# Archive
The archive is where all your documents end up after you upload them to swiDOC. You find it in the sidebar under Archive.
Video tutorial
Watch the tutorial Dokumentenmanagement im File Browser (opens new window) on YouTube.
# Browsing the archive
Click a folder to open it and work your way through the structure. The breadcrumb next to All Files shows where you are and takes you back to any level above; the .. row at the top of a folder goes up one level. Refresh reloads the list, and the total number of files is shown below it.
Three actions sit above the list:
- Upload: archive documents into the folder you are currently in.
- New folder: create a folder at the current level. On a package with Access Management, a Creator or Administrator can tick Private to create a folder only folder admins see. See Private folders.
- Apply template: create a whole folder structure at once from one of your organization's folder templates.
Files and folders can be sorted by Name, Archiving Date or Deletion Date, and the arrow next to the selected criterion switches between ascending and descending. swiDOC keeps your choice in this browser, for every folder, until you sign out.
The ⋮ menu at the end of a folder row lets you delete the folder or rename it.
Only empty folders can be deleted
A folder that still holds documents or subfolders cannot be deleted. Move its contents out and delete its subfolders first. Documents themselves are protected by their retention period. See Deleting documents.
Who sees what
By default everyone in your organization sees the whole archive. To limit a folder to certain people, see Access Management.
# Uploading documents
Click Upload to open the Upload Documents page. If you are already inside a folder, that folder is preselected as the destination.
Scanning paper
On a phone or tablet, the upload page also has a Scan button. The camera captures paper pages, and swiDOC archives each scanned document as a PDF. See Scanning on a phone or tablet.
Add your documents by drag and drop or by clicking the drop zone to pick them manually.
Upload whole folders at once
Files and whole folders both go through the same drop zone. When you add a folder, swiDOC recreates its structure inside the destination folder. This saves a lot of time, because you do not have to create the folders by hand.
Upload limits
The drop zone shows the limits for one upload: the maximum number of files and the maximum size. A single file over the size limit is removed from your selection and a notice names the files it dropped; the rest stay selected and ready to upload. Split a larger batch into several uploads.
With the Archiving Settings below the drop zone you set which rules and periods apply to the uploaded documents. They include the destination folder, the start date, the retention period, tags and search attributes. Each one is explained under Upload options. The settings apply to every file in the upload; you can still adjust them per document afterwards.
When everything is filled in, confirm with Archive. swiDOC shows your settings once more before the documents are finally stored, and tells you if a document is already in the archive so you can skip or ignore the duplicate. Uploading then creates the timestamps and runs the text recognition, and a summary tells you which files were archived. From there, Navigate to Folder takes you to the destination.
# Scanning on a phone or tablet Mobile
You can also use swiDOC on mobile devices to archive documents straight from your smartphone. For this, we created a dedicated section in the user interface for capturing documents with your smartphone.
Open the upload page
Capture the pages
Check the pages
Archive
# Opening the scanner
swiDOC shows the touch version of the Upload Documents page on phones and tablets.
There are two ways to open the scan feature:
- Open swiDOC in your smartphone's web browser, for example in Chrome, Safari or Firefox.
- Open swiDOC through the app on your smartphone.
The Destination card at the top shows where the documents go:
- Organization: tap it to switch to another organization. It can only be tapped if you belong to more than one.
- Folder: tap it to choose another folder or create a new one. Top level means the top of the organization's archive.
Below the card are two buttons:
- Scan opens the camera view. When pages are already waiting on the device, the button reads Continue scan.
- Photos / files adds pictures or files that are already on your device. They are uploaded unchanged.
The first time you tap Scan, your browser asks for permission to use the camera. Allow it.
# Capturing pages
The camera view fills the screen. Hold the phone over the page, with the whole sheet in view. swiDOC draws an outline around the page it finds.
# Automatic and manual capture
The switch at the top of the screen selects the capture mode. swiDOC remembers your choice on this device.
- Auto (the default): hold the phone steady. A blue line fills the outline, and when it is complete swiDOC captures the page by itself. Each sheet is captured once. Put the next sheet down, or move the phone, and swiDOC captures again.
- Manual: swiDOC still finds the page, but only captures it when you tap the shutter, the large round button at the bottom.
