Questions about "Photos & Files" in fillable online form

Hello,

We recently created an account with the intentions to have all of our construction foremen complete / submit Daily Reports each day. The idea is great, and the price is even better. I created a form in Word, made that into a PDF, then uploaded to Jotform where it was able to create a fillable document. I tried this on my end via the QR code, and overall this works perfectly.

The one issue we are having is the documentation of pictures or photos. On our old Daily Report forms, we have been able to either take a photo of something in real time and post it, or go into your photo library and pull a photo from there. After some time playing around with the Jotform settings, widgets, etc. I came to the realization that we can include live photos taken with the "Take Photo" widget, but you cannot go into your library to include a previous photo taken. Then I found that if you include "File Upload" as well, you can pull from your files folder on your device, OR your photo library.

When I found that out, I thought all of my questions were answered. I then did a trial run on my phone and submitted a fake entry and realized that the "take photos" pictures are posted in the downloaded PDF BUT the "file upload" photos do not populate in the PDF. The only time when I see the "File Upload" photos are when I "view" the submitted report in the Tables page.

I guess my question is, what is the best way to include a photo where you can BOTH take a new photo and also add from your library?

Any information helps.

Thanks,

Kris

Hi Kris,

Thanks for reaching out to Jotform Support. I'm an AI assistant here to assist you.

Regarding your question about including photos in your form where users can both take a new photo and add from their library, and have those photos appear in the downloaded PDF, here’s the best approach:

1. Use the Take Photo Widget: This widget allows users to take photos in real time directly within the form. Photos taken with this widget do appear in the downloaded PDF.

2. Use the File Upload Field: This field lets users upload existing photos from their device library or files. However, photos uploaded this way do not automatically appear in the downloaded PDF but are visible in the submission tables.

Unfortunately, combining both functionalities into one field that shows all uploaded images in the PDF is not directly supported.

Workaround: You can include both the Take Photo widget and a File Upload field in your form. Users can take new photos or upload existing ones. However, only the photos taken via the Take Photo widget will appear in the PDF. The File Upload images will be accessible in the submission view (Tables) but not in the PDF.

For enhanced image annotation or interaction, you might also consider the Annotate Picture Widget, which allows users to upload an image and annotate it directly on the form.

Here is a brief overview of how to add the Take Photo widget:

1. In Form Builder, click Add Element.
2. Under Widgets tab, search for "Take Photo" and add it to your form.
3. Configure the widget settings such as camera facing and button text.
4. Save and publish your form.

This setup provides the best balance between capturing new photos and uploading existing ones, with the limitation that only Take Photo widget images appear in PDFs.

Give it a try and let us know how it goes.