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Error when attempting to upload attachment in Atlas- "Attachments can only be of type ..."

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Problem description

When I try to attach a PDF receipt/attachment to an RFP document, requisition or physical security work order (SEMO), I receive this error:

Attachments can only be of type jpg, txt, gif, pdf, png, tiff, or bmp.

I'm using Firefox as my web browser, and I know that the file I'm trying to upload is a PDF document. Why isn't the system allowing it?

Solution One - Use Internet Explorer or Safari to attach the file

  1. Obtain certificates for Internet Explorer (Windows) or Safari (Macintosh), using CertAid
  2. Use Internet Explorer or Safari to open the RFP, requisition or physical security work order.
    • For RFP's, open the RFP from your RFP Inbox
    • For requisitions, open from the Requisition Creator Inbox.

Solution Two - Delete one or more instances of Mozilla Firefox configuration file

Macintosh

  1. Close all Mozilla Firefox windows and quit Firefox.
  2. On the menu bar, at the top, select Go to reveal the drop-down menu and then hold down the Option key (marked ALT) and you will see the ~/Library folder appear. You may now select this ~/Library folder with your mouse or trackpad.
  3. Navigate to the Firefox profile directory for your user account. For Firefox 3.x and higher, the location should be
    Userhome > Library > Application Support > Firefox > Profiles > [randomstring].default.
  4. Open the folder for the profile name, which will be a random string of characters.
  5. Find and delete a file named mimeTypes.rdf or mimeTypes.
  6. Start Firefox.
    Result: Firefox will create a fresh mimeTypes.rdf file based on default values, and the uploads should now work.

Windows

Note that on Windows, mimeTypes.rdf configuration file can exist in one of the following locations:

%APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ 
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\Defaults\Profiles
C:\USERS\userid_000\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ (Windows 8)
C:\users\TEMP\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profile (Windows 7)

  1. Search for %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ 
  2. Open a folder named *.default, where * is a random string of characters.
  3. If you find a file named mimeTypes.rdf or mimeTypes, delete it.
  4. Navigate to C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\Defaults\Profile.
  5. If you find a file named mimeTypes.rdf or mimeTypes, delete it.
  6. Start Firefox.
    Result: Firefox will create a fresh mimeTypes.rdf file based on default values, and the uploads should now work.

Background information

  • Firefox sometimes reports the wrong file type when uploading a file to a web application.
  • This is a user-specific Firefox configuration problem.
  • The incorrect file-type is stored in a file called mimeTypes.rdf in the user's Firefox profile directory. It is not clear how this file gets corrupted, but it can associate file suffixes with the wrong mime types.

See Also

IS&T Contributions

Documentation and information provided by IS&T staff members


Last Modified:

August 06, 2020

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pdf pdf Delete
txt txt Delete
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faq-rfp faq-rfp Delete
receipt receipt Delete
rfp rfp Delete
c-atlas-campus c-atlas-campus Delete
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