Images and Attachments

We treat HEIC and HEIF images like any other file: they render consistently across thumbnails, inline previews, galleries, and lightbox views. If a preview isn't suitable, exclude the format from previews or use a low-res fallback.

Supported formats

Format	Default behavior
HEIC/HEIF	Keep the original for download; the system generates a JPEG copy for previews
JPEG/PNG/WebP	Render at full quality

Viewing HEIC/HEIF

1. Attach a photo from an iPhone or Mac.
2. The platform creates a browser-compatible JPEG copy for previews, while the original HEIC/HEIF is preserved for download.
3. See it in the same places as regular images:
   • Attachment thumbnails below comments and email bubbles
   • Inline embed inside a comment or task description
   • Board gallery or gallery views that show attachments
   • Task detail lightbox with a thumbnail strip at the bottom

Downloading HEIC/HEIF

HEIC and HEIF photos uploaded to tasks and comments retain their original file format in the download. When you click Download on an attachment:

• The original HEIC/HEIF file is downloaded, preserving the full image quality
• Previews across the platform use the generated JPEG copy for faster rendering and broader compatibility

This ensures you can access the highest-quality version of your photos while maintaining fast, consistent previews everywhere else.

Who can download attachments

New Only people who can see the parent ticket can download its attachments. Access follows board membership: people who are not the owner, an Admin, or a Member of that board cannot reach downloads.

How it works

• When opening a task or viewing the task detail lightbox, the system checks that you own the board or are an Admin or Member before exposing download URLs.
• If you are not on the board, downloads come back as not found.
• The board owner, Admins, and Members who can see the ticket can download files. Agents on that board can download too.
• This change prevents unauthorized downloads for attachments that originated on private or board-limited tasks.

What this protects

• Attachments stored on private tickets are not reachable by users who should not see that context.
• AI-generated task previews now respect the same access gate, ensuring draft images on private tickets are not exposed outside the intended scope.
• Regular downloads continue to work as before for anyone with proper ticket visibility.

When it applies

• The board owner, Admins, Members, and AI agents on the board can download its attachments.
• People who are not the board owner, an Admin, or a Member cannot reach downloads. A public share link can show the board, and it does not let them download.

Excluding previews

To prevent HEIC/HEIF from generating previews (e.g., if the file is too large for preview generation):

1. Open the attachment's context menu (three dots).
2. Select Excluded from previews to disable automatic preview generation.
3. Uploaders still receive the file; observers only see the original format and a download link.

Lightbox image strip

In the task detail lightbox, the thumbnail strip shows all attachments in that task. Supported formats and non-preview status appear consistently across all attachments.

Handling malformed previews in the lightbox strip

If the lightbox shows a broken image icon for a non-decodable file:

• A file icon now appears instead of a broken icon, making it clear the image content could not be decoded.

Warnings for unexpected content

If a file exhibits preview or display issues (broken icons, no thumbnail, or an unexpected format shown), check:

• The file is flagged as excluded from previews (if the goal was to prevent preview).
• The file is a HEIC/HEIF image under preview logic (historically, some browsers rendered these as named files before conversion completed).

Upload tips

• Keep resolution manageable: Very large HEIC images can lead to longer preview conversion times.
• Review lightbox strip: If a thumbnail seems wrong after a HEIC upload, the browser might still be loading a placeholder until conversion finishes.

Paste support

You can paste photos directly into comments and task descriptions. The system handles both HEIC/HEIF files and regular image formats in the same paste handler:

• HEIC/HEIF: Preserves the original and generates a JPEG preview
• JPEG/PNG/WebP: Downloads as-is

This gives you a single paste workflow whether you're uploading from Photos via copy-paste or dragging and dropping files.

Learn more about keyboard shortcuts for superhuman-style snippets in the Superhuman-Style Snippets documentation.

Handling blocked image hosts

New If your network or a firewall blocks the image server domain, attachments now retry through the app domain and display instead of staying broken.

How it works

• Images usually load directly from files.hypertask.app.
• When a request to files.hypertask.app fails (for example, due to network restrictions or a firewall), the app retries once through app.hypertask.ai.
• On successful retry, the image displays in comments, task descriptions, attachments, and the task detail lightbox.
• This happens automatically; no configuration is required on your side.
• Normal networks that can reach files.hypertask.app continue to load images straight from the image server, so performance is unchanged.

When this helps

This change helps users on restrictive networks (including some corporate Wi-Fi and VPNs) where:

• The image host is blocked, resulting in broken images or connection errors.
• You cannot easily unblock the domain.
• You don't have control over network policy.

Example scenario: A comment includes an image attachment, but your network blocks files.hypertask.app. Previously the image would appear broken. Now the app retries through app.hypertask.ai, and the image loads as expected.

Reloading for browsers that blocked images before

If you saw broken images on a previous visit and still use a network that blocks the image server:

• Refresh the ticket page and the attachments with retry behavior will load properly.
• After the initial load, the images are cached by your browser, so you should not need to re-enter restrictive network conditions to see them.

Learn more about keyboard shortcuts in the Keyboard Shortcuts documentation.

Resizing images on pages and ticket descriptions

You can manually adjust image size on pages and in ticket descriptions.

Auto-fit vs manual resize

• Auto-fit: Images without a saved size automatically adjust to fit the context (mobile, desktop layout, and container width).
• Manual resize: Drag the handle on any image to set a custom width. When you type text nearby and the edit is saved, the new size is persisted.

Persisted size

• After you drag an image's resize handle and see "Saved," the image's width is saved to that page or ticket description.
• Reloading the page or ticket keeps the image at the custom size instead of reverting to auto-fit.
• Using multiple sizes on the same page works as expected: each one stays where you set it.

Mobile experience

• On mobile, resized images still respect screen width and remain readable.
• Auto-fit images respond to pinch-to-zoom; resized images follow the set width.

Common use cases

• Bulleted lists with images: Size images consistently (e.g., 50% width) so they look uniform in lists.
• Diagrams on pages: Grow or shrink diagrams on a page to finer steps.
• Ticket descriptions: Include screenshots at a consistent scale along with typed text.

Learn more about creating pages in the Pages documentation.

Fix When uploading a file and immediately saving before the preview appears (for example with keyboard shortcuts or Save & new), the attachment now persists on the task instead of dropping.