The shutter works in both modes. If swiDOC has not found a page, the shutter takes an ordinary photo of the whole camera image, uncropped and not straightened.
After each capture the screen flashes, and a small preview of the straightened page appears. It then moves into the counter at the bottom left. Tap the preview to look at that page more closely.
The torch button at the top right switches your phone's light on and off. It only appears if your device supports it.
# The hints
A short hint at the top of the screen tells you what swiDOC is waiting for:
| Hint | What it means |
|---|---|
| Looking for a document… | No page found yet. |
| No document found. Tap the shutter to take a photo. | Still no page after a few seconds. Try a plain, darker surface, or take a photo and fix its corners later. |
| Fit the whole page in the frame | Part of the sheet is outside the image. Auto mode does not capture a page that is cut off. |
| Hold steady… | A page was found. Keep the phone still. |
| Capturing… | The page is steady and is captured in a moment. |
| Hold still… | The image is blurred. swiDOC waits for a sharp picture. |
| Tap the shutter | Manual mode: the page is ready to capture. |
| Auto-capture isn't available on this device — use the shutter | Automatic page detection does not work here. Capture each page with the shutter. |
# Several documents in one go
Every page you capture belongs to the current scanned document. To start the next one, tap the round + button next to ✓ (Next document). swiDOC confirms Document 2 started, and the following pages become a separate PDF. The button is inactive until the current document has at least one page.
The counter at the bottom left shows the latest pages and how many documents and pages you have scanned, for example 2 docs · 5 pages. Tap it to open the page strip.
When one document reaches 100 pages, swiDOC suggests starting the next one.
# Finishing
Tap the ✓ button at the bottom right (Done) when you have captured every page. The ✕ at the top left closes the camera view too. Pages that are still being processed are saved first (Saving pages…), so none are lost.
You are back on the upload page, where each scanned document now appears in the file list.
# If the camera does not start
- Camera access is off: you did not allow the camera. Allow camera access for swiDOC in your phone's or browser's settings, or tap Take a photo instead to use your camera app. You can straighten that photo afterwards in the page strip.
- The camera stopped: this can happen when you switch to another app. Your pages so far are saved. Tap Try again. If it keeps failing in the home-screen app on an iPhone, open swiDOC in Safari.
- No camera available: your device has no camera swiDOC can use. Take a photo instead is still available.
# Checking and fixing pages
The page strip shows every page you have scanned and not yet archived, grouped by document. Open it:
- in the camera view, by tapping the counter (it opens on the newest page) or the preview of the page you captured last;
- on the upload page, by tapping the thumbnail of a scanned document (it opens on that document's first page).
At the top, each document is listed with its pages, for example Document 2 · 3 pages. The document you are adding pages to is marked current. Tap a page to select it. The selected page is shown large below it, so you can check that it is sharp and complete:
- Swipe sideways, or use the arrows, to go to the previous or next page.
- Pinch to zoom, or double-tap. Double-tap again to see the whole page.
- A page taken as an ordinary photo is marked photo, not straightened.
Two buttons above the selected page act on it:
- Delete removes the page. Page deleted appears with Undo, which brings it back for a few seconds.
- Adjust corners opens the corner editor.
Two buttons at the bottom of the strip:
- Add pages adds more pages to the document of the selected page. swiDOC confirms Document 1 continued and opens the camera, and the next pages you capture are added at the end of that document. In the camera view the button only appears for a document that is not the current one.
- Continue closes the strip. You can also drag its top edge down.
# Adjusting the corners
The corner editor shows the original photo with the four corners swiDOC used. Drag a corner to where the paper's corner really is. A magnifier helps you place it precisely.
- Reset puts the corners back where swiDOC found them.
- Full image uses the whole photo, uncropped.
- Save straightens the page again with the new corners. Page updated confirms it.
Page order is fixed
Pages stay in the order you captured them in. A page you add with Add pages goes at the end of its document. To change the order, delete a page and capture it again at the right point. Every page gets the same treatment: the paper is made white and the colours of ink and stamps are kept.
# Naming and archiving
Back on the upload page, the list Files holds your scanned documents first, then any photos or files you added. A scanned document shows a thumbnail of its first page, the label Scan and its number of pages.
