Documents vs. file attachments

CalmCompliance treats Documents and file attachments differently. Documents are versioned, reviewable records managed in the Documents module. File attachments are uploads added to other records, such as a personnel file or a company record, and they are not versioned.

Documents are versioned first-class records

Documents live in the Documents module and are designed for policies, procedures, and other governed content. Every document has a version history, an owner, and a publish state, and you can assign it an approval workflow and a review schedule.

• Version control: Each change creates a new version. You can see the full history of who changed what and when. Document Versioning explains how minor and major versions work.

• Distribution and acknowledgment: You can distribute a document to staff and track who has viewed it.

• Governance: You can require approvals before publishing and set review schedules so policies do not go stale.

• Library management: All documents live in a shared library with categories, tags, and search. You can also attach them to locations or assets for in-context access.

Upload a finished PDF using Uploading Documents, or write content directly in CalmCompliance with Creating Editor Documents.

File attachments belong to other records

File attachments are uploaded directly onto records in other modules, such as People, Compliance, or Service Desk. They provide evidence or context for that specific record.

• No versioning: Replacing a file attachment means deleting the old upload and adding a new one. There is no automatic version history.

• Expiry dates: Some modules let you set an expiry date on a file attachment and flag it as required for compliance. For example, a certificate uploaded to a personnel record can be marked with an expiry date so the system tracks when it needs renewing. See Upload a file and set an expiry date on a personnel record.

• Module-scoped: The file lives on the record you attached it to. Access depends on the permissions for that module and record.

When to use Documents versus file attachments

Use Documents when the content is a policy, procedure, or guide that needs a lifecycle, governance, and wide distribution. Use file attachments when you need to add a contract, certificate, photo, or other evidence to a single record.

If you later decide that a file attachment should become a governed document, download it and upload it as a new Document so it gains versioning and governance.