Manuals App
Store, organize, and distribute all asset-related documents — manuals, safety bulletins, tech tips, brochures, and more — in one searchable repository that connects directly to your asset records. Documents uploaded here surface automatically in the relevant asset's Documents tab and Parts viewer, based on how they are tagged.
📊 Dashboard — Category Tiles
The top of the Manuals page displays six category tiles, each showing the total number of documents filed under that category. Clicking a tile filters the document table below to show only that category.
| Tile | Color | What It Counts |
|---|---|---|
| Safety Bulletins | 🟠 Orange | Documents tagged with Safety |
| Techtips | 🔵 Blue | Documents tagged with Techtip |
| Brochures | 🩷 Pink | Documents tagged with Brochure |
| Chapters | 🟣 Purple | Documents tagged with Chapters |
| Manuals | 🟡 Gold | Documents tagged with Manual |
| Dynamic Manuals | 🩷 Pink | Documents tagged with Dynamic |
⚠️ Non-obvious: A document tagged with multiple categories (e.g., both Manual and Brochure) will appear in the count and filtered list for each of those categories. The total shown in each tile reflects all documents carrying that tag — not a mutually exclusive set.
⚠️ Non-obvious: A tile showing zero is a valid category — it simply means no documents have been assigned that tag yet. The category is available and ready to use.
⬆️ Upload Documents
The Upload Documents section sits between the category tiles and the document table, providing two controls.
| Icon | Function |
|---|---|
| ☁️ Upload (cloud icon) | Opens the document upload dialog to add a new document |
| ♻️ Recycle (recycle icon) | Clears or resets the upload area — contact your administrator for details on this action |
📋 Document Table
The document table is the full repository for all assets you have access to.
Table Columns
What does each column mean?
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Document Name | The document title, including version number in parentheses (e.g., Introduction (v4), Feed-Bins (v2)) |
| Tag | One or more category tags assigned to the document, shown as gray badge chips |
| Asset | The asset this document is associated with |
| Serial# | The serial number of the associated asset |
| Attachment | A button indicating the file type — opens or downloads the file on click |
| Create Date | The date the document was uploaded |
| Action | Icons to annotate, edit, or delete the document |
Attachment Type Badges
What do the badges mean?
| Badge | Color | File Type | On Click |
|---|---|---|---|
| IMAGE FILE | 🔵 Blue | Image (JPG, PNG, etc.) | Opens the image file |
| PDF FILE | 🔵 Blue | PDF document | Opens the PDF for viewing or download |
| DYNAMIC | 🟠 Orange | Dynamic / linked document | Opens the dynamic document viewer |
Tag Badges
All tag badges display in dark gray. A document can carry multiple tags simultaneously — all tags appear as separate chips in the Tag column.
| Tag | Associated Category Tile |
|---|---|
| Safety | Safety Bulletins |
| Techtip | Techtips |
| Brochure | Brochures |
| Manual | Manuals |
| Dynamic | Dynamic Manuals |
| Specification | (No dedicated tile — appears as a tag only) |
| Test | (No dedicated tile — appears as a tag only) |
| Custom tags | (No tile — used for asset model targeting) |
⚠️ Non-obvious: Tags do more than organize documents in this list. Tags also control which assets a document appears for in the Asset Details page. If you want a document to appear for multiple assets of the same model, add the asset model name as a tag. Without a matching tag, the document will not appear in those views even if it is uploaded and visible here.
Action Icons
| Icon | Available For | Function |
|---|---|---|
| 📋 (annotate/copy) | PDF FILE, IMAGE FILE | Opens the annotation or copy dialog for the document |
| ✏️ (pencil) | All document types | Opens the edit dialog to update document details or replace the file |
| 🗑️ (trash) | All document types | Permanently deletes the document and its file |
⚠️ Non-obvious: Dynamic documents do not show the annotate/copy icon — only the edit and delete icons are available.
Table Toolbar
What do the controls do?
| Control | Function |
|---|---|
| 🔍 Search | Search documents by name or keyword |
| ⊞ Column picker | Show or hide columns |
| Filter | Filter by field values including date range |
| ☰ List view | Standard list layout (default) |
| ⠿ Grid view | Tile/grid layout |
| ➕ | Add a new document (same as the upload icon above) |
| Request Data | Export the document list |
🔍 Filtering by Category
Clicking a category tile applies a filter chip to the table (e.g., Safety ×, Techtip ×). The chip appears above the column headers. Clicking × on the chip removes the filter and returns to the full document list.
The breadcrumb at the top of the page updates to reflect the active filter: Manuals / Safety Bulletins, Manuals / Techtips, etc.
⚙️ Upload Document Dialog
Clicking the upload icon opens the Create Document dialog.
What does each field mean?
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Document title — the version number suffix is appended automatically on each update |
| Description | Optional notes about the document |
| Tags | One or more tags — category tags (Safety, Techtip, Manual, etc.), asset model names, or any custom label. Controls where the document appears across the platform |
| Asset | Select the asset to associate this document with |
| Upload Document | Uploads the selected file. Accepted types include PDFs, images, Word documents, and videos |
⚠️ Non-obvious: After uploading a PDF, an ANNOTATE button appears. This allows you to mark specific areas of the PDF and link them to physical parts — those annotations then drive the interactive parts viewer in the asset's Parts tab. See the Annotation Workflow below.
