Thank you so much for starting and continuing to update this thread. We recently made the switch to QBO and, within a week, made the decision to give up and go back to our 2020 Desktop Enterprise QB. The attachment issue was the last straw for me. When I called QB for help, I was told that QBO was not capable of handling pdf attachments - that they had to be in csv format. And then, the rep asked me (and I'm not making this up) if I had a conversion specialist available to help me convert my pdf's to csv format. I hung up and called an audible to go back to our desktop version. I was led to believe that the transition to the online version would be relatively painless but we encountered one headache after another until I finally gave up. I do see some advantages to the online version but, for now, we're going to stick with what we know works. But, again, thank you for weighing in here - it was helpful to know that I wasn't alone. I will check back to see if the issue is ever resolved.

Good day! 

I too have been having the same problem.  In my case, I use the desktop application to connect to QB-Online.  This seems to be a glitch with QB attachments as it does not happen every time but, most of the time.  

• Tried clearing application data & re-signed in - no change
• Tried deleting application and re-installing - no change

I will try logging into through browser and attaching to see if the results are the same... 

Talk about sacrificing for the good of the cause! I started a chat with QBO support at 10:45 this morning, and ended it at 4:30 p.m. After about five hours and two screen share sessions, I think I got the rep to understand the problem. He said he would "contact Tier 2" about it. Half an hour after that, he came back to say that this is intentional: attached PDFs now have to be downloaded so you can view them (and subsequently hunt them down to delete the clutter). Of course they told some users that in November too, and then they fixed it with the December update. Go figure.

In the course of fiddling with it, I discovered that this time, PNG files do not seem to be affected. PDFs are behaving as they did with the November bug, opening a dialog to save the file when you click the attachment filename. But a PNG that I converted from PDF and attached to a checking register transaction displays in a new browser tab as it should. So I suppose a workaround would be to convert PDFs to PNG. That's a pain. I seldom see a "Save as PNG" option, whereas "Save as PDF" is ubiquitous. And this raises the question: If the new PDF behavior is so wonderful, why didn't they make PNGs act the same way?

Thanks everybody for contributing. I'm an unpaid volunteer bookkeeper, and I think it's time to retire.

Thanks, ElisseK. I hadn't heard the CSV excuse. A completely unrelated file type. What a crock! Seems like they tell every user who complains a different story.

My daughter's company switched from desktop QuickBooks to QBO several months ago, and the stories she tells are horrifying. So many desktop features that they relied on are missing. But they have gone all-in and might have reached a point of no return by now. She says they have not been doing attachments, so at least this PDF bug isn't adding to their grief.

Hi Roland12

I read the PNG story. I tried it and I can say that at this moment you are correct. Having said that, if you have an Apple Macbook, there is a program app called Automator. Very powerful but most of us don't use it. Anyways, you can easily create your own application to perform actions that you would find tedious. Long story short, you would be able to drag a pdf file, into the Desktop icon that you'd create with Automator and it it will convert it into a png. For that matter, there are numerous choices of file formats that you could have chosen. Completely painless.  I encourage you to search something like "create an automator to change selected pdfs to png files on macbook" on the web and I'm certain you'll find how to do that.

I don't have a PC, so I can't say if there is something similar, but I'd expect there is.

LOL. This png saving ability will likely disappear when they realize they didn't take that from us. I mean, why allow a PNG but not a Jpeg?

Regards Old Toad

Thanks, OldToad. Good to hear from you again. That's a great suggestion. I use Macs, and have fiddled with Automator in the past, but I can't recall what I used it for. I use PDFCandy to do all sorts of things with PDFs, and I know it can convert them to PNG easily, albeit not in batches. For paper documents that I have no choice but to scan, I can simply choose PNG as the output format.

For now I'm going to sit tight at least until the middle of February to see whether they fix this with the next update. In November they told some of us that this goofball PDF behavior was intentional too, but then it was fixed in December. I too fear that the PNG functionality might be temporary, so I'm not going to spend time just yet converting my accumulating PDFs to PNG.

