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Attachments Uploaded in Salesforce Classic Are Not Searchable in Lightning Experience — How to Migrate to Salesforce Files

Data pubblicazione: Jul 7, 2026
Descrizione

In Salesforce, Attachments and Files are two separate features. Attachments are the legacy document storage method used in Salesforce Classic. Salesforce Files is the modern, more robust replacement introduced with Lightning Experience.
When you search for a document in Salesforce Lightning Experience that was originally uploaded as an Attachment in Salesforce Classic, the document does not appear in Lightning search results. This is expected behavior because Attachments are deprecated in Lightning Experience and are not indexed for search within the Lightning interface.
Key distinctions:

  • Attachments — Legacy feature, fully supported in Salesforce Classic. Not returned in Lightning Experience global search results.
  • Salesforce Files — Modern feature, fully supported in Lightning Experience. Returned in Lightning search results.

Note: The Attachments discussed in this article refer to files that have been manually uploaded to records via the Attachments related list, not email attachments from Email-to-Case.


Risoluzione

Viewing Legacy Attachments in Lightning Experience

Lightning Experience users can still view legacy Attachments on individual records, even though Attachments do not appear in Lightning global search results. To view them:

  1. Navigate to the specific record where the Attachment was uploaded.
  2. Scroll to the Attachments related list on the record page (you may need to add this related list to the page layout if it is not visible).
  3. The Attachment will be listed there and can be downloaded.

Enabling Files Upload for Future Attachments (Recommended)

For organizations that have users in both Lightning Experience and Salesforce Classic, Salesforce recommends enabling the setting: "Files uploaded to the Attachments related list on records are uploaded as Salesforce Files, not as attachments."
Enabling this setting ensures that any new files added to records are uploaded as Salesforce Files, making them searchable in Lightning Experience going forward.
Steps to enable:

  1. Go to Setup > Salesforce Files Settings (or search for "Files Settings" in Quick Find).
  2. Check Files uploaded to the Attachments related list on records are uploaded as Salesforce Files, not as attachments.
  3. Click Save.

Important: This setting only applies to files uploaded after it is enabled. Files uploaded as Attachments before enabling this setting remain as legacy Attachments.

Finding Attachments Uploaded Before Enabling the Files Setting

To locate Attachments that were added before enabling the Files setting, users need to temporarily switch to Salesforce Classic and search there:

  1. Click your user avatar and select Switch to Salesforce Classic.
  2. Use the search bar in Classic to find the Attachment by name or related record.
  3. Download or copy the Attachment as needed.

Attachments from Email-to-Case

For attachments received through the Email-to-Case feature specifically, see the related article: Attachments in Email-to-Case Not Getting Attached to the Created Case Record.

Numero articolo Knowledge

000382146

 
Caricamento
Salesforce Help | Article