✏️ Edit Document Dialog
Clicking the pencil icon opens the Edit Document dialog, which uses the same fields as the upload dialog.
- You can add or remove tags, change the associated asset, or replace the file entirely
- If a new file is uploaded, the previous file is removed from storage automatically
- If the associated asset changes or a new file is uploaded, an update event is recorded in the asset's timeline
- Existing PDF annotations cannot currently be removed or modified — only new annotations can be added during an edit
🔄 Workflows
Workflow 1 — Upload a New Document
- Click the ☁️ cloud upload icon in the Upload Documents section
- Enter the document Name and an optional Description
- Add one or more Tags:
- Add a category tag (Safety, Manual, Techtip, etc.) to make it appear in the corresponding tile and filter
- Add the asset model name as a tag to make it visible to all assets of that model across the platform
- Select the associated Asset from the dropdown
- Click Upload Document and select your file
- Click Submit to save
✅ Result: The document appears in the table, the count on the relevant category tile increments, and an upload event is recorded in the asset's timeline.
Workflow 2 — Filter Documents by Category
- Click the tile for the category you want to browse (e.g., Safety Bulletins, Techtips, Manuals)
- The document table updates to show only documents with that tag
- The breadcrumb updates to Manuals / [Category Name] and a filter chip appears above the table
- To clear the filter, click the × on the filter chip or navigate back using the breadcrumb
✅ Result: Only documents matching the selected category are shown, making it easy to find a specific document type across all assets.
Workflow 3 — Update a Document
- Locate the document in the table — use Search or a category filter if needed
- Click the ✏️ pencil icon in the Action column
- Update the Name, Description, Tags, or associated Asset as needed
- To replace the file, click Upload Document and select the new file — the previous file is removed automatically
- Click Submit to save changes
✅ Result: The document record is updated, the version number in the document name increments (e.g., v1 → v2), and an update event is recorded in the asset timeline if the file or asset association changed.
Workflow 4 — Annotate a PDF for Parts Mapping
- Upload or edit a document and select a PDF file
- After clicking Upload Document, click the ANNOTATE button that appears once the PDF is loaded
- Hold the Option (⌥) key on Mac or Alt key on Windows, then click and drag to select an area of the PDF corresponding to a specific part
- Release to see the Add Highlight tooltip — click it
- In the annotation dialog, enter the Drawing # — this number must match the part's unique identifier exactly
- Save the annotation — repeat for each additional part area
- Submit the document form
✅ Result: The annotated PDF becomes the interactive parts diagram visible in the asset's Parts tab. Clicking a highlighted area on the diagram will surface the matching part record.
⚠️ Non-obvious: Each area you annotate must have a unique Drawing number. If two areas share the same Drawing number, the parts mapping will not work correctly. Annotations cannot currently be edited or deleted after saving — only new annotations can be added in a subsequent edit.
✅ Best Practices
- Use category tags consistently from day one. Documents without a recognized category tag (Safety, Techtip, Manual, Brochure, Dynamic, Chapters) will not appear in any category tile or filtered view. Establish a tagging convention across your team to keep the library organized.
- Add model names as tags for fleet-wide visibility. A document tagged only with an asset's name is visible only for that specific asset. If the same manual applies to an entire product line, add the asset model name as an additional tag so the document surfaces automatically for every asset of that model.
- Version numbers track automatically — name documents clearly. The platform appends version suffixes (v1, v2, etc.) each time a document file is replaced. Give documents descriptive names upfront so version history stays readable.
- Annotate immediately after upload for parts-linked PDFs. Annotation is available right after a file is uploaded. If you close the dialog without annotating, you will need to re-open the edit dialog to annotate later — and existing annotations cannot be removed, only added to.
- Dynamic documents have limited actions. Documents with a DYNAMIC attachment type do not support the annotate/copy action. If you need a document to be fully interactive with the parts viewer, use PDF format instead.
- Use date filters to manage large document libraries. The table supports Start Date and End Date filters through the Filter toolbar. When the library grows large, filtering by date range is faster than scrolling through all pages.
💡 Tips & Shortcuts
| Tip | How |
|---|---|
| Jump straight to a document category | Click the category tile — the table filters instantly |
| Clear a category filter | Click × on the filter chip above the table, or click the Manuals breadcrumb link |
| Find documents for a specific asset | Use the 🔍 search bar and enter the asset name or Serial# |
| Confirm a document's file type before opening | Check the Attachment badge color — Blue = static file (PDF or image), Orange = dynamic |
| Add a document to multiple categories at once | Enter all relevant tags in the Tags field during upload |
🏷️ Special Tagging Behaviors
- Model-Based Tagging: Tag a document with a model name (e.g., "LS90") and it appears in every asset of that model.
- Global Documents: Tag with the word
allto make it appear in all assets and systems across the account.