Document Management

The Documents Interface

The Documents page uses a three-panel layout:

Folder Tree (Left Panel)

The left panel shows a hierarchical tree of all folders and drives you have access to:

• Personal folders — folders in your own document repository
• Shared With Me — folders and drives that other users or administrators have shared with you
• Shared Drives — team drives that appear at the top level

Click a folder name to show its contents in the centre panel. Click the triangle/arrow next to a folder to expand it without changing the centre panel.

You can also use the search field at the top of the left panel to quickly jump to a file or folder by name ("Go to file" search).

File Listing (Centre Panel)

The centre panel shows the contents of the selected folder. Files are displayed in a table with columns for name, size, and modification date. Click any column header to sort.

Tile view: Switch to a tile/thumbnail view for image-heavy folders.

Multi-select:

• Click a file to select it.
• Ctrl+Click to toggle-select additional files.
• Shift+Click to select a range.
• In tile view, click the checkbox that appears on hover to select without navigating.

Action Bar

The action bar at the top of the centre panel provides context-sensitive actions:

• New — create a new document or folder
• Upload — upload files from your computer
• Share — share selected items
• Move / Copy — move or copy selected items
• Delete — delete selected items
• Download — download selected items (multiple files are zipped)
• Rename — rename the selected item
• More (…) — additional actions including Synchronise, Generate Thumbnail, etc.

A right-click context menu on any file or folder provides the same actions.

Uploading Documents

There are three ways to upload files:

Option 1: Upload Button

1. Browse to the destination folder in the left panel.
2. Click New → Upload Document in the action bar.
3. Select the file(s) from your computer.
4. Optionally add a title and comment to the file.
5. Click Add Doc.

Option 2: Drag and Drop

1. Browse to the destination folder in the left panel.
2. Drag files from your computer's file manager onto the centre panel (the folder turns green as a drop indicator).
3. The upload dialog opens pre-filled with your files. Add a title/comment if desired and click Add Doc.

You can also drag onto a folder node in the left panel tree to upload directly into that folder.

Option 3: Right-Click

1. Right-click a folder in the left panel or centre panel.
2. Select Add Document.
3. The upload dialog opens — proceed as above.

Option 4: Paste (Ctrl+V)

You can paste files or images from your clipboard directly into the Documents file listing:

• Images are uploaded and inserted inline where supported.
• Other files are uploaded to the current folder.

Large File Uploads

WebPal supports large file uploads (hundreds of MB). Upload via the browser for most files; for very large file trees or network drives, use WebDAV instead.

Creating New Documents

From the New menu in the action bar, you can create several native WebPal document types:

These document types are edited directly in the browser without downloading. They support auto-save, version history, and AI editing.

Viewing and Previewing Documents

Clicking on a file in the centre panel shows a preview in the right panel.

Supported Preview Types

Double-clicking a file opens it in full-screen viewing or editing mode.

Editing Documents

HTML Documents (.html, .wdoc)

HTML documents open in a Monaco editor (the same engine as VS Code) with a live preview pane on the right:

• Split view — editor and preview side by side
• Editor only — full-screen code editing
• Preview only — full-screen rendered preview

The preview is generated server-side using Chromium for accurate rendering of JavaScript, CSS frameworks, and complex layouts. It updates automatically after each save.

Auto-save is enabled. Changes are saved when you click away from the editor.

Markdown Documents (.md)

Markdown files open in a CKEditor Markdown editor with a live preview mode:

• Switch between Edit and Preview using the tabs at the top.
• Click Discard Changes to abandon your edits and revert to the saved version.
• Ctrl+V pastes images directly as embedded content.

GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) is fully supported, including tables, task lists, fenced code blocks, and strikethrough.

Plain Text Documents (.txt)

Plain text and code files open in a syntax-highlighted code editor (TextareaEditor). Auto-save applies on blur.

DrawIO Diagrams (.drawio)

DrawIO diagrams open in the embedded DrawIO editor — a full-featured diagramming environment supporting flowcharts, architecture diagrams, org charts, and more.

Document Versioning

WebPal automatically maintains a version history for every document.

