Content Type Field Is Not Populated When an Attachment Is Added in Salesforce Notes and Attachments

The Content Type field is a hidden field that gets populated by the browser during file upload. If the field is not populating, the browser may be passing the file through as octet/stream instead of its correct file type. When this happens, Salesforce sets the field to null.

Browser Developer Tools for Troubleshooting (Not Supported by Salesforce)

Several browser developer tools can be used to monitor this behavior. Note that these tools are not supported by Salesforce. Each browser uses a different tool:

• Internet Explorer: Use Http Analyzer.
• Firefox: Use Firebug.
• Chrome: No known dedicated tool, but the Java Console (Ctrl+Shift+J) may assist with troubleshooting.

File Types Manager can also be used to alter file type mappings if necessary.
Because browsers are constantly updated, it is best practice to reduce dependence on the Content Type field where possible. If this field is critical, your IT team can use one of the tools above for further troubleshooting.

Known Supported File Types

The following are some of the known supported file types in Salesforce. This list is not exhaustive — if a file type is not listed below, it does not mean it is unsupported.

• Documents: PDF, PPT, PPTX, PPTM, WORD, WORDX, WORDM, PPSX, EXCEL, EXCELX, EXCELM, RTF, TRTF, TEXT, VISIO, XML, TXML, CSV, EPS, DWG
• Images: BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG, PSD, TIFF, XPSD
• Audio/Video: AAC, AVI, FLASH, MPEG, MOV, MP3, MP4, M4V, MA4, WAV, WMV, ASF
• Web/Code: HTML, THTML, JS, CSS, XJS
• Archives/Other: ZIP, XZIP, JAR, EXE, WEBVIEW, RFC822, OPX