Using the Desktop Application

Learn how to upload, scan, clean, and export documents using the Draftable Clean desktop application on Windows.

Part 1: Desktop application

Cleaning your first document (desktop)

Open Draftable Clean to see the main application window with the toolbar across the top.

The toolbar follows three key steps:

• Upload — Browse, iManage, NetDocs, SharePoint
• Clean — Clean, Undo
• Export — Save, Bundle, Email

1. UPLOAD: Add files to Draftable Clean by clicking Browse to select documents from a local folder, iManage, NetDocs, or SharePoint to upload from your document management system, or by dragging and dropping files directly into the application window.

   As of v26.9.0, the Browse dialog opens with the Compatible Files filter selected, so it shows only the file types Draftable Clean can scan and clean. If a file you are looking for is not listed, change the filter in the bottom-right of the dialog — All Files is still available at the end of the list.

   

   

   You can select multiple files at once. Draftable Clean handles all supported file types simultaneously.

   If an iManage, NetDocs, or SharePoint button is not visible, you may need to enable the integration in Settings > Integrations. See Troubleshooting: DMS integrations for help.

   SharePoint covers both SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business. Sign in with a Microsoft work or school account under Settings > Integrations before using it for the first time.

2. CLEAN: Once uploaded, files are automatically scanned and assigned a risk rating. When you are ready, click Clean in the toolbar. All selected files are cleaned and their status changes to CLEANED.

   
3. EXPORT: Save or share your cleaned files from the toolbar.

   • Save — Save cleaned files to disk (packaged into a compressed ZIP folder with a timestamped filename) or back to your document management system (iManage, NetDocuments, or SharePoint).
   • Bundle — Combines the selected files into a single PDF or ZIP. Added in v26.9.0 — see Bundling files into a single PDF or ZIP below.
   • Email — Opens a new Outlook message with your cleaned files pre-attached. Draftable Clean preserves file order and any filenames you have renamed. As of v26.7.0, the subject and body are left blank unless a default has been configured — see Configuring email defaults below.

   

   When saving to a DMS (iManage, NetDocuments, or SharePoint), you can choose how your cleaned files are written back:

   • Save (one by one) — Select where you would like each file to be saved individually.
   • Save all to folder — Select a folder to save all cleaned files into as new files.

   Both options are available for iManage, NetDocuments, and SharePoint. When saving to iManage, if the file was originally uploaded from iManage you also have the option to save as a new version of the original document.

   Saving as a new version to NetDocuments or SharePoint:

   • NetDocuments — Select Save (one by one) and tick the Save as new version box when each file’s dialog box appears.
   • SharePoint — Save the file into the destination folder using the same name as the existing file. For example, saving document.docx into a folder that already contains document.docx saves it as a new version; using a different name saves it as a new file.

   NetDocuments assigns an NdDocumentId custom property to documents it stores. Draftable Clean detects and removes that property when you clean the file. When you save the cleaned file back to NetDocuments, NetDocuments writes NdDocumentId on again. That is expected NetDocuments behaviour, not a cleaning failure.

   When you save several files at once, Draftable Clean shows the progress of the save and which document management system each file is being written to.

   If any files cannot be saved, they are listed with the reason once the save finishes. For example, a file that did not originate in iManage cannot be saved as a new version there, so it is reported as skipped rather than failing the whole batch. If you cancel part way through, the files already saved are kept and the summary tells you how many completed.

   

Bundling files into a single PDF or ZIP

Bundling was added in v26.9.0.

Select the files you want to combine, then click Bundle in the toolbar:

• Create PDF bundle — Combines the selected files into one PDF. Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files are converted to PDF as part of the process, so a mixed set of documents still produces a single continuous PDF. The result appears in the file list as PDF bundle.pdf.
• Create ZIP bundle — Packs the selected files into a single ZIP archive, which also appears in the file list, named cleaned-files- followed by today’s date.

The Bundle button becomes available once your files have been cleaned.

Each bundle is added to the file list as a new entry with a BUNDLED status. Bundles behave like any other file once created: you can rename them, clean them, and save or email them.