How Versioning Works

• Every time a new version of a file is uploaded, the previous version is saved automatically.
• Versions are numbered and timestamped.
• You can view, download, and revert to any previous version.

Viewing Version History

1. Select the file in the centre panel.
2. In the right panel, click the Versions tab.
3. The version list shows each version with its date, size, and uploader.

Uploading a New Version

There are three ways to upload a new version of a file:

Option 1 — Drag and Drop: Drag a file with the same filename onto the folder containing the original. WebPal detects the filename match and creates a new version.

Option 2 — Right-Click: Right-click the file and select Upload New Version. Choose the file in the dialog and click Upload New Version.

Option 3 — Versions Tab: Select the file, open the Versions tab in the right panel, and click Upload a New Version.

Reverting to a Previous Version

1. Select the file and open the Versions tab.
2. Click the revert arrow (↩) next to the version you want to restore.
3. Confirm the revert. The selected version becomes the current version, and the previous current version is saved as a version entry.

Downloading a Previous Version

From the Versions tab, click the download button next to any version to download it.

Moving, Copying, and Renaming

Rename

1. Select the file or folder.
2. Click Rename in the action bar, or right-click and select Rename.
3. Type the new name and press Enter (or click elsewhere to save).

You can also rename the current folder by clicking its name in the breadcrumb path at the top of the centre panel.

Move

1. Select one or more files or folders.
2. Click Move in the action bar (or right-click → Move).
3. In the folder picker, navigate to the destination folder.
4. Click Move Here.

Copy

Follow the same steps as Move, but select Copy instead.

Deleting Documents

1. Select one or more files or folders.
2. Click Delete in the action bar, or press the Delete key, or right-click → Delete.
3. Confirm the deletion.

Deleted files are moved to a recycler/trash area and can be recovered by an administrator within a configurable retention period. After that, they are permanently removed.

Searching Documents

Quick Search (Left Panel)

Use the search field at the top of the left panel ("Go to file") to quickly find documents by name across all your accessible folders. Results update as you type with cursor-based pagination and a "load more" option.

Full-Text Search

The search icon in the action bar (or top of the page) searches the full text content of documents (when indexing is enabled via Solr/Lucene):

1. Click the Search icon.
2. Enter your search query.
3. Filter results by folder using the folder dropdown.
4. Click a result to navigate to the document.

Search results exclude the internal _webs website content folder.

Document Properties

Clicking a document in the centre panel shows its Properties in the right panel:

• Name — the file name
• Type — MIME type / file format
• Size — file size
• Created — date the document was first uploaded
• Modified — last modification date and time
• Created by — the user who uploaded the document
• Path — the full folder path
• Parent Folder — the immediate containing folder
• Document ID — the internal numeric ID
• Pages — page count (for PDFs and office documents)
• Versions — number of stored versions
• Permissions — your effective permissions on this document
• Editable — whether the document can be edited in the browser

Document Activity History

Every document maintains a complete activity history showing all actions taken on it.

To view a document's history:

1. Select the document.
2. In the right panel, click the History tab.

The History tab shows events such as:

• Document uploaded / new version uploaded
• Document edited
• Document shared (with recipient name and permissions)
• Document emailed as attachment
• Document downloaded
• Document moved or renamed

Each entry shows the date, the user who performed the action, and details about what happened.

Sharing Documents and Folders

Sharing allows you to give other users, groups, or external guests access to specific documents or folders.

Starting a Share

Select the file(s) or folder(s) you want to share, then choose one of:

• Click the Share icon in the action bar → Share selected documents by email
• Right-click → Share → via email
• In the right panel properties, click the Share button

The Share Dialog

The share dialog has three steps:

Step 1: Permissions

Share these documents / Share these folders — review the items being shared.

Allow users to — select the document-level permissions:

• View online
• Download as PDF
• Download as original
• Upload a new version

Expiry — optionally set a date after which the share automatically expires. Leave blank for no expiry.