The file name. Each scanned document is named after the time you started it, for example
Scan 24.09.2026 14.03.pdf. To give it your own name, type it into the name field. swiDOC adds .pdf
itself. If two documents end up with the same name, the second gets (2).
Removing a document. The ✕ at the end of a row removes it. For a scanned document swiDOC asks first: Remove deletes its pages from the device, Keep leaves it in the list.
The archiving settings are the same as on a computer: archiving start date, archiving duration, tags and search attributes. See Upload options. They apply to every file in the list. The same upload limits apply as well.
Archiving. The bar at the bottom of the screen stays in view while you scroll. Tap Archive, which shows the number of files, for example Archive (3). While the button cannot be tapped, a line above it says why:
- Add at least one file: the list is empty.
- Waiting for a connection: you are offline.
- The deletion date is in the past: the archiving start date is so early that the duration has already ended. Choose a longer duration or a later start date.
- Creating the PDF…: swiDOC is still turning a scanned document into a PDF.
From here on everything works as on a computer: swiDOC shows your settings once more, points out documents that are already in the archive, and then archives and timestamps the documents. The text of a scanned page can be found with Search once the text recognition has run.
After a successful upload the archived scans are deleted from your phone. A scan that could not be uploaded stays in the list, so you can try again.
Cancel takes you to the Archive without uploading. Your scanned pages stay on the device and are offered to you again the next time you open the upload page.
If a row shows "PDF could not be created"
swiDOC could not turn this scanned document into a PDF, so it is not uploaded with the other files. Open its pages with the thumbnail and check them, or remove the document and scan it again.
# Resuming an unfinished scan
swiDOC saves every page on the device as soon as it is captured and straightened. Nothing is lost if you close the browser, switch off the phone, or the phone ends the app in the background.
When you open the upload page and unfinished pages are waiting, swiDOC asks Resume your unfinished scan? and tells you how many pages and documents there are.
- Resume keeps them. They are already in the file list, ready to check, extend with Continue scan, or archive.
- Discard deletes them from the device.
# Scanning without a connection
You can scan without an internet connection. Archiving needs one.
- On the upload page, swiDOC tells you that you are offline. You can keep scanning. Choosing a folder and archiving wait until the connection is back, and the bottom bar shows Waiting for a connection.
- From the home-screen icon, swiDOC opens the Scan documents page with a Scan button. It shows how many pages are waiting to be archived. Once you are back online, swiDOC takes you to the upload page, where your pages are in the file list. If you belong to several organizations, it first asks Where should the documents go?.
# Your scans stay on this device
Until you archive them, scanned pages exist only on the device you scanned them on. They are not uploaded anywhere and do not appear on your other devices.
Signing out deletes every unsent scan from the device, so the next person using it cannot see them. If you have pages that are not archived yet, swiDOC asks first, Sign out and delete unsent pages?:
- Stay signed in keeps you signed in, so you can archive the pages first.
- Sign out signs you out and deletes the pages.
Your choice of Auto or Manual capture is a setting of the device, not of your account. It stays after you sign out.
# Adding swiDOC to your home screen
With swiDOC on your home screen, one tap opens the upload page without the browser bar. Choose your phone to see its steps.
iPhone
On an iPhone, you add swiDOC in Safari. The screenshots show iOS 27.
When you open the upload page in Safari, swiDOC shows Add swiDOC to your home screen with the same steps. Later hides it for now, and Don't ask again hides it for good.
Open Safari.
Enter
app.swidoc.chin the address bar and open the page.
Tap the button with three lines, to the left of the address.
Tap Share.
Tap View More.
Tap Add to Home Screen.
Keep Open as Web App switched on and tap Add.
On your home screen, tap the swiDOC icon.
Sign in. The app on your home screen has its own session, so you sign in once more, even if you are signed in to swiDOC in Safari.
swiDOC opens the Upload Documents page. Tap Scan to start capturing pages.
If you do not see Share, you may be in another app's browser. Open swiDOC in Safari first.
Pages you scanned in Safari stay in Safari. The app on your home screen keeps its own data, so they do not appear there. Archive them in Safari first.
Android
On an Android phone, you add swiDOC in Chrome.
