Photos and notes are the difference between a checklist that satisfies an inspector and one that doesn't. MaintIQ accepts photos directly from the field on phones, tablets, and laptops, and stores them attached to the specific task entry they document.
Add a photo from a phone
- Open the task on the Dashboard or Ops tab.
- Tap Add photo.
- Choose Take photo to use the camera or Choose from library to pick an existing image.
- The image uploads instantly and renders as a thumbnail under the task entry.
- (Optional) Add a one-line caption: "leak under fitting", "gauge reading 42 PSI".
Photos are stored at full resolution. A compressed preview is generated automatically for History and email digests so storage stays affordable.
Add a photo from a laptop or tablet
The desktop UI exposes the same Add photo button but opens a file picker. Drag-and-drop also works — drop one or many images onto the task card and MaintIQ uploads them in parallel.
Writing notes that pay off
The Notes field is free-form text, but a few habits make it shine in audits and shift handoffs:
- Lead with the result. "Pass — no leaks." or "Fail — left bearing 6 dB above baseline." A reader should know the outcome in the first six words.
- Quantify when you can. Numbers age better than adjectives. "Slightly warm" tells the next shift almost nothing; "Bearing housing 162 °F (baseline 140)" tells them everything.
- Tag follow-ups. Type
WO #1284to auto-link to a work order. TypeSOP: water-samplingto link to an SOP. - Avoid acronyms the next shift might not know. "RO" might be reverse osmosis to you and read-only to a contractor.
Captured metadata
Every photo and note captures, automatically:
- Author (the user who logged the entry).
- Facility, task ID, and entry ID.
- Local timestamp in the Facility's time zone.
- (Photo only) Original filename and SHA-256 hash for audit integrity.
Captured metadata is exposed in History row details and is included in CSV/PDF exports.
Editing or deleting attachments
- Technicians cannot delete photos or notes after completion. This is by design — the audit trail must be tamper-evident.
- Admins can soft-delete an attachment within 24 hours of completion. The original is retained but hidden, and the deletion is itself logged.
Tips
- Take the photo first. Snap evidence before you start work; you can always discard it before submitting.
- One photo per finding. A photo of "the whole room" hides the leak that you actually want documented.
- Use the gallery view in History. It is the fastest way for an auditor to spot a pattern across weeks.
FAQ
What file types can I upload? JPG, PNG, HEIC, and WebP. PDFs are accepted on work orders but not on individual task entries.
How big can a photo be? 25 MB per file. Most phone photos are 3–8 MB, well under the limit.
Can I scan a barcode or asset tag? Not natively yet. Use the device camera and paste the asset number into the Notes field.