Introduction to the Photos Tab

  • Ben Schantz

Overview

The Photos tab contains all photos that have been added to whichever Fieldwire project you're viewing. Any photos you added on tasks or as a hyperlink on a plan will automatically appear under the 'Photos' tab. You can perform multiple actions from this tab, including uploading new photos, attaching existing photos to tasks, and tagging photos. Once you open a photo, you are able to navigate to the task the photo is associated with, download the photo, and add markups to it. 

 

Table of Contents

 

How to upload new photos and videos on Web

When you select the Photos tab, you'll be led to a page where you can view all of the photos and videos that have been added to your project throughout its duration. Photos and videos are automatically displayed in folders, organized in chronological order by the date the photos and videos were added to Fieldwire:  

Photos___Office_Renovation.png

 

Uploading photos and videos on the web is similar to uploading plans or files to Fieldwire. You will choose where the photos are stored, and then upload them to Fieldwire from that source. 

Fieldwire supports .png, .jpg, .gif, .jpeg, .bmp, and .svg file types for photos. You can upload photos up to 50mb in size. 

Any .mkv, .mov, .mp4, .webm, and .m4a video files, under 200mb, can be uploaded to the Photos tab as well. These will play in Fieldwire's media viewer. All other video file types, including .WMV, .AVI, and .FLV files are not currently supported. 

Any video captured in a task or on a photo hyperlink on mobile will be stored under the 'Photos' tab, and also within the device's camera roll. 

Note: You will not be able to markup photos that are directly uploaded to the photos tab. The picture will have to be attached to a task, form, RFI, file, or plan to enable markups on photos. 

 

To upload photos and videos to the Photos tab on the web, do the following steps: 

  1. Select + New photo,  
  2. Click Photo or Video (or '360 photo' if you are on the Business subscription or higher)
  3. Choose your upload source
    1. Click Select files to upload photos directly from your computer, or
    2. Drag and drop your files into the upload box, or
    3. Click More upload options to upload photos from Box, Google Drive, OneDrive, or OneDrive Business
  4. Click Upload files

 

You'll know the photos and videos have completed processing when you see their selectable thumbnails, which you can use to select and tag them, attach them to tasks, and export using the Actions dropdown menu. 

 

AI Photo Tagging

A Tag in Fieldwire is another way to group or filter photos. Tags are a great way to organize and associate your photos and videos with a specific trade, location, punch list, or anything else you'd like. Now, our system will automatically apply tags to newly uploaded photos allowing you to quickly filter and find the photos you are looking for in the Photos tab. 

With this automatic tagging, there are a few key things to note:

  • This automatic AI-generated photo tagging will only apply to photos on projects created on or after September 10, 2025.
  • Only accounts and projects with US set as the data region should see photo tags. We are aiming to having this for projects in the EU data region as well but that will be a bit later
  • This feature can be toggled off but only for the entire account. If you need the feature to be toggled off for the Account, please contact support@fieldwire.com 

To have these AI-generated tags onto your photos, simply upload your photos to the Photos tab on a project that was created on or after September 10, 2025. Once the photos are finished uploading, our system will automatically apply tags if the AI thinks the tag is relevant for the photo. 

There are 22 tags that can be applied automatically:

Asphalt Bathroom Camera Concrete Door
Drywall Electrical Earthwork Exterior Flooring
Framing HVAC Insulation Interior Lumber
Plumbing Rebar Roof Scaffolding Stairs
Steel Tile      

 

Additionally, AI tags are included in photo search with indicators that those tags are AI generated, and AI generated tags are displayed in the photo modal with the option to remove the tag from the photo.

 

Attaching Photos and Videos to Tasks, Plans, and Forms

You can attach photos to other entities within Fieldwire, including Tasks, Plans and Forms. When attaching a photo to any of those entities, you will be able to choose multiple photos at once and use filters to quicken your search.

 

When viewing a singular photo or video, Fieldwire shows you which tasks, plans, and forms that photo/video is linked to. In addition, you are able to markup each attached photo without affecting the original.

For example, if you have a photo attached to both a Task and a photo hyperlink on a plan sheet, and you markup the photo while accessing it through the Task, then the photo attached to the plan sheet as well as the original photo in the Photos tab will not show those same markups.

