File upload fails

The form user uploads a file, but it does not reach onOffice — or the form stops working during the upload. Here are the most common causes.

1. File too large

propform accepts files up to 128 MB per individual file — this is the server-side nginx limit. Larger individual files are rejected by the server before they even reach propform.

If your file is larger:

• Compress or reduce the file size before uploading
• If you have several large files: Split them into multiple upload operations

2. API user does not have write permissions for files

The propform API user requires write permissions for files in the relevant module (address or property).

Solution: Check API permissions — see onOffice API user permissions.

3. Document attribute does not exist or is deactivated

If you have selected a document attribute in the field settings (only for property file uploads), check in onOffice whether this document attribute still exists and is active.

Common error: You have renamed or deleted a document attribute in onOffice. propform stores the ID and can no longer map the renamed document attribute.

Solution: Edit the file upload field in propform and reselect the document attribute.

Special case: Document attribute + multi-upload are incompatible

If you have assigned a document attribute and still want the visitor to upload multiple files: this is not possible at API level (1 attribute = 1 file).

Symptoms: Only the last uploaded file ends up in onOffice; the others are silently discarded.

Solutions:

• Create several separate fields with different attributes
• Enable ZIP/PDF bundling — all files are combined into a single file that inherits the attribute
• Use a file field without an attribute (then any number of uploads is possible)

4. For Estate uploads: “Marketing (Website)” permission is missing

If the file is to be published on a website upon activation (e.g. an image for an online property listing page), the API user requires the “Marketing (Website)” permission.

5. ZIP or PDF bundling fails

If you are combining multiple files into a ZIP or PDF file:

PDF bundling — images & PDFs only

PDF bundling only works with images (JPG, PNG, HEIC) and PDF files. Other file types (Word, Excel, ZIP, video) cannot be combined into a single PDF.

Solution: Either select ZIP bundling (works with all file types) or have the files uploaded individually.

PDF merge fails with password-protected PDFs → automatic ZIP fallback

If the “Merge multiple files into a single PDF” option is enabled and one of the uploaded PDF files is password-protected (e.g. Vonovia energy performance certificates, some bank PDFs), the PDF merge will fail. propform then automatically falls back to ZIP bundling — the recipient receives a ZIP file instead of the expected PDF.

> 💡 The fallback applies only when the merge option is active. For single-file uploads or multi-uploads without the merge option, the file processes normally.

Workarounds:

• Disable the option in the field settings if a single file is usually expected (e.g. just one energy performance certificate PDF)
• Decrypt the PDF in advance (e.g. via Adobe Acrobat’s “Remove Security Settings”) and re-upload it
• Accept that protected source PDFs will result in a ZIP file — this is usually still better than individual files

ZIP bundling

Works with all file types. If it still fails, check:

• Are the individual files too large? (each one under 128 MB, otherwise the nginx limit applies)
• Does the file name contain an invalid character? (Special characters such as /, \, :, * are not permitted in filenames)

6. HEIC images from iPhone

iPhone images in HEIC format are automatically converted to JPEG by propform before uploading to onOffice. You don’t need to do anything. If this still fails, please drop us a quick line — very rarely, there are faulty HEIC files.

7. iPhone: Uploading multiple photos at once

On the iPhone, the file upload field has a catch:

• “Take Photo” → it only lets you take and upload ONE photo
• “Library” → you can select multiple photos at once

Workaround for uploading multiple photos from a mobile phone:

1. First, take the photos using the standard camera app (as many as needed)
2. Then switch to the form → File upload → select “Library”
3. Tap on multiple photos → they will all end up in the field

> ⚠️ Important distinction — generic upload field vs. file field from the onOffice form: > - The generic “Upload file” field (top field in the module selection) allows multi-upload > - File fields created in the onOffice address/property form (e.g. “Energy Performance Certificate” field) allow only ONE file — this is an onOffice API limitation and cannot be changed

8. Special file names

Very long file names or file names containing unusual special characters can cause problems in onOffice. propform automatically cleans up typical cases, but very exotic characters (e.g. Arabic script in the file name) can lead to issues.

Solution: Define a file name with macros in the field settings — e.g. Anfrage_Name_Vorname — then the file name will be automatically generated correctly.

9. File was uploaded but does not appear via the API

If you outside of propform (manually, not via a form), these files do not appear in the API call GetEstateFiles / GetAddressFiles — so propform cannot process them further or offer them via the download form.

Background: onOffice API limitation — files in the form’s file fields are not directly accessible via the API.

Workaround: Always upload files via the propform form — propform first places them in the ‘Files’ tab and then references them in the file field. This makes them accessible via the API.

If nothing helps

Please email us at hello@propform.io with the following information:

• Form URL
• Date & time
• File size + file type + file name
• Which bundling option (if active)