Hi Roland12

Well Automator is only limited by our imagination. You can batch process as many pdf's as you'd like in one go. Related to this idea of using Automator, I had previously added my own Finder action, that after I have selected the files I want to change, is available after a right click on the selected files. Personally, I previously made  it available to resize any jpeg photos that I had AirDropped from my phone. My AirDrop received them in my Downloads folder. I selected them, right clicked, then an action from the drop down window which now has the name of the Finder action I created. Think of it as any drop down window giving you choices, but it was your own addition. In simplistic terms, it makes them resize, delete from the downloads folder and then be moved to another folder that I had created. This other folder is one that I know has the expenses etc that I need to enter into QBO. The reason? Because I personally find taking a photo much easier than scanning and any employees just need to take pictures and send me them. 

Automator will work around a failure of the attachments as pdfs and I'd think ends up delivering a better result for the small upfront effort rather than saving back the attachment as we would have to do now.

Of course, if it's reinstated, then so much the better. However, if they take away the ability to attach  png or jpgs, then we're back to ground zero.

Regards Old Toad

Good stuff, OldToad. I suspect you were a batch-file wizard back in the days of DOS.

If it really is the QBO developers' intention to make all attachments (including PNGs) trigger "Save as," would it be possible with Automator to right-click an attachment that you have uploaded, and it will download the file, open it for viewing, and then delete it when you close the viewer? That would be a workaround I could live with.

On a related note, I found a keyboard shortcut trick that allows me to use Command+P+P (hold down Command while hitting the P key twice) to make printing as a PDF a bit quicker.

Thanks, OT. If my speculation about the QBO update schedule is correct, we should know in a few days whether the normal PDF viewing is coming back – or if they're going to disable it for PNGs too.

Hello

I am having the same problem.

Attachments to invoices and checks, when opened in QB will present themselves as "Save As" with differnet name.

Old attachments work fine

Any solutions

Thanks

Hi Roland12

As you say, we could wait to see what comes, but I'm not as hopeful as others, but we've been surprised before.

In the meantime, fearing the worst, I actually went ahead and prepared a written instruction document, which I could send to you,  walking through the steps to make the described Automator Quick Action if you are interested. I was actually just trying to figure out a way to only send it to you first, to test the instructions and try it out. The reason, why, is I'd like to be able to see if it operates on a different OS rather than my Catalina and whatever Safari version you have on your system. Also, I don't know if the actual Automator software on other OS's has the same views that mine has? I'm suspecting it really shouldn't matter, but that is only my guess. But, so far, I can't figure out to how to just send a private message to you, before I were to post my instructions for all to see. LOL. I really don't think either of us would want to be sharing our actual emails in this forum, so if you know of a way that we could just send a message to each other using this community's system, we could proceed if you're interested. I haven't found a way as of yet. Otherwise, I'm not certain that me posting instructions without a test drive from someone else, would be beneficial to others, especially PC users because this isn't for them. They need to seek their own similar workflows.  I'd just feel better about posting instructions with you testing them first. We have a lot vested already. I didn't include any screen shots with the instructions but they are thorough enough, in my opinion. I know they work on my particular setup, but as I mentioned, in the previous post, we all have different default settings etc.

I'd also want the community to understand that this is just a workflow using the resources we both have, meaning access to a Mac and using Safari. It's only a workaround with our systems. The workflow only comes into play once we have downloaded and saved the attachments. It is not specific to QBO. The workflow stands alone, as a choice, in fact our choice, from our Finder's right-click menu only. It will, in fact, actually take any kind of file we are interested in ....such as a pdf, jpg, png, or others, literally from anywhere in your Finder folders and/or subfolders etc that such a file is located. It just allows the attachment to be viewed in the browser, without any other steps, then makes the saved document disappear, to the Trash, without any aggravation.

