually or copy a proven structure from another project.

To create folders:

Open Documents.
Select Actions → Add Folder.
Name the folder for the work it will contain.
Answer Who should have access to this folder?. A new top-level folder starts on Anyone at [your company], so it's shared with your own organization from the moment you make it — narrow it to Only me here if the contents are sensitive. Inside an existing folder, the parent's audience constrains what you can pick.
Open it and add child folders as needed.
Select Edit Shared With on any folder to change the audience later.

To import a structure:

From the Documents root, select Actions → Import Folder Structure.
Choose another project.
Select Import.
Review the imported folder sharing before uploading files.

Importing copies folders and permission levels but no files. A folder with the same name as an existing folder is merged rather than duplicated.

Upload and open documents

Open the destination folder.
Select Actions → Add Documents, choose files, or drag files and directories onto the page.
Wait for uploads to finish.
Select a file name to preview a supported format.
If no preview is available, use Download.

Folders appear before files and names sort naturally. On desktop, the table also shows modified dates and file sizes. Folder actions are temporarily unavailable while uploads are running.

PDFs open in a viewer inside Constructable rather than sending you off to a browser tab — on desktop it takes the right half of the screen, and on a phone or tablet it fills it. The header shows the file name and which page of how many you're on, and the toolbar carries Pan, Select text, Zoom out, Fit to width, Zoom in, Download PDF, and Open in new tab. Select text lets you drag across the document's text and copy it instead of retyping a clause or a part number, and interactive form fields in the file render as they were authored. Press Escape or close the panel to get back to what you were doing. Navigating to another page closes it too, so you won't come back to a leftover document covering the next screen. This is the same viewer that opens when you follow a PDF link anywhere else in the product, so a specification or a signed contract referenced from another record behaves the same way.

Open the folder.
Select Edit Shared With.
Choose Only me, Anyone at [your company], or Anyone with access to [project name].
Add specific people when needed.
Select Update Folder Sharing.

Changing a folder's sharing also updates its subfolders and files. A parent folder's audience limits how private a child can be; if the parent is shared with the entire project, a child cannot be made private.

Note: Copy Link does not grant access. The recipient still needs permission to the live folder or file.

Download, link, or package documents

Use a file's Download action for the original file.
Use Download All for a folder's contents.
Select rows and use Download Selected for a subset.
Use Copy Link for live content that the recipient already has permission to open.
Select rows and use Share Selected Download Link to generate a fixed package and copy its link.

A generated package is a snapshot. Create a new package after the source files change.

Rename, move, or delete content

Use Rename to correct a file or folder name.
Select rows and use Move Selected to relocate content.
Use Delete on a row, or select rows and use Actions → Delete Selected to clear out several at once.

Moving content can change who sees it because it takes on the destination folder's sharing. Deleting a folder also deletes all of its files and subfolders, and it's gone — there's no restore in the product.

Deleting is a separate permission from everything else in this list. Add, rename, move, and change sharing for documents covers uploading and reorganizing; Delete documents and folders is what removes things. So a role that can build out the whole folder tree may still find Delete missing or greyed out, and the tooltip says which case you're in: You do not have permission to delete documents, You can only delete documents and folders you created, or, for a folder, You can only delete this folder if every item inside was also created by you.

That last one catches people. If your access level is Only documents and folders I created, a folder you made but that other people have uploaded into is not yours to delete — remove your own items or ask someone with All documents and folders to do it.

Warning: Bulk delete confirms with a count rather than a list — Are you sure you want to delete {count} items? Folders and their contents will also be deleted. A single selected folder can take hundreds of files with it. Check what's selected before confirming.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshoot Documents

A folder or file is missing

Confirm the project and parent folder, then ask whether the folder is shared with you, your organization, or the whole project. If a copied link shows access denied, ask the folder manager to change sharing; allow up to one minute for the update.

An upload failed

Use Retry. If one file repeatedly fails, confirm it opens locally and upload it again. Wait for active uploads before moving or renaming folders.

A file will not preview

Not every format has an in-app preview. Use Download to open it in its normal application.

Delete is missing or greyed out

Deleting needs Delete documents and folders, which your role can be missing even when you can upload and rename freely. If it's greyed out rather than absent, read the tooltip: your deletion access is limited to items you created, and for a folder that means every item inside has to be yours too.

A package is still preparing

Folder and selected-content packages are generated before they are available. Keep the progress dialog open. If generation fails, retry with a smaller selection.