Folder permissions (if sharing a folder) — select additional folder-level permissions:

• View and download documents
• Update documents
• Move or delete documents
• Add documents
• Create folders
• Share documents and folders

Step 2: Recipients

Choose who to share with:

• Groups — select one or more groups from your WebPal installation
• Users — select individual WebPal users by name
• Guests — enter email addresses for people who are not WebPal users; they will receive an email with a secure access link

Previously invited guests are saved and shown in the guest search for convenience.

Step 3: Message

Customise the notification email that recipients receive:

• From — your email address (as registered in WebPal)
• Subject — the email subject line
• Message — the body of the email

Click Submit to create the share and send notifications.

Accessing Shared Content

• WebPal users: Shared folders appear in the Shared With Me section at the top of their folder tree. Shared documents are accessible there as well.
• Email recipients: Recipients receive a link in their email. Clicking it opens the shared document in a web browser — no WebPal account required.

Revoking a Share

1. Select the shared document or folder.
2. In the right panel, find the Shares section.
3. Click the revoke button (×) next to the share you want to remove.

After revoking, the shared link in the recipient's email no longer works.

Shared Drives

Shared drives are team workspaces that appear as top-level folders in users' document trees. They are managed by administrators.

Shared Drive Permissions

Each user's access to a shared drive is configured with specific permissions (see Admin Guide → Shared Drives). The permissions control exactly what the user can do within the drive.

Re-sharing from a Shared Drive

When you share a document or folder from within a Shared Drive, you can only grant permissions that are within the scope of your own access on that drive. For example, if you only have View permission, you cannot create a share that allows uploading.

WebDAV Access

WebDAV allows you to mount your WebPal document repository as a network drive on your computer, giving you direct file system access.

WebDAV URL

https://YOURSERVER.webpal.net/webdav

Connecting

Windows:

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Click Map network drive.
3. Enter the WebDAV URL and your credentials.
4. The drive appears in File Explorer.

macOS:

1. In Finder, press Cmd+K.
2. Enter the WebDAV URL.
3. Authenticate with your WebPal credentials.

Linux (davfs2):

sudo mount -t davfs https://YOURSERVER.webpal.net/webdav /mnt/webpal -o username=YOURLOGIN

What You Can Do via WebDAV

• Browse folders and files as if they were on a local drive
• Open and edit documents in your local applications (Word, Excel, etc.)
• Drag and drop files to upload
• Save directly from applications — WebPal records new versions automatically

Version Tracking via WebDAV

When you open a Word document via WebDAV, make changes, and save, WebPal automatically creates a new version in the version history. You can view and revert to any version from the WebPal web interface.

WebDAV Limitations

• WebDAV file operations are logged in the activity log (program_mode = webdav).
• Very large folder structures may perform better via the web interface for initial bulk uploads.
• WebDAV access respects the same permissions as the web interface.

Supported File Types

WebPal can store any file type. The following types have enhanced support (preview generation, full-text indexing):

Documents: PDF, DOCX, DOC, XLSX, XLS, PPTX, PPT, ODT, ODS, ODP

Web/Code: HTML, HTM, CSS, JS, JSON, XML, PHP, Python, Ruby, and most code file types

Images: JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, SVG, TIFF

Text: TXT, MD, CSV, TSV, LOG

Special (native): WDOC (WebPal Doc), DrawIO diagrams

Document Tags

Documents can be tagged to help with organisation and retrieval. Tags are stored separately from the filename and are searchable by AI agents (via the query_documents tool).

Bulk Operations

You can perform operations on multiple files at once:

1. Select multiple files using Ctrl+Click (to add individual files) or Shift+Click (to select a range).
2. Use the action bar buttons to perform operations on all selected files:
   • Download — downloads all selected files as a ZIP archive
   • Share — creates a share for all selected files at once
   • Move / Copy — moves or copies all selected files to a new location
   • Delete — deletes all selected files

Real-Time Collaboration

WebPal broadcasts changes in real time via WebSockets. This means:

• When a colleague uploads a file to a shared folder you are viewing, it appears in your file listing immediately without a page refresh.
• When an AI agent edits a document, you see the changes appear live in the editor.
• When an HTML preview is regenerated after saving, the preview pane updates automatically.

This requires the WebSocket server (Laravel Reverb) to be running. Contact your administrator if you notice real-time updates are not working.