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Label Element Value
Prospectus [Line Items] rr_ProspectusLineItems  
Document Type dei_DocumentType 485BPOS
Document Period End Date dei_DocumentPeriodEndDate Dec. 31, 2023
Entity Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName Putnam Investment Funds
Entity Central Index Key dei_EntityCentralIndexKey 0000932101
Entity Inv Company Type dei_EntityInvCompanyType N-1A
Amendment Flag dei_AmendmentFlag false
Putnam Small Cap Value Fund  
Prospectus [Line Items] rr_ProspectusLineItems  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading Fund summary
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Goal
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

Putnam Small Cap Value Fund seeks capital appreciation.

Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading Fees and expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

The following tables describe the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Putnam funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in How do I buy fund shares? beginning on page 14 of the fund’s prospectus, in the Appendix to the fund’s prospectus, and in How to buy shares beginning on page II-1 of the fund’s statement of additional information (SAI).

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] rr_ShareholderFeesCaption Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption Annual fund operating expenses (expenses you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The fund pays transaction-related costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when the fund’s shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or the above example, affect fund performance. The fund’s turnover rate in the most recent fiscal year was 83%.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 83.00%
Expense Breakpoint Discounts [Text] rr_ExpenseBreakpointDiscounts You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Putnam funds.
Expense Breakpoint, Minimum Investment Required [Amount] rr_ExpenseBreakpointMinimumInvestmentRequiredAmount $ 50,000
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

The following hypothetical example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. It assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then, except as indicated, redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. It assumes a 5% return on your investment each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Your actual costs may be higher or lower.

Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading Investments, risks, and performance
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Investments

We invest mainly in common stocks of small U.S. companies, with a focus on value stocks. Value stocks are issued by companies that we believe are currently undervalued by the market. If we are correct and other investors ultimately recognize the value of the company, the price of its stock may rise. Under normal circumstances, we invest at least 80% of the fund’s net assets in companies of a size similar to those in the Russell 2000 Value Index. This policy may be changed only after 60 days’ notice to shareholders. As of April 30, 2024, the index was composed of companies having market capitalizations of between approximately $13.6 million and $16.0 billion.

We may consider, among other factors, a company’s valuation, financial strength, growth potential, competitive position in its industry, projected future earnings, cash flows and dividends when deciding whether to buy or sell investments.

Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading Risks
Risk [Text Block] rr_RiskTextBlock

It is important to understand that you can lose money by investing in the fund.



 



The value of investments in the fund’s portfolio may fall or fail to rise over extended periods of time for a variety of reasons, including general economic, political or financial market conditions, investor sentiment and market perceptions, government actions, geopolitical events or changes, outbreaks of infectious illnesses or other widespread public health issues, and factors related to a specific issuer, geography, industry or sector. These and other factors may lead to increased volatility and reduced liquidity in the fund’s portfolio holdings, may negatively impact the fund’s performance, and may exacerbate other risks to which the fund is subject. Companies whose stocks we believe are undervalued by the market may have experienced adverse business developments or may be subject to special risks that have caused their stocks to be out of favor. Value stocks may fail to rebound, and the market may not favor value-style investing. These risks are generally greater for small and midsize companies. From time to time, the fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related industries or sectors, which would make the fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting those industries or sectors.

There is no guarantee that the investment techniques, analyses, or judgments that we apply in making investment decisions for the fund will produce the intended outcome or that the investments we select for the fund will perform as well as other securities that were not selected for the fund. We, or the fund’s other service providers, may experience disruptions or operating errors that could negatively impact the fund.

