Uploading Documents

FluentCase provides powerful document management capabilities with automatic OCR processing, version control, Fluent AI options when enabled, and cloud storage integration.

Uploading Documents

Upload Methods

  • Single File Upload
    1. Open a matter
    2. Click the Select Files button
    3. Your file explorer window will open
    4. Select a file to upload
    5. Click OK to begin the upload process
    6. Optionally add:
      • Description - Brief description of the document
      • Tags - Tags for organization
    7. Click Upload
  • Drag and Drop Upload
    1. Open a matter
    2. Drag one or more files from your computer
    3. Drop them onto the upload area
    4. Files will upload automatically

    From Outside of a Matter:

    1. Open your file explorer on your PC or Mac
    2. Drag and drop a document on the page
    3. The document will be added to the Unsorted Documents section

    Drag individual files, not folders. To upload the contents of a folder, open the folder and drag or select the files inside it.

  • Multiple File Upload - Upload multiple documents at once:
    1. Click Upload → Upload Multiple Files
    2. Select multiple files (up to 20 at once)
    3. Files will upload and process automatically
    4. You can continue working while uploads complete

See Batch Scanning for high-volume document scanning workflows. For large matter file lists, see Document File Management.

Supported File Formats

Documents

  • PDF (.pdf) - Recommended format
  • Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx)
  • Microsoft Excel (.xls, .xlsx)
  • Rich Text Format (.rtf)
  • Text Files (.txt)

Images

  • JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg)
  • PNG (.png)
  • TIFF (.tif, .tiff) - Including multi-page TIFF
  • GIF (.gif)
  • BMP (.bmp)

Audio and Video

  • Video (.mp4, .mov, .avi, .wmv)
  • Audio (.mp3, .wav, .m4a, .wma)

Audio and video files open in an inline player on the document page. Playback depends on your browser’s support for the format; you can always download the file instead.

After upload, documents may be processed by OCR and, if enabled for your firm, Fluent AI document processing. See OCR Processing and Fluent AI Document Intelligence.

File Size Limits

  • Maximum file size: 384 MB per file
  • Multiple file upload: Up to 20 files at once
  • Total storage: Based on your subscription plan

Automatic OCR Processing

All uploaded documents are processed with OCR as needed so scanned text becomes searchable and selectable.

FluentCase downsamples images to 200 dpi before OCR for speed. OCR itself typically runs at about 1 second per page, not including the built-in overhead required for file transfer and document processing.

See OCR Processing for detailed information.

Document Naming

Automatic Naming

FluentCase automatically names documents based on:

  • Original filename
  • Document type (if detected)
  • Upload date

Renaming Documents

To rename a document:

  1. Open the document
  2. Click Rename
  3. Change the File Name
  4. Click Save

Best Practices:

  • Use descriptive names: Medical Report - Dr. Smith - 2024-01-15
  • Include dates in YYYY-MM-DD format for sorting
  • Include document type: Deposition - John Doe
  • Avoid special characters: / \ : * ? " < > |

Document Date

Each document has a Document Date that is separate from the date it was uploaded. The upload date appears on the document page next to Uploaded and cannot be changed.

When you upload a file, FluentCase sets the Document Date from the file’s last-modified date on your computer. To change it (for example, to the date a letter was mailed or scanned):

  1. Open the document
  2. Click Rename
  3. Set the Document Date
  4. If the document is attached to a matter, optionally check Update activity date to match document date and choose a Time
  5. Click Save

Attaching Unsorted Documents to a Matter

Documents uploaded outside a matter go to Unsorted Documents. To attach one:

  1. Open the document
  2. Click Rename
  3. Under Attach to Matter, search for and select the matter
  4. Optionally add tags and an Activity Description in the same form
  5. Click Save

Adding tags here saves them with the new activity, so you do not need to reopen the document afterward.

Staff notifications: After you select a matter, the Notify Staff about this document (via Internal Memo) switch appears. Turn it off to attach without sending a memo. When it is on, choose Notify All or check individual assigned staff. FluentCase remembers your choice for the next document. The switch is disabled when no staff are assigned to the matter.

Archived matters: Archived matters do not appear in the Attach to Matter search. To add a document to an archived matter, open that matter and upload the file there directly.

