Documentation/ Uploading documents/ Uploading a ZIP file
Uploading a ZIP file
A compressed file dropped on the upload screen unpacks itself and is replaced by the documents inside it, which are then treated as individual files.
On this page
How to do it
A ZIP goes in like anything else: drag it onto the upload area or use the Upload button. There is no box to tick.
Once it is unpacked, the ZIP disappears from the list and the documents that were inside it take its place, each with its own name and page count. From then on they behave like any other uploaded file: remove one, edit its pages, process it.
One batch can mix ZIP files and loose files.
It unpacks in your browser
The unpacking happens in your own browser, before anything is sent. Only the documents inside reach the server; the ZIP itself never leaves your machine.
With a large archive that can take a few seconds of local work. It happens once, as the file goes in.
Limits
| What | Limit |
|---|---|
| Size of the ZIP | 100 MB |
| Documents inside it | 100 |
| Size of each document taken out | 15 MB |
If the archive holds more than 100 files, the first 100 in alphabetical order go in and you are told the rest were left out. The remainder has to go in a later batch.
What gets dropped
| What | What happens to it |
|---|---|
| Files in a format that is not accepted | Dropped, and listed in the notice. |
| Documents over 15 MB | Dropped one by one, with the reason given. |
| ZIP files inside the ZIP | Not unpacked. You are told, and they are ignored. |
| Hidden files and system metadata | Dropped without a word. That includes the __MACOSX folder Macs add when they compress something. |
A ZIP inside a ZIP has to be unpacked first and compressed again as a single level.
Folders inside the ZIP
The archive can have folders in it. The system walks the whole structure and takes the documents out whatever level they sit at.
So that two documents with the same name in different folders do not collide, the folder name is
put in front of the file name. An archive holding january/invoice.pdf and
february/invoice.pdf gives you january_invoice.pdf and
february_invoice.pdf.
Error cases
| Case | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Password-protected ZIP | The system does not decrypt protected archives. | Unpack it on your machine and upload the documents, or compress it again without a password. |
| Damaged ZIP | An incomplete or corrupt file, usually from a download that was cut off. | Get the file again. |
Either way the failure is confined to that archive: the rest of the batch carries on.