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Why are my specification uploads failing?

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Background

If a file was not able to upload to the Specifications tool, you'll see an 'Upload Failed' error message stating that something went wrong during processing. 

Answer

Specification uploads can fail for a variety of reasons, such as:

  • The file is encrypted, password protected, or corrupt.
  • The file is in an outdated or unsupported PDF version.
  • The PDF file has inconsistent formatting, markups that haven't been flattened, or fonts that haven't been embedded. 
 Tip
For more information on how files should be formatted, see How can I improve the accuracy of Specification Section Identification?

Troubleshooting Steps

There are several troubleshooting steps that you can try in order to successfully upload your specifications to Procore:
Note: Some steps require access to applications from Bluebeam®, Adobe®, or Microsoft®.

 

1. Upload the File Again

Uploads can fail if there's an interruption in internet connectivity. We recommend uploading the file again before trying other troubleshooting steps. 

If the upload fails again, move to the next troubleshooting step. 

 

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2. Check for File Restrictions or Issues

  1. Open the file in a PDF program such as Adobe Acrobat®.
  2. Check to make sure the file is not encrypted, password protected, unsupported, or corrupt. 
  3. Save the file as a PDF again.
  4. Upload the file to Procore.

If the upload fails again, move to the next troubleshooting step. 

 

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3. Check the Formatting of the PDF

Procore's scanning technology looks for specific identifiers throughout the file (such as the footer), and the upload can fail if the formatting of pages in the PDF are inconsistent. For best practices on formatting for specification uploads, see How can I improve the accuracy of Specification Section Identification?

Embed Fonts into the PDF

Embedding the font helps to ensure that text is properly identified during processing.  

  • You can embed fonts by saving the file as a PDF/A. This file type is an archival format of PDF that embeds all fonts used in the document within the PDF file.
    This can be done with a program such as Adobe Acrobat® or Bluebeam®. 
FLATTEN MARKUP LAYERS

PDFs with markups that have not been "flattened" can lead to rendering issues. 

  • You can flatten the PDF with a program such as Adobe Acrobat® or Bluebeam®. 
Upload Inconsistent Sections Separately

PDFs containing pages with different sizes or mixed orientations (portrait and landscape) can lead to issues. 

  • You can split up the file to group similar pages together and upload them separately.


After correcting any inconsistencies mentioned above, try uploading the file again. If the upload continues to fail, move to the next troubleshooting step. 

 

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4. Find a Problematic Page

You can identify a problematic page in a PDF by splitting up the document into sections to upload separately until you find which page causes an error. You'll need to repeat the process until you find the page that is causing the upload to fail. 

Example

If you're uploading a 1,000 page spec book:

  1. Separate the spec book into 10 sets of 100 pages each.
  2. Upload the separate files to find which of those sets fail.
  3. After you've identified which sets of 100 fail, separate the file into smaller sets of 10 pages each and upload those.
  4. After you've identified which sets of 10 fail, separate the file into individual pages and upload those to find which fail. 

After you've identified a page that is causing an issue:

  1. Check for and fix any inconsistencies (explained in the previous troubleshooting step). 
  2. Resave the file if needed.
  3. Upload the file separately.
    A problematic page can often upload successfully when uploaded by itself. 

If the upload continues to fail, move to the next troubleshooting step. 

 

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5. Open in Microsoft Word® and Resave the file

Note: The formatting of the PDF can change after being opened in Word. We recommend making a copy of the original PDF before trying this troubleshooting step. 

  1. Make a copy of the PDF file.
  2. Open the new file in Microsoft Word®.
  3. Save the file as a PDF again. 
  4. Upload the file to Procore.

 

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If your specification upload continues to fail, please contact support@procore.com.