Overview
File tags are used to label documents in August, whether they belong to a student or a staff member. They control who can see a document, support bulk downloads and emergency exports, and can even manage a document's lifecycle through expiration dates and archiving.
Users with the sysadmin role can manage file tags for all teams in August from Instance Settings.
This article and the video below walk sysadmins through viewing, editing, and creating file tags, plus configuring expiration, parent portal access, and archiving rules.
Why use file tags?
Control document visibility: decide exactly which roles, including external roles like parents, can see a document.
Simplify compliance tracking: set automatic expiration dates so time-sensitive documents (like physicals) are flagged when they lapse.
Give parents self-service access: let guardians view, and optionally update, documents through the portal.
Keep your files organized: bulk-archive old documents on a schedule instead of managing them one by one.
Where to find file tags
Go to Settings → Instance Settings → File Tags.
You'll see the default list of file tags available to your instance. Scroll right on the table to see all available columns.
Understanding the file tag table
Field | What it does |
Name | The label used to identify the file tag on documents. |
Type | Whether the tag applies to a student document or a person (staff) document. |
Roles with access | Which internal August roles can see documents uploaded with this tag. |
Person roles | External visibility, meaning which roles (teachers, faculty, coaches) can see documents with this tag assigned. |
Editing a file tag
Click the edit button next to the file tag you want to update.
Update the name of the tag if needed.
Update the type of tag: student or person.
Adjust which user roles have visibility to the tag.
Adjust which external or faculty roles have access to the tag.
Setting an automatic expiration date
If a document type has a known validity period, you can have August calculate its expiration date automatically.
Turn on the expiration date calculation option.
Enter how much time should pass after the document's date before it expires.
(Example: physicals are valid for 12 months, so you'd set the expiration calculation to 12 months after the document's date.)
Enabling parent portal access
Check the box to make this file tag visible to parents in the portal.
If you check this box, a new option appears letting you decide whether guardians can upload new versions of the document, or only view it.
(Example: an annual physical file tag might allow parents to upload a new physical each year, while a learning plan file tag might be view-only.)
When this is enabled, parents can click into the document from the portal to see the upload date, the document's date, and its expiration date. If uploads are allowed, they'll also see an upload button to submit a new version. More information on this feature can be found by clicking the link below.
Setting up bulk archiving
You can automatically move documents from current to archived files after a set period, using one of two methods.
Method 1: Relative to the document Archive documents a set amount of time after their upload date or expiration date.
(Example: 12 months after the document was uploaded, or 1 month after it expires.)
Method 2: Fixed calendar date Archive any document with this tag that was uploaded before a specific date.
(Example: any document uploaded before April 30, 2025, with this file tag assigned, will be archived.)
💡 Tip: Archiving runs on a nightly basis. If you set a future date, the archiving will happen that evening.
Saving your changes
Click Confirm to save all settings for the file tag. Any documents matching your archive rules will move from current to archived files.
Restoring an archived file tag
If you need to bring back a file tag from the archived list, click the restore (unarchive) button next to it.
Adding a new file tag
Click Add New.
Fill in all the same fields available during editing: name, type, role visibility, expiration rules, parent portal access, and archiving rules.
Click Confirm.
After you refresh your browser, the new file tag will be available to every team with visibility into that file tag option.
Best Practices & Tips
Set expiration rules for time-sensitive documents so nothing falls through the cracks, especially for compliance items like physicals.
Only enable parent uploads when necessary. Keep view-only access for documents that shouldn't be edited, like learning plans.
Use calendar-based archiving for one-time cleanups, and relative archiving for ongoing, recurring document types.