Report & Publishing Issues
Troubleshoot publish warnings, generation locks, and clients not receiving reports.
Overview
This page covers common problems when publishing or sharing an inspection report. For the normal publishing flow, see Writing a Report.
Can't Publish, or Publish Warns Me About Something
The Publish Report checklist flags a few things before you publish:
- A missing cover image
- Items missing a required rating or comment (set per-item by the template's Validation Rules)
- Photos that haven't finished uploading
Warnings can be overridden
These are warnings, not hard blocks — you can confirm and publish anyway once you've reviewed them.
A Photo Upload Fails With "Invalid Format"
The dashboard accepts JPEG, PNG, and WebP photos (MP4 or QuickTime for video). HEIC photos — the default format on newer iPhones — aren't supported and are rejected right away, naming the file. See Working with Photos for how to switch your iPhone's camera format or export a photo as JPEG before uploading it.
Publish Says Uploads Are Paused or Waiting for Wi-Fi (Mobile)
Mobile app only
This applies only to the mobile app, where uploads can be paused or held back until you're on Wi-Fi — see Working with Photos for how those controls work.
If you paused uploads, or turned off Upload over cellular while on mobile data, publishing offers a Resume and continue (or Allow cellular and continue) button right in the alert. Tap it and the app resumes uploads and finishes generating the report in one step — you don't need to go fix it separately and try publishing again.
Publish Is Blocked on the Free Plan
On the Free plan, publishing stops once you've reached your published-report limit. Upgrade your plan, or wait for your billing cycle to reset, to publish again.
The Editor Is Locked With "Report Generation in Progress"
A report generation in progress locks the editor so it doesn't get out of sync with what's being generated. If generation gets stuck, the lock clears itself automatically after about 16 minutes — wait it out, then retry publishing. The toolbar button then turns red; click it (Publish, or Republish for a report that was already published) to open the checklist again.
A Client Says They Can't View the Report
Check SettingsPreferences for these two toggles:
- Block report for unpaid orders — hides the report until the client pays their invoice
- Block report for unsigned agreements — hides the report until the agreement is signed
If either is on, check the Order's invoice and agreement status — the client won't be able to view the report until both are cleared.
A Client Never Received the Report Email
If you've created a custom Report Published automation, it replaces the system's default report-delivery email entirely — it doesn't run alongside it.
Check that your automation:
- Is active
- Doesn't have a long delay before sending
- Includes a report link merge tag (
*|REPORT_LINK_PDF|*or*|WEB_REPORT_LINK|*)
Without a report link tag, the client receives your email but no way to open the report. See Report Delivery Notifications for the full setup.