When you open the upload page in Chrome, swiDOC shows Add swiDOC to your home screen. If Chrome offers it, the dialog has an Install button: tap it and continue at step 5. Otherwise it lists the steps below. Later hides it for now, and Don't ask again hides it for good. In Samsung Internet and Firefox, the dialog shows that browser's own steps.
Open Chrome, enter
app.swidoc.chin the address bar and open the page.
Tap the button with three dots, at the top right.
Tap Add to Home screen. In newer versions of Chrome, the entry is called Install and create shortcut.
Tap Install. Create shortcut would open swiDOC in Chrome, with the browser bar.
Tap Install again to confirm.
Tap Add to home screen. You can also touch and hold the icon to place it yourself.
On your home screen, tap the swiDOC icon.
swiDOC opens the Upload Documents page. If you are not signed in, sign in first. Tap Scan to start capturing pages.
If the entry is not in the menu, swiDOC may already be on your home screen. Or you are in another app's browser: open swiDOC in Chrome first.
# Upload options
# Destination folder
The folder icon at the top left of the Select section opens the folder picker, and the breadcrumb beside it shows the destination you are about to archive into. You can pick another folder or create a new one without leaving the upload page.
# Archiving start date
If a document has already been sitting in a physical archive for a few years and you are only now digitizing it, enter the original archiving date as the Archiving Start Date. swiDOC then calculates the deletion date from that date, so the document can be deleted at the legally correct time.
For documents that are new, leave this field as it is.
The earliest possible deletion date below the field updates as you change the start date or the duration.
# Archiving duration
Different types of document have to be kept for different lengths of time, so swiDOC offers a set of presets. Choosing the document type sets the retention period for you:
| Preset | Retention |
|---|---|
| Default | 10 years |
| Construction and Real Estate | 20 years |
| Value Added Tax Documents | 20 years |
| Work Time Records | 5 years |
| Unlimited | never expires |
Turn on Set duration manually to enter the number of years yourself.
Once archived, documents can no longer be deleted!
A document cannot be deleted before its retention period ends. See Recycle Bin. A retention period can be extended later, never shortened. If in doubt, choose the shorter period and extend it when you know more.
If you are not sure how long you need to keep a particular document, our blog post on Swiss retention obligations (opens new window) covers the common cases. It is published in German only.
# Tags
Tags are free-form labels that make documents easier to group and find. Start typing in the Tags field to pick from tags that already exist, or create new ones as you go. Your organization's tag list is managed in Settings → Tags.
# Search attributes
If your organization has defined search attributes, click + Add Attribute to record them on the upload: pick the attribute by name and enter its value. Unlike tags, these are structured (a name and a value) and are meant for information you want recorded consistently on every document of a given kind.
# Document details
Click a document to open its Details page. The document is shown in the viewer on the left, where you can zoom, pan and search inside it. In a PDF you can also click a link to open it, and with a mouse or trackpad select text and Copy it. The File Details panel on the right lists everything stored about it:
- Characteristics: name, description, folder path, file size and who uploaded it.
- Tags and Search attributes recorded on the document.
- Archiving Information: when it was archived, until when it is kept, when it was uploaded, and whether it carries a timestamp (Compliance). The timestamp is what the document's proof of authenticity proves. See Can I prove the authenticity of my documents?
Show all events at the bottom of the panel opens the document's event history: every upload, view, download, rename, move, update and integrity check recorded for it.
The icons next to the document name are, from left to right: the info panel, edit mode, move, and the download of the document's proof of authenticity. Download Document gets you a copy of the file itself. In edit mode you can change the name and description, update tags and attributes, and extend the retention period.
# Moving documents
Use the move icon on the details page to change a document's location, or drag and drop it within the folder structure. Folders can be dragged the same way.
Folder restrictions travel with the folder, so moving a restricted folder does not accidentally expose its contents. On a large folder, applying the restrictions to all subfolders takes a few seconds after the move.
# Deleting documents
Documents cannot be deleted while their retention period is running. Archived until on the details page tells you the date a document may first be deleted.
Once that date has passed, swiDOC moves the document to the Recycle Bin automatically. There an administrator extends its retention or deletes it permanently. Have a look at the Recycle Bin page for this.