File Attachments

File Attachments lets members attach files — images, PDFs and documents — to topics and replies. As of 1.8.0, viewing attachments works in the free plugin. Jetonomy Pro adds the ability to attach new files, plus a lightbox, an inline PDF viewer, and configurable size/type limits.

What members see without Pro

Any attachment already on a post or reply — from a forum import, the mobile app, or the REST API — renders even on a free-only install:

  • Images show an inline thumbnail.
  • Everything else (PDFs and documents) shows a download chip with the file name, size, and type.

If you deactivate Pro, your files keep showing. Attachment storage and display live in the free plugin as of 1.8.0, so nothing disappears - you just lose the composer, the lightbox, the inline PDF viewer, and the size/type limits until Pro is active again.

What Pro adds

With the File Attachments extension enabled, the composer gains an Attach files control (a full "Attach files" button on the new-topic form, a compact paperclip in the reply toolbar) so members can attach new files. The display also gets richer:

  • Images get a lightbox (click to enlarge).
  • PDFs get a first-page preview with filename · pages · size and an Open viewer button that opens the PDF inline (page navigation + zoom, or open in a new tab).
  • Documents (DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, ODT, TXT, CSV) keep the same download chip you get without Pro.

Turn it on

Go to Jetonomy → Extensions and switch File Attachments on.

Configure it

Under Jetonomy → Settings → Attachments you control:

  • Allowed file types — tick the image and document types members may attach. SVG is never available (it can carry scripts).
  • Max file size — per file, in MB (default 10).
  • Max files per post/reply — default 5.

Every upload is validated against this allow-list on the server (file extension and actual content must match an allowed type), so the settings are a real security boundary, not just UI.

Good to know

  • PDF previews need server support. The first-page thumbnail is generated by your host's image tools (Imagick + Ghostscript). If the host can't rasterise PDFs, the PDF card falls back to a document icon — the file still opens and downloads normally.
  • The viewer is only loaded when needed. The PDF viewer library is downloaded the first time a member opens a PDF, never on a normal page load, so it doesn't slow the community down.
  • Removing an attachment detaches it from the post/reply; genuinely orphaned uploads are cleaned up automatically by a daily background task.
  • Deleting a topic or reply removes its attachment links.

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