Print Reach Drive: A Centralized Hub for Your Documents Follow
Managing thousands of digital files across countless jobs is a daily challenge. For CSRs, managers, and operators, finding a specific document quickly can be the difference between a smooth workflow and a frustrating delay.
We're excited to announce Print Reach Drive and the new File Manager, a powerful system built to solve this exact problem. It provides a robust, searchable hub that gives you a complete overview and total control over all files and storage within your Midnight environment. The File Manager allows you to see how often files are being used and where they are linked, such as a single file attached to multiple jobs. This helps you better understand your data and manage your storage effectively. The feature is fully integrated with batch reporting and will be expanded to more areas of the system over time.
Key Features
From a single screen, you can see high-level statistics of your entire document library, including the Total Files and the total Storage they consume. The By Context panel acts as a high-level filter, breaking down your files by their location in Midnight. This shows you exactly how many files and how much data is being used in key areas like CRM, Orders, Estimates, Inventory, and Purchase Orders.
Find Exactly What You Need: From Hunting to Finding
The File Manager is perfect for those times when you know what file you're looking for but not where it is. This is a fundamental change to your workflow, best illustrated with a real-world example: finding a batch report.
- The Old Way: You had to navigate to "Batch Activities." To find a report, you couldn't just look up the order number; you had to know the specific activity that generated it and scroll through a list of past runs. If you didn't know the exact run, you were left hunting.
- The New Way: With the File Manager, you can simply filter for "Order 55555." Instantly, you will see a complete list of every report ever generated for that order, all in one place.
This is the core principle of the File Manager: it allows you to find files based on the context you know, not the obscure system details you don't. You have three powerful ways to do this:
- For Simple Lookups: The Search Bar: Have a file name or keyword? The search bar at the top is your fastest option for basic searches.
- For Common Views: Context & Column Filtering: This is your new day-to-day workflow. Click a category in the By Context panel (like "Orders") and then sort the results by clicking a column header (like "Created Date").
- For Complex Questions: Advanced Filtering: Need to find all PDF proofs over 10MB created in the last month? Use the Filter button to combine multiple criteria like File Type, Create Date, Category, and File Size, or pinpoint files attached to a specific Module (Purchase Orders, Estimates, etc.).
Manage and Preview Your Files with Confidence
The central dashboard allows you to manage all your files with sortable columns for Name, Size, Created Date, and, importantly, Links. The "Links" column shows you exactly how many places a single file is being used, which is perfect for understanding the impact of a file before you edit or delete it. You can select multiple files to see a collective summary of their total count and size, and even preview them directly without needing to download.
Smart Deletion with Link Protection
To prevent accidental data loss, the File Manager includes a critical safety feature. If you attempt to delete a file that is actively linked to records (for example, attached to 4 Inventory items and 1 Purchase Order), the system will warn you and show all affected links. This ensures you never unintentionally remove a critical document from a job.
Current Availability
The File Manager currently supports attachments in the most common use-case areas: Orders, CRM, Purchase Orders, and Estimates. Support for additional areas, such as Vendor, Proofing, and Inventory attachments, will be coming in future updates.
Access to Drive is by request and has a migration period and a waitlist. Please let us know if you would like a high-priority place within the waitlist; it will be naturally rolled out in phases.
Summary of Benefits
- Save Time: Find any file across your entire system in seconds, even if you don’t know where it was originally attached, eliminating the need to hunt through old batch activities.
- Stay Organized: Get a clear, consolidated view of all your documents and storage usage in one place.
- Understand File Usage: See how many jobs or records a file is linked to, giving you clear insight into its importance before making changes.
- Prevent Errors: Avoid breaking critical document connections with smart deletion warnings that show you exactly what will be affected.
- Monitor Storage: Easily keep an eye on your total file count and storage usage to manage your system resources effectively.