When the photo is not linked to any other part of Fieldwire, you'll see the message as shown in the screenshot below.

Photos___Fieldwire.png

 

Once you attach the photo to a Plan, Task, or Form, you'll see that information reflected when looking at the photo. You can click on these links to go directly to the relevant task, plan, and form.

Photos___Fieldwire.png


The Actions Menu

After you select one or more photos, the Actions menu will become illuminated. This menu provides you with the options to: 

  • Select and Deselect all photos on the project
    • Note: You need to scroll down to have all of the photos load in order to select all of the photos. Otherwise, you'll only select the photos that have currently loaded.
  • Attach the photo(s) to an existing Task.
    • Note: When you add a new photo to a task and then delete it from the task,  it is removed from the Photos Tab.Note -
      • When you add an existing photo to the task and then delete it, it is not removed from the Photos Tab.
  • Export the photo(s) via email.
    • Note you have the option to export an original or optimized version of your photos.
    • If you would like to have additional methods of exporting photos via mobile, please submit your vote to support@fieldwire.com!
      • The Original photos sent to you will retain their original resolution.
      • The Optimized photos will be exported as 1200 x 1200px images (which is how these exist in Fieldwire itself).
  • Managed tags on the photos
  • Delete the photo(s).

2025-02-27_15-10-42.png

Note: You can select multiple photos at once by choosing the 'box' at the beginning of each date.

 

If you choose to attach a photo to a task, you will be prompted to search for the task using the task name or number: 

Photos___Office_Renovation.png

Note: You can also add any photos from the 'Photos' tab directly to a task or plans - please refer to this article on tasks or plans for more details.

 

Filename Structure for Photo Exports

Exported photos in Fieldwire will adopt a file naming structure that reflects the date and time the photo was uploaded.

The photo metadata is defined as the date/time the photo was captured and is accessible via the file name of the exported photo.

For example, if the filename is: 2023-02-09_16_10_46.jpeg. You can read this as the “YYYY-MM-DD_HH_MM_SS”, where “YYYY” represents the year, “MM” represents the month, “DD” represents the day, “HH” represents the hour in 24-hour format, the second “MM” represents the minute, and “SS” represents the second.

So using the filename below, we can determine the photos were uploaded to Fieldwire on February, 9th, 2023 at 4:10 PM (UTC).

This is because there are a few "tie-breakers" that Fieldwire takes into consideration:


If the photo is not attached to plan or task -  The general structure of the file name is: is <createdAtTime>_<attachmentID>.<extension>. Note that attachmentID will only be used as a "tie-breaker" if the name <createdAtTime>.<extension> is not unique.

If the Photo is attached to plan - The General structure  is <planName>_<posX>by<posY>_<createdAtTime>_<attachmentID>.<ext>.

PosX and posY refer to the position of the photo on the plan. "createdAtTime" refers to the creation time of the photo, not the plan.

If the Photo is attached to a task - General structure is as follows:<bubbleCreatedDateAndTime>_<bubbleID>.<ext>.

 

Filter Photos on Web

You can filter your uploaded media on the Photos tab by various parameters on the web by selecting the Filters button in the top right-hand corner to sort your photos:

  • Media type: Choose whether you want to see Photos, 360 Photos, and/or Videos that have been uploaded to your project
  • Linked to: Plans, tasks, or forms the photo is linked to.
  • Tags: Tags you've manually added to photos.
  • Uploaded by: The user who uploaded the photo(s).
  • Upload date: The date the photos were uploaded.
  • Capture date: The date when the photo was originally taken on your mobile device.

