Photos

Modified on Wed, 22 Apr at 11:08 AM

Photos are a key part of most inspections. The Ekotrope ONSITE Inspection App lets you attach photos directly to specific fields on a form, review and rearrange them, and fine-tune photo quality based on your connection. This guide walks through all of it.

Where Photos Live

Photos are attached to specific photo fields on a form. You will see a photo field whenever an inspection expects visual evidence for a particular item — for example, a label on a water heater, a window sticker, or a foundation detail.

Each photo field has its own + Add Photo button. You can attach multiple photos to a single field; they appear as thumbnails below the field.

Attaching a Photo

1. Navigate to the photo field on the form.
2. Tap + Add Photo.
3. Pick a source:

• Take Photo — opens your camera to capture a new image
• Choose from Gallery — picks an existing photo from your device

4. After capturing or selecting, the photo appears as a thumbnail attached to that field.

Tip: Tap + Add Photo again to add another photo to the same field. There is no hard limit.

Reviewing a Photo

Tap any thumbnail to open it in a full-screen viewer. From the viewer you can:

Action	What It Does
Rotate	Tap the rotate icons to turn the image 90° left or right. Good for fixing sideways shots. The rotation is applied when you close the viewer.
Move to another field	Tap the move icon to reassign the photo to a different photo field on the form. A list of available photo fields appears — pick the destination.
Delete	Tap the trash icon to remove the photo from this field. The app confirms before deleting.

Viewing Files from Previous Inspections

Sometimes you need to reference work done on an earlier visit to the same project — for example, to compare conditions before and after, or to see what a previous inspector photographed.

On the My Inspections dashboard, tap the Files (folder) icon on the inspection card. A gallery opens showing files previously attached to this project on the server — photos from earlier inspections at the same address, along with any project documents.

Important: The Files gallery does not show the photos you are attaching right now in your current inspection. Those live on the specific fields you attach them to, and are only on your device until you submit. To review the photos for the inspection you are filling out, scroll the form to the relevant photo fields.

Photo Quality

The app can capture photos at three different quality settings. The right choice depends on your connection and how detailed the photo needs to be. You change this in Settings > Photo Quality.

Setting	Description
High	Best image quality, largest file sizes, slowest uploads. Use when you need to read fine print on a label or capture detailed defect photos.
Balanced	Good quality with moderate file sizes. Recommended default for most work.
Efficient	Smallest file sizes, fastest uploads on slow connections. Use when you are working in areas with poor connectivity and uploads are stalling.

You can switch at any time, including mid-inspection. The setting applies to new photos — photos you have already captured are not re-encoded.

Auto-Save to Device (Optional)

In Settings > Photo Settings, the Auto-Save to Device toggle lets you keep a copy of every photo you take in the app’s browser storage or your device downloads (depending on your platform). This is turned off by default. This feature doesn not work on every device due to platform-specific security differences.

Turn it on if you want a second copy of your inspection photos outside the app — for example, to add to your own records, share by email, or back up manually. Keep in mind it roughly doubles the storage used by photos on your device.

How Photos Sync

Photos upload to the server separately from the inspection form data. When you submit an inspection:

1. The inspection data is uploaded.
2. Each photo is uploaded individually after that.
3. The builder report and CSV export are generated last.

If your form data uploads but some photos fail (slow or unstable connection, for example), the app tells you. Your form data is safe on the server, and the photos will automatically retry. See Syncing and Data Issues for a full explanation of sync states and what the messages mean.

Storage Management

Photos are the largest single use of storage on your device. In Settings > Storage you can see:

• Photos stored — total number of photos saved locally
• Photo storage — total disk space used
• A photo browser at the bottom of the Storage section, which lets you see and delete cached photos individually

If the app detects orphaned photos (attached to inspections that were deleted or no longer exist), a banner in Settings offers to clean them up. Tap "Free Up Space." The app confirms exactly what will be removed before doing anything. Active inspection photos are never touched.

Tips for Good Inspection Photos

#	Tip
1	Attach the photo to the field it belongs to. Do not dump everything into a single field — field-specific photos make reports and troubleshooting much easier later.
2	Use High quality for text-heavy shots. Model numbers, labels, and stickers need to be readable downstream.
3	Use Efficient in the field. Save High quality for when you are sitting on Wi-Fi and want to upload a big batch fast.
4	Review before leaving the site. Scroll through the form’s photo fields one more time to make sure you have everything you need. It is much cheaper to retake a photo now than to drive back.
5	Rotate as soon as you notice. A quick rotate fix in the viewer now prevents a confused reviewer later.
6	Use the move function if you attached a photo to the wrong field. Do not retake — just move it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: My photos are taking forever to upload. What can I do?
A: Switch Photo Quality to Efficient in Settings. Smaller files upload much faster. You can switch back to Balanced or High later. Remember: your form data uploads first and separately, so your inspection is not stuck waiting on photos.

Q: I attached a photo to the wrong field. Do I need to retake it?
A: No. Tap the thumbnail to open the viewer, then tap the move icon. Pick the correct field from the list and the photo moves there.

Q: My photo looks sideways. How do I fix it?
A: Open the photo in the viewer and tap rotate until it is oriented correctly. The rotation is saved when you close the viewer.

Q: I deleted a photo by mistake. Can I recover it?
A: If the photo had already uploaded to the server, it may still be there — contact support. If it was only on your device and you confirmed the delete, it is gone.

Q: The app says my photo storage is very large. Is my data at risk?
A: Not at all. It just means you have accumulated many photos across inspections. In Settings > Storage you can use Free Up Space to remove orphaned photos safely, or delete individual cached photos from the photo browser at the bottom of the Storage section.

Q: I have Auto-Save to Device turned on. Where do those copies go?
A: It depends on your platform. On a PWA, photos are saved to your browser’s download location. Check your browser’s default download folder or its download history.