    It could be mishandled if a person were working on a completely unrelated file and accidentally clicked on the Action when, in fact they didn't want to. I know sometimes I select the wrong choice! What would happen is clear. It would try to display the file in the Safari browser and then remove it from where it was accessed and send it to Trash. That could mean a big oops! For me, I am able, to recover from the Trash, but not as a "put back" but I can copy the deleted file from the Trash and paste it back, but if I don't know where I just deleted it from, it possibly could become problematic, very quickly. 

Summary

At this point, since I've already prepared the instructions, you're free to try them now, or wait, and waiting is okay by me. However, in the event that you'd like the instructions, I'd prefer to find a way for us to only send private messages at this stage, using this site, to test the workaround, for reasons discussed above. 

Regards Old Toad

Keeping things in order is very important, @DCrane62. I have some thoughts and ideas about how the attachment name appears differently on the invoice.

What you typed in to save the file will determine the name of the attachment once you upload it to QuickBooks Online. It should be taken off the invoice, then renamed. This makes it possible for the correct file name to appear.

Here's how to delete the attachment from the invoice:

1. Open the Sales menu.
2. Select Invoices.
3. Locate the invoice where the attachment is downloaded to then open it.
4. Navigate to the Attachment area.
5. Click on the X icon beside the attachment.
6. Once done, click on Save.

After that, you can simply reupload the file.

Additionally, I'd also recommend performing some basic troubleshooting steps to check if you're currently experiencing a browser-related issue. Start by logging in to your QBO company using an incognito window. Use these shortcut keys to open it:

• Google Chrome: Ctrl + Shift + N
• Mozilla Firefox: Ctrl + Shift + P
• Safari: Command + Option + P

If this works, then you'll have to clear your regular browser cache. This resolves any unusual browser behavior moving forward. This also deletes stored cache that's stored for a long period of time.

If not, use another compatible browser.

I'll also include these links for more information on how to personalize invoices and other sales forms and handle payments in QBO.

• Customize invoices, estimates, and sales receipts in QuickBooks Online
• Record invoice payments in QuickBooks Online

Keep in touch if you need anything else with invoices or QuickBooks. It's my pleasure to be of help always. Take the best care!

Good morning,

I've been uploading & checking pdf attachments the past few days, as the monthly update is usually happening around this time.  The "save as" pop-up window still appearing as of today.  I did contact support with my Case# from 1/11/23.  The cust rep said it was closed (of course!) Upon further checking, they did reply   "Upon checking further on the case # you provided. The previous expert made an escalation via feedback process to our back-end team regarding the updates made on QuickBooks. As of the moment, it's on the "review" section. Since these updates is for the entire system. Our developers/engineering team would need some time in terms of getting this update throughout all accounts. Apologies for the inconvenience as well. For this, we may need to wait up until our developers will release the next updates. Hopefully, by then this is already fix. You will also get updates once this is release."                                                     

Hopefully, the update happens soon & resolves the pdf attachment issue....again

Thanks for the update, NHRiverGal. I checked just now (February 9), and it's still not working for me. The note you received is somewhat encouraging. They told me (as they told some last time) that "Save as" is the way it's supposed to work.

Hi Roland12

It appears as if that's the way it will be going forward, so adding an Automator Quick Action, makes it tolerable.

The offer is still there to send to you.

Regards

Old Toad

Thanks, OT. Sorry I neglected to respond to your earlier offer. Is there a way to private-message here? I don't see it.

Hi Roland12,

I'm stepping in to provide information about messaging another user.

For some reason, private messaging is temporally disabled in the Community. The only way to communicate with other users is to reply to their posts.

On the other hand, I can see that this concern has been going on for some time. It would be best to contact our QBO Support Team so they can review your cases and check the issue further using more tools.

I can also cater to your questions here.

Hi JessT

I'm really not ever expecting a solution from QBO to this problem. The only thing I have is to offer the community instructions that help them work around QBO's stance to force a save, at least those using Macs. My solution uses Mac's Automator and if you are okay with my posting of these instructions, realizing they have nothing to do with any of what we post is in any way a recommendation from QBO,  would it be okay to post these out there without any consequences or liability to Roland12 and myself? I'd like to look at this as a conversation between Roland12 and myself. Especially if we are really just using this as a forum to communicate with each other? I'd like to believe that anybody else reading our conversations and trying what we are exploring, will do so at their own risk? Your thoughts please.

