Unito supports file attachments. Learn how they're synced between tools and how to set up attachment support.
Every work management tool has file attachments, and these are crucial to effective collaboration between teams. Specs, wireframes, and screenshots all need to flow between teams, and should stay as close to work items as possible. However, they typically end up hidden away in folders or spread over countless emails. With Unito's support for attachments, this doesn't need to happen to you again.
How to set up attachment support
To sync attachments between tools, you just need to map Attachments from one tool to another field in your second tool — usually the Description footer field. There are independent settings for each tool's attachments, so you can enable attachments to sync in one direction or in both.
Streamed attachments require that you click the cog next to your field mapping and hit the toggle allow anyone to access the attachment link (as opposed to only those who have access to both tools you are connecting):
See also the detailed instructions on configuring field synchronization.
Linked vs. copied vs. streamed attachments
Depending on your plan, you can sync attachments in one of three ways.
Linked attachments
Linked attachments appear as a hyperlink in the work item the attachment is synced to. Clicking on the hyperlink opens it in the block of work it's originally from. For example, if you're syncing attachments from Trello to Asana, the attachment from Trello will show up as a link in the Asana task. Clicking on the link will open the attachment in Trello. This means that anyone who wants to view the attachment needs to have access to it in Trello.
Copied attachments
For select tools, you can instead choose to copy attachments (also known as binary attachments). This makes the attachment visible in both tools without having to go from one to the other. With the same example, the Trello attachment will show up in Asana and can be viewed without having access to Trello. Note that this type of attachment is only supported if both tools you integrate support copied attachments. You'll find a list of these tools below.
Streamed attachments
Streamed attachments create a clickable link in the tool the attachment is being synced to. Clicking that link opens a page where you can see the attachment even if you don't have access to the tool that the attachment originally came from. To use this type of attachment, map the attachment field in one tool to the description footer field in the destination tool. Then, click on the cog next to this field mapping and hit the toggle to turn them on. This is only available on certain plans.
The advantage of copied attachments
-
You don't need a license for all tools in order to see attachments. You can access attachments from the tool you prefer, and you never need to go into the other tool. In contrast, linked attachments require that each user have licenses in both tools.
-
Copied attachments can streamline migrations. You can keep the instance of your old tool around to have access to copied attachments, but you don't need to keep licenses for each user who is now working in your new tool.
Which integrations support copied attachments?
Copied attachments are supported for the following integrations:
- Asana
- Azure Dev Ops
- Jira
- Jira Service Management
- monday.com
- Trello
- Salesforce
- ServiceNow
- Smartsheet
- Wrike
Limitations of file attachment syncing
Syncing attachments during a Unito trial
In order for Unito to copy attachments, you'll need an active Unito subscription. If you're looking at Unito for your migration needs, please reach out to us through the chat bubble at the bottom right corner of your screen.
The instance — or tool — that hosts the attachment still has to exist. If you're migrating tools, you should keep the instance of your old tool running even after removing all paid licenses for as long as you need to access your attachments.
Syncing attachments in work item descriptions
Many tools let you add images and other files directly in a work item's description. Unfortunately, in most cases, these attachments aren't supported by Unito. They have to be attached to the work item using your tools "attach" option, not just copied and pasted into the description.
The following special cases are not supported at this time.
Versioning: The latest file version is synchronized, but not the version history.
GitHub: GitHub does not have true file attachments, instead they embed links to files (typically images) inside issue comments. These links will be synchronized directly to the corresponding comment; instead of the task description footer. For this reason, we do not support an attachments field for GitHub.