How to adjust the maximum allowable size of an attachment to a record

The default maximum size limit for an attachment file that can be added to a record on the Now platform is 1024 MB for a new out-of-box instance. However, this limit can be adjusted in the system to allow for larger maximum attachment sizes or decrease the maximum size of an attachment allowed on the system.

If a user does exceed the currently set limit for the maximum attachment size for a specific attachment, the attachment will not be uploaded to the instance and the following error message will be displayed, indicating that the attachment was not added to the record:

Large attachments can sometimes cause performance issues on the system and unnecessarily bloat the size of the database. Some administrators may opt to decrease the maximum allowable size of a specific file attachment. Alternatively, you may find that, for your business, the current setting (by default 1024 MB) is not large enough and you need to increase this size.

The following procedure can be used to change the maximum allowable size for an attachment uploaded to the system:

1. Log in to the instance with an admin account
2. Using the Navigator, browse to System Properties > Security.
   
   The Security Properties page for the instance will appear.  Locate the property on the page with the heading "Maximum file attachment size in megabytes". In this field, you can change the maximum allowed attachment size (in MB).
   
   
   
   
3. Save.
   • The change will be reflected immediately on the instance.
4. If the field is left blank (no value) the default limit (currently set at 1 GB) will be used as the maximum attachment file size.

Note that this value is actually stored as a System Properties (sys_properties) record on the instance. An alternative method of modifying this value would be to open the sys_property record with the name com.glide.attachment.max_size directly, adjusting the value as needed and saving the property record.

Also, note that the email system has its own system properties that govern the maximum size limit for files attached to emails. However, the global setting (as described in this article) will override the setting specific to the email system if this global setting is lower than that given for the email system.

On the user end, providing that .zip files are enabled as attachment file types, compressing a file can often help drastically decrease the size of a file before being added to a record on the system. This should often help bring the total size of the download below the maximum size as specified on the instance.

Related articles:
Configure attachment system properties
Email body/attachment size limit system properties