Thanks 

Old Toad

I respect your opinion, Toad.

Yes, you can post some useful links here and share your thoughts with Roland12. It's okay to have conversations with other users as long as you don't violate the QuickBooks Community Guidelines. Everyone is encouraged to help each other out here. It is a Community, after all.

Hey Guys, I've been following some of these posts for a bit now, and have had the same frustrating problem. 

I'd thought I'd chime in and just say pdfs are opening for me now in the browser again, after being on again, off again.  I ended up changing my chrome pdf viewer to a different extension.  Can't say if that was the solution or not but they do work for me again. 

Hi Roland12

Well, I guess we can post to each other knowing, that our conversations are really designed to be directed to each other, and that "others" can read our posts and use our posts at their own discretion, especially before the instructions prove their worth!

.At this point, I can send the written instructions to have you create and test the Quick Action and if there is anything you find about any certain steps being unclear, or it doesn't work, we'll figure it out together, so that some day, somebody, can see our solution. Of course designed for Safari browsers on Macs at this point.

Are you game?

Regards

Old Toad

Yes OT, if you are willing to post instructions, I'll give it a try. I'm assuming it won't be a huge deal to adapt them to Chrome. I really don't want to change browsers.

I'm still not sure I want to give up on this being fixed. If I upload a bunch of PDFs while it is broken, they will never behave properly, even though older attachments do. I still don't understand how that can be. Of course my speculation is based on our experience in November. And if PNGs are going to be spared, I might prefer to start converting to that format instead. Then again, next month they might take that away. The developers seem to just change stuff on a whim.

Thanks for your continued brainstorming.

Hi Roland12

Okay. Just to preface this message, this message is meant for Roland12 to test if I've written these properly.

Roland, since you're using a Chrome browser, I think we should just have you tweak my step 13. Instead of looking for Safari.app, just look for your Chrome Browser app in applications and select that instead. I'm thinking everything else should be okay, but that's why we're trying this. Good Luck. 

If something doesn't make sense or perhaps your Automator default pages aren't looking like mine, please let me know. I've numbered the steps for our reference.

Create an Automator Quick Action as an Attachment Download Workaround for Mac users using Safari and Finder.

