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
- Obtain certificates for Internet Explorer (Windows) or Safari (Macintosh), using CertAid
- 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
- Close all Mozilla Firefox windows and quit Firefox.
- 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.
- 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. - Open the folder for the profile name, which will be a random string of characters.
- Find and delete a file named mimeTypes.rdf or mimeTypes.
- 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)
- Search for %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\
- Open a folder named *.default, where * is a random string of characters.
- If you find a file named mimeTypes.rdf or mimeTypes, delete it.
- Navigate to C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\Defaults\Profile.
- If you find a file named mimeTypes.rdf or mimeTypes, delete it.
- 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.