What is the maximum size of file attachments I can attach to a record?
Environment:
File Attachments, Mailboxes
Oracle B2C Service
Resolution:
File Attachments for Ask a Question Submittals and Administrative Records
A number of factors affect what size file attachments can be attached within your Oracle B2C Service application. This applies to files attached to your records from the administration pages, such as a staff member attaching a file to an incident, answer, or sales opportunity. This also applies to files attached to incidents that are submitted from the Ask a Question page and Chat.
The FATTACH_MAX_SIZE configuration setting specifies the maximum size in bytes of files which can be uploaded to the Oracle B2C Service Server. Maximum is 125829120 (120 MB). Default value for Oracle hosted mailboxes is 20971520 (20 MB) and the highest(server side limit) value is 30MB. However, several other variables also affect the maximum size. The FATTACH_MAX_SIZE is also used to restrict the size of a report being forwarded.
Path to setting(s): Select Configuration from the navigation area > Site Configuration > Configuration Settings > and search by Key.
All web servers supported by Oracle contain a time-out setting that terminates connections after a set period. All sites have this set to 5 minutes as a security precaution. In general, this time period has the biggest effect on the maximum allowed file attachment size. This is also applicable when attaching files for a service request in the Oracle B2C Service Support site.
With average bandwidth, most users can attach files of about 5.5 to 8 MB in 5 minutes. So, for all practical purposes, this is the limit. Keep in mind, circumstances exist when you would not be able to attach a 6 MB file to an incident -- primarily due to your connection speed to your Web server (or our hosting facilities if applicable). If a user is running via a modem or other slower connection, they might only be able to attach small files to an incident. Users with exceptionally high bandwidth, however, might be able to attach files larger than 8 MB. The maximum size file attachment you can submit through the end-user pages is constrained primarily by a 5 minute limit on submission time.
In addition, some networks and firewalls have limits on the file sizes that can be passed through a connection. In some cases this setting is the limiting factor in attachment size.
Sites which were originally created on versions older than August 2015 may require an adjustment to the PHP.INI file to reflect some large file attachment size settings. If you make changes to your attachment size, your site was created prior to August 2015, and your changes do not appear to be working please create a service request with support asking for an an adjustment to the PHP.INI file on our servers.
File Attachments for Email Submittals
File attachments arriving in your Oracle B2C Service site in emails are impacted by mail server allowance and mailbox configuration settings. For Oracle-managed mailboxes our mail servers accept emails up to a total size of 30 MB regardless of any settings within your site / mailbox. This 30 MB limit is firm and cannot be changed. Total email size depends on many factors, but even a simple HTML email with little email body content can be large enough to trigger a 30 MB size limit rejection with 24 MB of attachments. Emails with embedded images, even small images in signatures also contribute to email size. Because total email size depends on many factors we are unable to provide a specific limit just for the attached files. Emails rejected by mail servers have a bounce or reject message that includes "SMTP 552 size limit exceeded". The mail server is the first point of entry for emails into Oracle-managed mailboxes. Email accounts not hosted by Oracle may not have this same size limitation. Check with your mail administrator or provider for details in this case.
After the mail server, emails are then processed by techmail utility. At this point the following settings come into play:
- Configuration Setting FATTACH_MAX_SIZE, default is 20971520 (20 MB)
- Mailbox-specific Maximum Attachment Size, default is 5000000 (5 MB), instructions for setting this are in Answer ID 278: Allowing customers to include file attachments with their service requests
- If either of the above limitations are met the email body will be added to the incident thread, but any individual file in excess of these sizes will be discarded with a note, for example:
==================== application File Attachment ==================== filename.extension, 123456789 bytes, discarded: maximum attachment size exceeded
Accessing Files that Exceed the Maximum
For larger files that you want to attach to an answer or incident, consider storing your file on your web server. These files would be stored in a location along with the other pages for your corporate web site.
You can then use the URL for that file as either a link in an answer or provide the URL in a response to an incident to allow access to the file or document. This allows you to avoid the attachment size consideration. To use this method, work with your IT group or your webmaster to determine where the file should be stored and how to access it.
