Visitors and new staff members often fill in their details from a registration link that someone has sent them (the web address contains /r/). This page explains which files those forms accept, why, and what to do when an upload does not go through.

Which file formats can I upload on a registration link?

It depends on the upload field:

Field	What it takes
A photo: your own photo, or an extra photo question your administrator added	One JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg) or PNG (.png) picture. Not a PDF.
A document question your administrator added, on the visitor self-registration form or the staff registration form, for example a medical certificate or a safety file	One document of up to 50 pages. A page can be a JPEG or PNG picture, a page of a PDF or a page of a Word (.docx) document.
The Copy of ID on the staff registration form	Like a document question, but up to 10 pages.
The ID or passport copy on the visitor self-registration form	One page: a JPEG or PNG picture, or one page of a PDF.
The photo and the ID or passport copy of each person in a group registration	One JPEG or PNG picture.

A question that was set up as a file field in an earlier version is a document question.

Has something changed?

Yes. Document questions are back on the visitor self-registration form and on the staff registration form, and they take PDF and Word (.docx) documents as well as pictures, sent as pictures of their pages (see below). The staff registration form has a built-in Copy of ID that takes the same kind of document. The ID or passport copy on the visitor form now also takes a PDF, of which it keeps one page. A photo question now takes one picture only on every form, including the staff registration form, so a PDF goes in a document question.

Old Word documents (.doc) are not accepted anywhere. If an upload fails, the cause is usually one of the simple things under My upload still fails.

Why is the PDF or Word file itself never sent?

A registration link is public: anyone who has the link can open the form and send a file, before anyone at your organization knows who they are. So the upload fields on these forms receive only plain pictures, the simplest kind of file to receive safely from someone you have not met yet. When you choose a PDF or a Word document, your own phone or computer opens it and turns each page into a picture, and only those pictures are uploaded.

PDF and Word documents can do much more than show a page:

• A PDF can carry JavaScript that runs when the file is opened.
• A PDF can carry other files inside it, including programs.
• A PDF can contain links and QR codes that lead to fake websites (phishing).
• PDF readers have had security flaws that could be exploited just by opening a file.
• A PDF can hide information in its metadata and in layers you do not see on screen.
• Word documents can carry macros (small programs), links and embedded objects in the same way.

A picture has none of these abilities. EvTrack also treats every upload on a registration link with care:

1. It reads the content of the file to confirm it really is a JPEG or PNG image. Renaming a file so that it ends in .jpg is not enough to get it through.
2. It redraws the picture as a new, smaller JPEG image. Only the picture itself is kept, so anything else that was inside the original file is left behind.

All of this happens before anyone at your organization opens the file.

How do PDF and Word documents work on a document question?

• Up to 50 pages. A document question takes up to 50 pages (the Copy of ID on the staff registration form takes up to 10). When a PDF or Word document has more pages, the form lists them and you tick the pages to upload, then press Use selected pages. While the pages are prepared, the form counts them, for example “Converting page 3 of 12”.
• Mix photos and pages. You can add photographed pages and pages from a PDF or Word document to the same question. The pages are kept in the order you add them, and you can remove a page before you register.
• Word (.docx) layout may differ slightly. A Word document is drawn by your browser, not by Word, so fonts, line breaks, headers and footers, text boxes and charts can look a little different from Word. When part of the document cannot be drawn (for example a picture in an old Windows drawing format, or a document with no page breaks), the form shows you the pages with a warning: check them, then choose Upload anyway or Cancel. If the pages do not look right, save the document as PDF in Word and upload the PDF instead.
• Old Word documents (.doc) are refused with a message. Open the file in Word and save it as .docx or PDF, then upload that.
• A PDF that is password protected, or that the device cannot open, is refused with a message. Remove the password, or upload photos of the pages instead.

On the visitor form, the ID or passport copy takes a PDF too, but keeps one page: a one-page PDF is used as it is, and for a longer PDF the form asks which page to upload. It does not take a Word document.

For more on what a PDF can carry, Adobe explains it in Can PDFs contain viruses?. For the security settings that protect your EvTrack system, see Privacy and Security, in particular Security Configuration.

Can our staff still keep PDF documents in EvTrack?

Yes. After login, staff whose role allows it can upload the original PDF and Word documents inside EvTrack, for example as supporting documents on a registration or as documents on a visitor. These uploads come from known users, not from a public link.

So when a visitor’s paperwork must be kept as the original file, they can send it to their host, who attaches it inside EvTrack. See also Vet contractor documents before the visit is approved.

How do I turn a document into an image?

A document question takes the PDF or Word document itself. For a photo field, or when a document cannot be opened, any of these works:

• Take a screenshot. Open the document, zoom in so the page fills the screen, and take a screenshot. Screenshots are saved as PNG or JPEG images.
  • Windows: press Windows key + Shift + S and select the page.
  • Mac: press Command + Shift + 4 and select the page.
  • iPhone: press the side button and the volume up button together.
  • Android: on most phones, press the power button and the volume down button together.
• Photograph the paper. Lay the page flat in good light, hold the phone straight above it, and fit the whole page in the picture.
• Export the page as an image. Many PDF viewers can save a page as a JPEG or PNG image. On a Mac, open the PDF in Preview and choose File > Export, then pick JPEG or PNG.

Before you upload, check that the text is sharp and easy to read, with no glare or shadow across it.

My upload still fails. What can I try?

When an upload does not go through, the form shows the reason next to the upload field. Find the message below.

• “Your session has expired.” For your security, the verification behind the form ends after about 30 minutes without activity. Reload the page, verify your email address or phone number again with the new code, and upload the file again. You may need to fill in some details again. Trying the same upload again without reloading does not help.
• “This image is too large.” The forms make large photos smaller before they send them, so most phone photos upload as they are. If a photo still fails, keep the file under 5 MB: take a screenshot of it, or choose a smaller photo size in the camera settings.
• “This PDF is password protected.” or “This PDF could not be opened.” The form could not read the PDF’s pages. Remove the password, or upload photos of the pages instead.
• “This Word document could not be opened.” Save the document as PDF in Word and upload the PDF.
• “Older Word files cannot be uploaded here.” The file is an old Word document (.doc). Save it as .docx or PDF and upload that.
• “Word files cannot be uploaded here.” The field takes one picture, for example the ID or passport copy on the visitor form. Save the page as PDF, or upload a photo of it.
• “Press Use selected pages or Cancel before you register.” You clicked Register while the list of pages was still open. Press Use selected pages to add the pages you ticked, or Cancel, then register again. A Word document that asks you to check its pages shows “Press Upload anyway or Cancel before you register.” instead.
• “You can upload up to 50 pages here.” The question already holds 50 pages (10 on the staff Copy of ID). Remove a page first, or choose fewer pages from the document.
• “Only JPEG and PNG images can be uploaded.” The field is a photo field and takes one picture, not a PDF or Word document, or the file is another kind of image such as an HEIC photo. See How do I turn a document into an image? and the phone tip below.
• “Too many uploads in a short time.” Wait a minute, then try again.
• The phone saves photos in another format. Some phones save photos as HEIC or HEIF. When you pick a photo in a web form, most phones hand over a JPEG copy automatically. If the form still refuses the photo, use the form’s camera option where it offers one, take a screenshot of the photo, or set the camera to save JPEG images. On an iPhone, that is Settings > Camera > Formats > Most Compatible.
• The connection is slow or drops. Wait until the upload progress finishes before you move on to the next field. If it stops part of the way, try again on a Wi-Fi network or where the signal is stronger.

Still stuck? Contact the person who sent you the link. They can help you finish the registration, and they can attach documents for you inside EvTrack.