Why aren't file upload fields available in cloud hosted MIDAS systems?
Note: This article applies to MIDAS v4.07 or later
MIDAS v4.07 introduced a new type of custom booking field which allows users to select a file from their computer or network and upload & attach it to a booking.
The ability to upload and attach files and documents to bookings is only available in "self hosted" editions of MIDAS v4.07 or later. If your MIDAS booking system is "cloud-hosted" by us, this functionality will not be available to you.
Why isn't this feature available for my "cloud hosted" MIDAS system?
There are a number of reasons why we've taken the decision not to allow file uploads to our servers... Essentially, it's because we're not running a file storage/hosting service. From a purely practical point of view, the amount of storage space and bandwidth required to store physical files (attachments) with bookings for all our hosted customers would mean significant increases in running costs, and as we believe in fair and competitive pricing for our software, we wouldn't wish to pass on additional costs to our cloud customers. Secondly, the ability for users to upload and store files on our servers is open to abuse - i.e. illegal/copyrighted content could be uploaded and stored on our servers.
For these reasons, the ability to upload and attach files and documents to bookings is only available to our self-hosted customers - where their MIDAS booking system runs on their own servers and infrastructure and so any files/documents attached would be uploaded to their own servers.
My MIDAS system is hosted by you and I want to be able to attach files/documents to bookings - what can I do?
If your MIDAS is hosted by us in the "cloud" and you'd like to be able to attach file and documents to your bookings, you'd need to first upload your files elsewhere (i.e. your own web server or a file hosting service i.e. Dropbox, OneDrive, etc), and then use a custom URL field in MIDAS to link your uploaded files to your bookings.