If any selected file cannot be added — because it is locked behind a password, cannot be read, or fails to convert — no bundle is created at all, and Draftable Clean names the files that caused the problem. A bundle is never produced with files quietly missing from it. Resolve the listed files, or deselect them, and create the bundle again.

PDF bundle options

The Bundle menu also carries the options that apply to PDF bundles:

• Include front-of-bundle index — Adds a table-of-contents page at the start of the bundle, listing each combined file and the page it starts on. On by default.
• Add file bookmarks — Adds a PDF bookmark for each file, so you can jump between documents in your PDF reader. On by default.
• Overlay page numbers — Stamps continuous page numbers across the bundle. Off by default. When enabled, the Format and Position controls below it become available.

Format offers four presets, each previewed as it would appear on a single-page bundle:

Format	Appears as
1	The page number on its own
1 / 1	Page number and total, separated by a slash
Page 1	The word “Page” and the page number
Page 1 of 1	The default

Position places the number at the Left, Center, or Right of the footer. Right is the default.

If your administrator has set a page number format by policy that is not one of the four presets, it appears in the list as a Custom entry so the dropdown still shows the value actually in use.

Page numbers are stamped alongside any numbering already in the source documents. Draftable Clean does not remove or renumber the original page numbers.

Administrators can set these defaults for an organization, and prevent them from being changed. If an option is greyed out, it has been set by policy — see Configuring preferences with Group Policy.

Configuring email defaults

In Settings > General, you can prepare defaults for emails sent from the desktop application:

• Email subject — The default subject line
• Email body — The default body text
• Attachment summary — Whether a List (bullet points) or Table (with columns) of attachments is inserted into the email body

If no subject or body default is set, prepared emails open blank so you can write your own. Earlier versions inserted a “Cleaned Document” subject automatically. Administrators can configure these defaults centrally for an organisation — see Configuring preferences for your organisation.

Password-protected files

If a file shows a PASSWORD status (highlighted in orange), it is password-protected and cannot be scanned until you provide the password. A Password Required prompt appears automatically below the file with a password field.

Enter the file’s password — you can use the eye icon to toggle visibility — and click Check Password.

If the password is correct, the file is scanned and its status changes to SCANNED with a risk rating, just like your other files.

If the password is incorrect, a Password Invalid message is displayed. Re-enter the correct password and click Check Password again. See Troubleshooting: Cleaning issues for further help.

Password-protected files don’t block the rest of your workflow. You can continue scanning, renaming, reordering, and cleaning other files while a password-protected file awaits authentication.

Reviewing metadata in files

Click the expand arrow (>) on any file to see a detailed breakdown of its metadata. Metadata is grouped into categories — such as Document Properties, Personal Information, Tracked Changes & Comments, and more — each with their own item count and risk level.

After cleaning, expand a file again to see exactly which metadata fields were removed. Each field displays a REMOVED badge, so you have full visibility into what was stripped from the document.

Searching metadata in files

Use the search bar above the file list to find specific metadata across all loaded files. This helps you locate particular fields — such as author names or tracked changes — before you clean or export.

Renaming and reordering files

Rename and reorder files directly in the file list before cleaning:

• Rename — Click the pencil icon next to a file name to edit it inline. Press Enter or click away to confirm.

• Reorder — Drag files up or down in the list to change the attachment order.

Renamed filenames and custom ordering are preserved when you save or email cleaned files from the desktop application.

File name rules. As of v26.9.0, the rename editor rejects names Windows does not allow and tells you why before you confirm. A file name cannot contain any of these characters: \ / : * ? " < > |. Windows reserved device names — CON, PRN, AUX, NUL, COM1 to COM9, and LPT1 to LPT9 — cannot be used either.

In earlier versions, typing a / in a name could result in everything before the slash being dropped when the file was saved.

Converting to PDF

Before cleaning, you can optionally flag supported files for conversion to PDF. Click the PDF icon inline with a file to flag it — the icon turns blue when flagged. Alternatively, select one or more files and click Convert in the toolbar to flag them for conversion. Flagged files are converted when you click Clean. You can flag or unflag files for conversion before or after cleaning.

Supported files flagged for conversion are converted to PDF alongside metadata removal when you click Clean.