Document Organization

Tags

Tag documents for easy organization and retrieval:

  1. Open a document
  2. Click Add Tags
  3. Select existing tags or create new ones
  4. Common tags:
    • Medical Records
    • Correspondence
    • Court Filings
    • Discovery
    • Pleadings
    • Contracts

Folders (via Tags)

While FluentCase doesn’t use traditional folders, you can organize documents using tags:

  • Create tags like “Medical”, “Legal”, “Financial”
  • Filter documents by tag
  • Multiple tags per document

Document Types

FluentCase automatically detects common document types:

  • Medical records
  • Legal pleadings
  • Correspondence
  • Court filings
  • Contracts
  • Discovery documents

Document Versions

FluentCase maintains version history for documents:

Uploading a New Version

  1. Open the original document
  2. Click Upload New Version
  3. Select the updated file
  4. Add version notes (optional)
  5. Click Upload

Viewing Version History

  1. Open a document
  2. Click History
  3. Review the list of changes, including earlier file revisions
  4. Click the download icon (Download this revision) to download an earlier version

Reverting to a Previous Version

If a document was overwritten, you can restore an earlier revision:

  1. Open the document
  2. Click History
  3. Find the version you want to restore
  4. Click the history icon (Make this version the current version)

Read Only users cannot revert documents.

Document Metadata

Each document stores metadata:

  • File Name - Display name
  • Original Filename - Original file name
  • File Size - Size in MB
  • Upload Date - When uploaded
  • Uploaded By - User who uploaded
  • Matter - Associated matter
  • Description - User-provided description
  • Tags - Applied tags
  • Version - Version number

Document Permissions

Access to documents is controlled by:

  1. Matter Access - You must have access to the matter
  2. User Role - Your role determines what you can do
  3. Document Permissions - Some documents may have restricted access

Permission Levels

  • View - Can view and download documents
  • Upload - Can upload new documents
  • Edit - Can rename and edit metadata
  • Delete - Can delete documents (soft delete)

See User Roles and Permissions for details.

Downloading Documents

Single Document

  1. Open the document
  2. Click the Download button
  3. File downloads to your default download folder

Opening PDFs in a New Browser Tab

By default, PDFs download for opening in your system viewer (e.g., Acrobat Reader). To open them in a new browser tab instead:

  1. Open the user menu and click Personal Preferences
  2. Under Documents, find When opening a PDF, image, or plain text attachment
  3. Select Attempt to open in a new browser tab

Office documents (Word, Excel, etc.) always download regardless of this setting.

Multiple Documents

  1. Select multiple documents (checkboxes)
  2. Click Download Selected
  3. Documents download as a ZIP file

PDF Version

For non-PDF documents, FluentCase can generate a PDF version:

  1. Open the document
  2. Click Download as PDF
  3. PDF version downloads

Emailing a PDF Version

To send a Word document (including macro-enabled .docm files) as a PDF instead of the original file:

  1. Open the document
  2. Click E-mail as an Attachment
  3. In the draft, check Use PDF Version next to the attachment
  4. Send the message

Moving Documents Between Matters

To move a document to a different matter:

  1. Open the document
  2. Click Move to Matter
  3. Search for and select the destination matter
  4. Click Move
  5. Document is moved and an activity is created in both matters

Deleting Documents

Warning: Deleted documents can be recovered within 30 days, after which they are permanently deleted.

To delete a document:

  1. Open the document
  2. Click the Delete button
  3. Confirm the deletion
  4. Document is soft-deleted

Who Can Delete Documents

  • Power User and higher roles can delete any document.
  • General Staff and similar roles can delete only documents they uploaded within the last 72 hours.
  • Document Digitization Coordinator users can also delete any unsorted document (one not yet attached to a matter).
  • Read Only users cannot delete documents.

These rules apply to each document whether you delete from the document page or from a document list. A dimmed Delete button means you are not allowed to delete that document. See User Roles and Permissions.

Recovering Deleted Documents

Administrators can recover deleted documents:

  1. Go to Settings → Deleted Items
  2. Find the document
  3. Click Restore

Use the search box to find documents by:

  • File name
  • Description
  • Tags
  • OCR text content
  • Matter name

Click Advanced Search to filter by:

  • Date Range - Upload date
  • Document Type - File type (PDF, Word, etc.)
  • Tags - Specific tags
  • Uploaded By - User who uploaded
  • Matter - Specific matter
  • File Size - Size range

Best Practices

File Naming

  • Use descriptive names before uploading
  • Include dates in filenames
  • Use consistent naming conventions

Organization

  • Tag documents immediately after upload
  • Use consistent tag names across your firm
  • Create a tagging guide for your team

OCR Optimization

  • Scan at 150-200 dpi
  • Do not exceed 200 dpi
  • Use black and white or grayscale for text documents
  • Ensure documents are straight and clear
  • See Optimizing PDF Files

Storage Management

  • Delete duplicate documents
  • Archive old matters to free up space
  • Use cloud storage integration for large files

Common Questions

How do I upload documents to a matter through the API?
More Documents questions

Related Articles

Batch Scanning Documents Document File Management Documents OCR Processing Documents