The fund may not achieve its goal, and it is not intended to be a complete investment program. An investment in the fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The performance information below gives some indication of the risks associated with an investment in the fund by showing the fund’s performance year to year and over time. The bar chart does not reflect the impact of sales charges. If it did, performance would be lower. Please remember that past performance is not necessarily an indication of future results. Monthly performance figures for the fund are available at putnam.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns The performance information below gives some indication of the risks associated with an investment in the fund by showing the fund’s performance year to year and over time.
Performance Availability Website Address [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress putnam.com
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture Please remember that past performance is not necessarily an indication of future results.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading Annual total returns for class A shares before sales charges
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text] rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads The bar chart does not reflect the impact of sales charges.
Year to Date Return, Label rr_YearToDateReturnLabel Year-to-date performance through
Bar Chart, Year to Date Return, Date rr_BarChartYearToDateReturnDate Mar. 31, 2024
Bar Chart, Year to Date Return rr_BarChartYearToDateReturn 1.93%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best calendar quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Dec. 31, 2020
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 34.11%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst calendar quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Mar. 31, 2020
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (40.59%)
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading Average annual total returns after sales charges (for periods ended 12/31/23)
Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate After-tax returns reflect the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect state and local taxes.
Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown.
Performance Table One Class of after Tax Shown [Text] rr_PerformanceTableOneClassOfAfterTaxShown After-tax returns are shown for class A shares only and will vary for other classes.
Performance Table Closing [Text Block] rr_PerformanceTableClosingTextBlock
Frank Russell Company is the source and owner of the trademarks, service marks and copyrights related to the Russell Indexes. Russell ® is a trademark of Frank Russell Company.
After-tax returns reflect the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are shown for class A shares only and will vary for other classes. These after-tax returns do not apply if you hold your fund shares through a 401(k) plan, an IRA, or another tax-advantaged arrangement.
Class B share performance reflects conversion to class A shares after six years.
Class C share performance reflects conversion to class A shares after eight years.
Putnam Small Cap Value Fund | Russell 2000 Value Index (no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)  
Prospectus [Line Items] rr_ProspectusLineItems  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 14.65%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 10.00%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 6.76%
Putnam Small Cap Value Fund | Class A  
Prospectus [Line Items] rr_ProspectusLineItems  
Maximum Sales Charge Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of Offering Price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice 5.75%
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (as a percentage) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther 1.00% [1]
Management Fees (as a percentage of Assets) rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.62%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.25%
Other Expenses (as a percentage of Assets): rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.31%
Expenses (as a percentage of Assets) rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.18%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 688
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 928
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 1,187
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 1,924
Annual Return 2014 rr_AnnualReturn2014 3.46%
Annual Return 2015 rr_AnnualReturn2015 (3.88%)
Annual Return 2016 rr_AnnualReturn2016 26.59%
Annual Return 2017 rr_AnnualReturn2017 7.91%
Annual Return 2018 rr_AnnualReturn2018 (19.81%)
Annual Return 2019 rr_AnnualReturn2019 23.92%
Annual Return 2020 rr_AnnualReturn2020 3.57%
Annual Return 2021 rr_AnnualReturn2021 39.50%
Annual Return 2022 rr_AnnualReturn2022 (13.35%)
Annual Return 2023 rr_AnnualReturn2023 23.55%
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 16.45%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 12.56%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 7.00%
Putnam Small Cap Value Fund | Class A | After Taxes on Distributions  
Prospectus [Line Items] rr_ProspectusLineItems  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 16.08%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 11.94%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 4.93%
Putnam Small Cap Value Fund | Class A | After Taxes on Distributions and Sales  
Prospectus [Line Items] rr_ProspectusLineItems  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 9.96%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 9.95%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 4.80%
Putnam Small Cap Value Fund | Class B  
Prospectus [Line Items] rr_ProspectusLineItems  
Maximum Sales Charge Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of Offering Price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (as a percentage) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther 5.00% [2]
Management Fees (as a percentage of Assets) rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.62%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 1.00%
Other Expenses (as a percentage of Assets): rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.31%
Expenses (as a percentage of Assets) rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.93%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 696
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 906
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 1,242
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 1,880
Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 196
Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 606
Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 1,042
Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 $ 1,880
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 17.65%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 12.82%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 7.14%
Putnam Small Cap Value Fund | Class C  
Prospectus [Line Items] rr_ProspectusLineItems  
Maximum Sales Charge Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of Offering Price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (as a percentage) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther 1.00% [3]
Management Fees (as a percentage of Assets) rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.62%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 1.00%
Other Expenses (as a percentage of Assets): rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.31%
Expenses (as a percentage of Assets) rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.93%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 296
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 606
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 1,042
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 2,059
Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 196
Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 606
Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 1,042
Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 $ 2,059
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 21.67%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 13.06%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 6.99%
Putnam Small Cap Value Fund | Class R  
Prospectus [Line Items] rr_ProspectusLineItems  
Maximum Sales Charge Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of Offering Price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (as a percentage) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther none
Management Fees (as a percentage of Assets) rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.62%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.50%
Other Expenses (as a percentage of Assets): rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.31%
Expenses (as a percentage of Assets) rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.43%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 146
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 452
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 782
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 1,713
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 23.29%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 13.64%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 7.37%
Putnam Small Cap Value Fund | Class R6  
Prospectus [Line Items] rr_ProspectusLineItems  
Maximum Sales Charge Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of Offering Price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (as a percentage) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther none
Management Fees (as a percentage of Assets) rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.62%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other Expenses (as a percentage of Assets): rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.16%
Expenses (as a percentage of Assets) rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.78%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 80
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 249
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 433
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 966
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 24.00%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 14.37%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 8.08%
Putnam Small Cap Value Fund | Class Y  
Prospectus [Line Items] rr_ProspectusLineItems  
Maximum Sales Charge Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of Offering Price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (as a percentage) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther none
Management Fees (as a percentage of Assets) rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.62%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other Expenses (as a percentage of Assets): rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.31%
Expenses (as a percentage of Assets) rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.93%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 95
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 296
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 515
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 1,143
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 23.78%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 14.16%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 7.90%
Putnam Small Cap Value Fund | Risk Lose Money [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items] rr_ProspectusLineItems  
Risk [Text Block] rr_RiskTextBlock It is important to understand that you can lose money by investing in the fund.
Putnam Small Cap Value Fund | Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items] rr_ProspectusLineItems  
Risk [Text Block] rr_RiskTextBlock An investment in the fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
[1] Applies only to certain redemptions of shares bought with no initial sales charge.
[2] This charge is phased out over six years.
[3] This charge is eliminated after one year.