You can also filter your uploaded media using the categories on the left-side menu: 

  • My Photos: Photos you've added to the project
  • All Photos: All of the photos in the project

 

Photo View on Web

If you click on any photo, the single photo view will open. Here, you can:

  1. Download the photo
  2. Zoom in/out of the photo
  3. Rotate the photo Left 90°, Right 90°, or 180°
  4. Details
    • The name of the user who uploaded the photo to Fieldwire
    • A date/time stamp of when the photo was uploaded to Fieldwire
    • A date/time stamp of when the photo was originally captured on your mobile device
      • This time will be the same as the Uploaded time if you take the photo directly within Fieldwire
      • IMPORTANT: If you don't see a date/time for Captured, a message stating, "Captured date and time unavailable" will be displayed, which could be due to a few different reasons:
        1.  If the metadata stamps toggle is turned off in the Project Settings
        2. If there is no project address entered in the Project Settings
        3. If there is a lack of EXIF data from the photo, itself. (For more information about EXIF data, check out the next main section in this article)
        4. Note: Currently this date/time stamp is only on photos that were originally captured on iOS devices. Photos captured on Android will not yet display a date/time, but it is currently being worked on.
    • IMPORTANT: These date/time stamps are reflective of the time registered on your device. For photo exports (and when photos are included on Task Reports and Form exports), the time will be relative to the 'timezone' indicated under the project settings.
  5. GPS coordinates
    • If the photo was taken using the Fieldwire iOS or Android mobile apps, you'll see GPS coordinates of where the photo was taken, with a link to view on Google Maps
  6. Links
    • If the photo is linked to a plan, task, or form, you can view them on the photo and click the specific link to open the plan, task, or form.
  7. Tags
    • See all the tags that photo currently has, as well as remove or add them
  8. Metadata stamps
    • If the photo was taken through Fieldwire (i.e., NOT taken from your device and then uploaded to Fieldwire), it will receive a permanent "stamp" containing the GPS coordinates and date/time of the creation.
      • IMPORTANT: The date/time on the stamp is based on the timezone you selected in the Project Settings
    • This works just if the Photo stamps option is enabled at a project level.
      • To enable this option, you must be an Admin and access the project Settings. Then, you will likely need to scroll down to the Photos section and ensure the toggle is set to on
      • This toggle can only be accessed while on the Web version of Fieldwire
      • This will only apply to new photos

 

GPS & EXIF Data

To capture GPS information in Photos, make sure that the 'Fieldwire' app can access your location on your mobile devices.

This is typically on by default on Android devices:

  • Settings > Location > App permissions > Fieldwire > Allow only while using the app
  • For the Metadata stamps, please ensure that Use precise location is toggled on in your device's settings
    • Note: This toggle may not be available for all Android devices

Here's how to ensure it's working on iOS:

  • Settings > Apps > Fieldwire > Location > While Using the App

GPS coordinates will also be included for photos when you are working offline, as long as you have allowed Fieldwire access to your location permissions, and you take the photo directly within Fieldwire.

The GPS coordinates of Photos taken through Fieldwire on iOS are stored in the EXIF data of the photo. This means that, in addition to viewing the coordinates in Fieldwire, you can access the GPS coordinates even when you export photos from Fieldwire. Refer to this article for instructions on how to view the EXIF data of a photo file on Windows and Mac (outside of your Fieldwire app). Please note that if you choose to import your exported photos into another project, the GPS coordinates will not be available.

Note: If you take a photo outside of Fieldwire, i.e., just through your device's camera and upload it to Fieldwire, the photo will still have the EXIF data/stamp. However, there are some instances where the EXIF data is stripped from the photo, such as sharing a photo from phone into Slack or the photo is taken directly through your device's camera while your device is not connected to WIFI or a cell signal (offline).

 

Photos on Fieldwire mobile apps (iOS and Android)

The Photos tab on Fieldwire’s mobile apps functions similarly to the web version, but it is optimized for quick access, fast capture, and field documentation. All photos added through tasks, plans, or forms will also appear in this tab.

Mobile limitations

When using the Photos tab on iOS or Android, keep in mind:

  • You cannot attach photos to tasks directly from the Photos tab
  • You cannot export photos from the Photos tab
  • You cannot add or edit photo tags from the Photos tab

Note: Markup tools are not available when viewing photos directly from the Photos tab. To add markups, attach the photo to a task, plan, or form and open it from the linked item. For more information, please check out this article: How to add Markups to Photos on Mobile and Web

 

Adding Photos and Videos on Mobile

Tap the ‘+’ icon in the lower right corner of the Photos tab to add images or videos. You will see the following options:

  1. Take Photo
    • Capture a photo directly through the Fieldwire camera.
  2. Upload from Device
    • Choose photos or videos from your device’s camera roll or file system.
    • Note: On both iOS and Android, you can upload up to 25 photos at once from the camera roll.
  3. Take 360° Photo
    • Available to Business and Business Plus subscribers using a compatible 360° camera (e.g., Ricoh Theta). Capturing a 360° image automatically adds it to the Photos tab.

