Overview
Some types of files can be edited directly in Fieldguide, while others need to be edited by using another application. Continue reading to learn about the editing options available for different file types.
Edit Microsoft Office files
Microsoft Word and Excel files can be edited directly in Fieldguide or by using the Office desktop application.
Edit with Microsoft Office online
Office online lets you edit compatible files directly in Fieldguide.
View a compatible Microsoft file (like Word or Excel) in Fieldguide.
Click Edit > Office online.
Edit directly in the viewer. When you save your changes, Fieldguide creates a new document version.
Edit with the Microsoft Office desktop app
To edit using the Office desktop application:
View a compatible Microsoft file (like Word or Excel) in Fieldguide.
Click Edit > Office desktop.
This will launch the desktop app for Word or Excel on your computer. You must have this application already installed. You may be prompted to allow Fieldguide permission to open the app.
Edit your file in the desktop application. When you save your changes, Fieldguide creates a new document version.
Microsoft Office security warning
When you open a Word or Excel file from Fieldguide in the Office desktop app, you may receive the message "Office has blocked content because it uses a sign-in method that may be insecure." This warning appears because of the Microsoft Office security settings configured on your device.
To allow Office to open files from Fieldguide, enable external content in the Microsoft Office Trust Center settings. You can click Open Trust Center directly from the warning to adjust the settings. Follow the steps in the Microsoft Support article to unblock external content: Block or unblock external content in Office documents. Your company's IT policy may require you to contact your IT administrator to change these settings.
Co-authoring (simultaneous editing)
Microsoft Office online supports multiple people editing a file simultaneously. Both people must be using Office online — this is not supported when using the Office desktop application. See Microsoft's documentation for more information.
If someone else is editing a file in Office desktop, Fieldguide will display a blue dot 🔵 on the document's Versions button. You can see who has the file open in the Versions menu.
File edit conflict warning
Fieldguide displays a conflict warning if you try to edit a file while it's already open somewhere else—either by you or another person—in a mode that doesn't support simultaneous editing. The warning will show who is currently using the file.
If you edit and save a file that someone else is currently editing in the Office desktop app, their changes will not merge with yours. Both of your edits will be saved as separate document versions.
To avoid version conflicts, avoid opening the file in edit mode until it's no longer in use. You can check if a file is currently in use in the Versions menu. It may take Fieldguide up to 15 minutes to detect that the file has been closed from a location it was previously opened in.
If the file is already in use by you, close your existing tab(s) of this document before you open it again.
If the file is in use by another user, wait for that user to close the document before you begin editing.
If you're confident the file is no longer in use, you can ignore the warning and click Continue & Open to proceed with editing. See more details on avoiding version conflicts here.
Edit PDFs and images
You can annotate PDFs and images directly in Fieldguide. For other editing options, follow the instructions below for editing offline.
Editing offline (other file types)
Not all file types can be edited directly in Fieldguide. If you need to edit an unsupported file type, or want to edit documents without an internet connection, follow these steps to edit offline:
Download the file.
Edit the file using the appropriate application on your computer. Save your changes.
Upload the updated file as a new version of that document in Fieldguide.