1.        1.  You will need to go to your Applications Folder, locate the Automator.app and click it to open it.
2.        2.  From the first pop-up workflow to choose from, select Quick Action and then choose it to continue.
3.        3.  The Actions panel (under the Library and Media)  should be chosen, if not already. The Library should be expanded, but if not, click the little drop down arrow beside it. The various actions in the expanded view should be alphabetical and should make it easier for you to find the actions we’ll add to the workflow.
4.         4.  Now, let’s go to the top right side of the screen. The “Workflow receives current” drop down box likely shows Automatic (text). You need to change that to “files or folders”, which is the first choice below “Files and Folders” found inside the dropdown.
5.        5.  To the right of that dropdown, that we just changed, should be another dropdown that  “receives current” “in” “any application” and that needs to be changed with the dropdown to “Finder.app”.
6.        6.   “Input is” stays greyed out as seen, as well as the Output box. Leave alone.
7.         7.  Next is the “Image” dropdown. If the the little gear wheel Action is selected in the box then we still on the right track and it doesn’t need to be changed.
8.        8.  The Color can also stay black.
9.       9.   Now we are going to start to populate the big panel box with “drag actions or files here to build workflow”. These are items from the Library to the immediate left.
10.       10.  I’m just going to have you work from the big list Library second column. It’s alphabetical and actually represents all of the Library’s sub folders to its left.
11.      11.  Now scroll through the list to find “Get Specified Finder Items”. There are a lot of “get” so please ensure you pick the right one.
12.       12.  Select it and click and drag it into the box and let go. We don’t need to do anything else with that once it’s inside.
13.       13. Next, scroll through the list again and locate “Open Finder Items” and click and drag it over and let go and make sure that it’s located below the previous entry. We now need to do some changes for that item to work as we want it to. You now should direct that “Open With” dropdown to open with “Safari.app”. I believe the “Default Application” is currently in that box. For whatever reason, as you scroll down the box, Safari isn’t shown. No problem, just keep going down to “Other” and select it. An Application Finder folder will open that will let you scroll down to be able to highlight and then select, choose, for the Safari.app. That will be it for this entry.
14.      14.  For the next addition, we go back to the left items and scroll down to locate “Wait For User Action” way down the list. Drag it over to the box and make sure it’s below the last entry.
15.     15.   There is a Message box field. Inside the message box you should type your own text, perhaps, something like “Click me because you need to! This will allow the workflow to operate better and eventually remove the temporarily saved attachment file from the system where you downloaded it to, but please do click it before the 1 minute”. Note, I had to put this “wait for user action” in because I found that without it, the browser didn’t load the file before it was instantly trashed in the next step. Also, if not already selected by default, the “Stop workflow after” box should be checked to be “on” and I believe that there is a “1”  in the “Minute” box, by default.
16.    16.    The next, and last action, to drag over from the left is “Move Finder Item to Trash”, and it goes below the previous one.  Nothing else needs to be added.
17.   17.     So, there should be only a total of four dragged items and that’s all for what I wanted to accomplish.
18.    18.    Next, we need to save this workflow file and give it a name. Go to the top toolbar and choose File then Save. A popup will allow you to name the file. Name it so you recognize it. This name is going to be the name you see while using your Finder secondary clicks, under Quick Actions. I personally named it “QBO Attachment View Workaround”.
19.   19.     Click Save and then Close Automator.
20.   20.     Test it while you have QBO open in your browser. Select whatever  type of entry has been prompting you to save an attachment file first. You will still need to download that attachment. Just make sure you know where it was downloaded. I choose to only download these ridiculously long named files to my own, newly created folder on my Desktop, only because that’s where I wanted it. Obviously It was empty when I created it. The download from QBO adds the file to it because I directed it to save it that way. 
21.   21.     Now, after going to the saved file, wherever you chose, the automator takes over the dirty work. I right-click on that file(pdf. Jpg etc whatever type it was allowed to be saved by QBO specs) in the Finder folder you chose to save it in, and as usually is the case, after an initial click on a file( blue highlighting,) we have additional options with a further right click. I scroll down to find the “quick action” we just created and it is now added for our Finder, likely in the Quick Action section….  In my case named “QBO Attachment Workaround”. With any luck, it will likely be near the very bottom of the list. If not, you will find it within the Quick Actions sub tab. When it’s selected and let go, that should now throw you back to your Safari browser, where a little popup tab is waiting to be clicked and opened. Don’t worry, that is the one created by steps 14 and 15 above, but I’d wait a few seconds. You might also see the file name in the browser tab and this should look like it used to look. It’s important to not “close” that downloaded tab until you’re done with it and are ready to move on, otherwise, you will need to go through the whole process again, right back to the save.  I’ve designed this to remove the file to trash, right?
22.     22.   You should also verify your test when you are done by navigating back to the folder you initially saved the downloaded attachment to because that file should be gone and you should also be able to verify that by looking at the Trash folder to see it is now a recent added item, which we don’t need cluttering our drive.
23.    23.    This works for me and please use at your own risk. I have only used  Automator to make repetitive tasks easier. This has nothing to do with Quickbooks.
24.  24.      It’s likely possible to use another browser but I don’t have one installed. My guess is you’d point the step.13 to the browser app that you use instead of Safari.
25.  25.      WARNING. If you ever right click a Finder file, and were to somehow slip up and fat-finger and slip to activate that “named” Quick Action, then it’s going to try and open a tab to view the file in your browser, then delete it from whatever folder you were in. It will be in your Trash and you can choose the “put back” option found in Trash to retrieve it.

    Hope this works for you.Roland12

    Regards

    Old Toad