Articles on: Letters & Documents

Can I link a file to WriteUpp from an external source?

If you have documents or folders in an external storage provider, such as Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox, you can link the files in question to a patient record in WriteUpp. You do this by entering the URL of the file and linking it to the client record as an attachment.

Please note that this does not store the file within WriteUpp, and therefore the management of these files continues to be your responsibility. It simply provides a convenient way to link disparate files into one logical location. Please also note that any files linked in this way will not be included in data exports or access requests, as they are not stored within WriteUpp.

As the file is not being stored within WriteUpp, there is no size limit to the files you can add in this way, making it an excellent workaround for linking files larger than 16MB to the patient record. Just remember, you will have to continue to manage the file in your storage provider, and moving or deleting the file within your chosen provider (Google Drive, OneDrive etc) will break the link with WriteUpp.

To link an external file to WriteUpp:

Click on Create -> Attachment

Copy the URL of the file from your external source, and then under the 'Link to a file or folder in external storage' section in WriteUpp, paste it into the URL field:

Click Add Link once the URL has been entered

This will open a new section, where you must enter a File Name for the link. Here, you can also add an optional Description, choose a Keyword and select if you would like the file to be visible to yourself (and any Site Administrators) only.

The Name and Description fields can be up to 64 characters in length

Click Save

You will then be taken to the 'Files' tab of the Patient Summary and see the linked file listed at the top:

If you enter both a file name and a description, it is the description that will be listed in the 'Files' tab of the Patient Summary

Click on the name of the file to open the details page:

From here, click on View to view the file within the external storage provider. You can also delete the link by clicking on the Trashcan icon to the bottom right:

You will not have the option to email or direct message the file to your patient from here, as you can do with other file types, as it's not stored within WriteUpp. You could, however, open the file and copy the link, then send the link by going to Create -> Message, choosing either the Email or Direct Message tab and following the relevant steps.

Updated on: 30/04/2024

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