Using File Attachments

Veeva EDC allows you to upload file attachments using the File Attachment Item type. The file name is deidentified, and attached files can be viewed in the Data Entry or Review tabs. These attachments can then be viewed, reviewed, and verified within EDC. Individual and bulk downloads provide an easy way to export the files. File Attachments removes the need for custom solutions or third-party file storage software outside of EDC, facilitating streamlined and efficient upload, review, and download of study files.

Uploading File Attachments

Reviewing File Attachments for PHI/PII: We recommend that you thoroughly review all files to verify that they do not contain any PHI/PII. If a file contains PHI/PII, do not upload the file and follow your organization’s processes for deidentifying the file.

To upload a file attachment:

  1. Navigate to the Form that contains the File Attachment Item.
  2. Click Select File. For non-gridded items, you can also drag the file to the Drag and drop area.

  3. In the Verify Absence of PHI/PII dialog, type VERIFY and click Verify and Upload.

  4. The system begins uploading the File Attachment to the Form and the system displays an upload drawer that tracks the progress of the file attachment upload. You can continue performing data entry while the upload is in progress, but you cannot submit the Form until the upload has completed. Do not log out of Veeva EDC or navigate away from the Data Entry tab or the upload will be canceled.

Limitations on File Attachment Items

The following limitations apply to File Attachment items:

  • File attachment items cannot exceed 4GB in size
  • The following item types cannot be uploaded to File Attachment items:
    • Portable executable (.exe)
    • Executable and linkable (.elf, .axf, .bin, .o, .out, .prx, .puff, .ko, .mod, .so)
    • .Apple disk image (.dmg, .smi, .img)
    • Mach-O (.o, .dylib, .kext. macho)
    • DICOM files (.dcm, .dicom) - these file types are already supported using the Veeva EDC Imaging feature.

Canceling an File Attachment Upload

To cancel an upload that is in progress:

  1. In the upload drawer, hover over the loading circle to display the cancel icon () next to the file attachment upload and then click it.
  2. In the Cancel Upload dialog, click Cancel Upload. The upload is canceled.

Deleting an Uploaded File Attachment Item

To delete an uploaded File Attachment:

  1. Navigate to the form containing the File Attachment item you want to delete.
  2. Click the Edit Form button to place the form in edit mode.
  3. Hover over the File Attachment item to display the Actions menu.
  4. Click Delete Attachment.
  5. In the Delete Attachment dialog, click Delete.

Using the File Attachment Viewer

After uploading a File Attachment item, you can use the File Attachment viewer to review the file content. Only file types supported by Vault Renditions can be viewed in the File Attachment viewer.

To open the file attachment item in the File Attachment viewer:

  1. Navigate to the form containing the File Attachment item you want to view.
  2. Click the file attachment to open the viewer in a new window.

  3. Optional: Use bookmarks () to navigate between sections.
  4. Optional: Use destinations () to navigate to specific sections of the file.
  5. Optional: Search () the file to locate specific content.
  6. Optional: You can pan (), view the current page as a thumbnail (), rotate the current page () or all pages (), zoom (), and maximize the current page in the viewer ().

Supported File Formats

The following table lists file formats and details support for viewing them in the File Attachments viewer:

Format Name Extensions Viewer Full-Text Search
Adobe Encapsulated PostScript *.eps Yes Yes
Adobe Illustrator *.ai Yes Yes
Adobe InDesign (V19 or earlier) *.indd Yes No
Adobe InDesign Package *.zip Yes No
Adobe Photoshop *.psd Yes Yes
AV1 Image File Format *.avif Yes Yes
Bitmap *.bmp Yes Yes
Data *.cov, *.ext, *.inp, *.lst, *.op, *.param, *.r, *.sas, *.scm, *.jsl, *.ssc, *.sbml Yes Yes
Electronic Mail File *.eml Yes Yes
Graphics Interchange Format *.gif Yes Yes
High-efficiency Image File *.heif, *.heic Yes Yes
HyperText Markup Language *.html, *.htm Yes Yes
JPEG *.jpg, *.jpeg Yes Yes
Microsoft Excel Workbook *.xls, *.xlsx Yes Yes
Microsoft Office Data Connection *.odc Yes No
Microsoft Outlook Mail Message *.msg Yes Yes
Microsoft Powerpoint Presentations *.ppt, *.pptx Yes Yes
Microsoft Word Documents *.doc, *.docx, *.docm, *.dotm, *.dot, *.dotx Yes Yes
Portable Document Format *.pdf Yes Yes
Portable Document Format Portfolio *.pdf No No
Portable Network Graphics *.png Yes Yes
RAW Image *.raw No No
Rich Text Files *.rtf Yes Yes
Shell Script *.bash, *.csh, *.sh Yes Yes
Scalable Vector Graphics *.svg Yes Yes
Tagged Image File Format *.tif, *.tiff Yes Yes
Text *.txt, *.csv Yes Yes
WebP *.webp Yes Yes
XML (Extensible Markup Language) *.xml Yes Yes
Hangul Word Processor (HWP) *.hwp Yes Yes
ZIP Archive Format *.zip No No

Downloading a File Attachment

To download a file attachment:

  1. Navigate to the form containing the File Attachment item you want to download.
  2. Hover over the File Attachment item to display the actions menu **icon (ICON) **and then click it.
  3. Click Download. The download begins.