 

iOS

Camera Roll Permissions

If you prefer to upload photos stored in your device’s camera roll, Fieldwire must have permission to access your photos.

IMG_E8D0F6288D94-1.jpeg

To allow Fieldwire access follow this path:

Settings > Fieldwire > Photos > All Photos. 

This ensures Fieldwire can read images from your camera roll and save new photos taken through the app.
mceclip0.png

If you do not want Fieldwire to save photos to your device, you can disable access by following this path:

Settings > Fieldwire > Photos > None

Note: Selecting None prevents Fieldwire from accessing your camera roll entirely. You will only be able to take photos directly through Fieldwire.

 

Sorting Photos on iOS

Use the left sidebar to filter which photos you see:

  • My Photos: Only the photos you added
  • All Photos: All photos uploaded by any project member

My_allPhotosiOS.jpg

 

The Single Photo View on iOS

Tap any photo to open it. From here you can:

  • View metadata such as date and time captured
  • Select the information icon (i) in the top right to see links to connected Plans, Tasks, or Forms
  • Jump directly to those linked items from the photo view
IMG_0413.png IMG_0414.png

 

Android

Permissions Required to Take Photos

Android devices require permission to access both:

  • The device Camera, AND
  • The Camera Roll / Files

These permissions may appear differently depending on your device manufacturer or OS version.

IMPORTANT: Due to differences in Android OS, you are not able to take photos in Fieldwire unless you grant permission to BOTH your device's camera AND the camera roll (this could also be labeled as Files dependent on the Android device you're using). This also means that any photos you take on Android through Fieldwire will automatically be added to your device's camera roll.

If you try to take a photo in Fieldwire while only granting permission to your device's camera, you will run into the following screen:

Screenshot_20241119-184040_Fieldwire.png

 

Typical Android paths:

Settings > Apps & Notifications > App Permissions > Camera > Allow Fieldwire

Settings > Apps & Notifications > App Permissions > Files & Media > Allow Fieldwire

mceclip0.png mceclip1.png mceclip2.png mceclip4.png mceclip3.png

 

Sorting Photos on Android

As with iOS, the left sidebar allows you to filter:

  • My Photos: photos you added
  • All Photos: all project photos

My_allPhotosAndroid.jpg

 

Camera Tools on Android

When capturing photos or videos on Android, you have several tools to help you get the perfect shot:

  • Flash and Torch Controls
    • Use the one-tap flash and torch button in the bottom-left corner to quickly adjust lighting. You can switch between Auto, On, Off, and Torch modes for well-lit photos and videos.
  • Precise Zoom Slider
    • The numeric zoom slider displays exact zoom levels, aligns with your device’s physical lenses, and makes it easy to frame shots accurately with intuitive lens switching.
  • Camera and Mode Options
    • Switch between the rear and front-facing cameras at any time. Tap the three dots in the upper-right corner for additional options, including:
      • Video capture
      • Standard photo using your device’s camera
      • 360° photo (available on Business subscription or higher with compatible equipment)
  • Tap to Focus and Drag to Adjust Exposure (not pictured)
    • Tap anywhere on the screen to focus, then drag to fine-tune exposure. This gives you sharper, better-lit photos and videos, even in challenging lighting conditions.

 

The Single Photo View on Android

When you tap any photo:

  • Select the information icon (i) to view photo metadata
  • You’ll see date/time information
  • If the photo was captured inside Fieldwire, you will also see location data, improving documentation accuracy
  • You can also jump to any linked Task, Plan, or Form directly from this view
Screenshot_20250702-134410_Fieldwire.jpg Screenshot_20250702-134422_Fieldwire.jpg

 

More Information

These articles provide more information about photos in Fieldwire:

Photo Documentation
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