Linked documents not appearing in thread posts

[Technogeezer]

Until a couple of weeks ago, files attached to thread posts would be visible from the posts themselves. Now I'm finding that if you attach a file to a thread reply, the attached file won't be able to be found in the post. You have to go to the Library section of the forum to find the attachment, which is tremendously inconvenient and confusion (especially to users that post things and can't find them).

This appears to be a regression in behavior for the forum. 

On a related note, the manner in which forum file attachments are managed in this board are a giant step backward from the old VMware forums. The Library section of the old forums were an area in which reference material or commonly-used material could be posted. It's now an unmanageable blob (or dumping ground) for any file attachment in the forum. The new operation really breaks the spirit of what most of us think a Library should be (kind of a place for what other forum platforms have as pinned topics). It's also way harder to find relevant information in the LIbrary as it's hard to wade through files that really belong to a forum post. Any chance of Higher Logic changing the way that attachments work with the Library to return the Library to it's prior functionality?

------------------------------
- Paul (technogeezer)
vExpert 2025
------------------------------

[Jason McClellan]

@Technogeezer  The library is a folder specifically meant to hold attachments from the forum.   It works similarly to other community platforms, but this "dumping ground" behavior is a feature and has not changed since we migrated to this platform.  I'm not a fan and have asked the vendor to separate the library and any attachments associated with the forums.  This change is not on their current roadmap.  @Julia Klaus

------------------------------
Thank you
Jason
Broadcom Community Platform Admin, IT
------------------------------

[Technogeezer]

Thanks Jason - at least that confirms to me that the way the Library works "is not a bug, it's a feature". There are other features of this platform that I'm not a fan of either (lack of pinned topics and automatic closing of replies to a topic after x months are two that come to mind immediately). 

To my original question though, is there a reason why a file attached to a forum post no longer appears as a link in the post when reading it? That's behavior that's changed in the last few weeks. 

------------------------------
- Paul (technogeezer)
vExpert 2025
------------------------------

[Jason McClellan]

@technogeezer  -   I'll check with the vendor but this was not added to my knowledge.    I know that Super Admins like Julia, Myself and others can remove attachments if they are flagged but we do that with a note.  Edited by @Jason McClellan and date (removed or hashed a bad word) - 

Is there a thread of yours where this occurred so I can give the support team and example?    Thx  ~jm   @Julia Klaus

------------------------------
Thank you
Jason
Broadcom Community Platform Admin, IT
------------------------------

[Technogeezer]

@Jason McClellan @Julia Klaus See any of the posts in this thread : https://community.broadcom.com/vmware-cloud-foundation/discussion/fusion-crashing-on-imac#bmd9680ea3-b1e2-4fce-8eab-48108234a66f

Many have attachments which you'll find in the Library or on the forum summary page under "Recent Shared Files List". The attachments aren't indicated in the posts. 

------------------------------
- Paul (technogeezer)
vExpert 2025
------------------------------

[Jason McClellan]

@technogeezer I reviewed the posts in this thread made by @David Adams and he mentions attaching files or images but there are no attachments when I review in edit mode as an admin.  In this last post 35.  There were no attachments.   @Julia Klaus

------------------------------
Thank you
Jason
Broadcom Community Platform Admin, IT
------------------------------

[Technogeezer]

> he mentions attaching files or images but there are no attachments when I review in edit mode as an admin

Then you're seeing what I see. There were files uploaded using the "Upload File" link when you draft the message (some of those replies I did myself and I know I "attached" files to those posts. The attached file only appears in the Library.

This is a change in the way that attachments to a thread post used to work. And even this is "not a bug, but a feature", it is a very unusable "feature" to say you can attach a file to a post and then never see it when you're reviewing the post. With the way this is currently implemented, you have no context to the file being upload, have to search for it in the Library "blob" storage, and assume that you've found the right file (not easy if there are multiple files replied to multiple posts in a thread). 

I really question Broadcom's choice of vendor for this forum software. It's arguably worse than the old VMware forum platform, and miles behind other platforms such as Discourse. 

------------------------------
- Paul (technogeezer)
vExpert 2025
------------------------------