Updating the attachment settings and URI schemes

BMC Helix Digital Workplace supports specific attachment file types and URI schemes. As an administrator, you can modify the attachment file types, attachment file size, and the URI schemes.

Based on the configured attachment and URI settings, end users can attach files and add links to service request questions that allow attachments and to the comments section of the service request.

In a multitenant environment, only the master tenant can configure the attachment limit and URI schemes, which is also applied to other tenants.

Attachments settings

The following settings are available for attachments:

Maximum number of attachments for comments
Maximum number of attachments for answers to service request questions
Allowed and restricted file types

Maximum number of attachments for comments

You can configure the maximum number of inline images and attachments that end users can add per comment for service requests, approval requests, and To-Dos. The configured number of attachments is applied for comments that are added in BMC Helix Digital Workplace.

By default, end users can add three inline images or attachments per comment. You can set this number from one to 20, which includes a combination of inline images and attachments.

Important

The attachments setting applies only for BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog native services because rich text formatting is enabled by default for comments to these services.
This configuration does not support incoming comments from BMC Helix Virtual Agent to BMC Helix Digital Workplace. The default limit for these comments is two inline images and one attachment.

Scenario of configuring maximum number of attachments for comments

Apex Limited has several HR-related services created in BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog. Allen, who is an administrator in Apex Global increases the maximum number of attachments to comments from the default of three to 15 to provide a better experience for the end users.

Britney requests a service for her domestic transfer from Houston to Austin. The agent Carl comments on the request that Britney should attach the following documents:

Manager's approval letter
HR executive's approval letter
Receiving manager's approval letter
Travel desk approval letter
Accommodation proof of Austin location.

Because of the updated maximum, Britney is able to attach all of the documents that Carl requested to a single comment.

Maximum number of attachments for answers to service request questions

You can configure the global setting for maximum number of attachments, which applies to all answers to all service questionnaires in your system or to a specific question, overriding the global setting. You can change the settings only for the BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog native services, which includes BMC Helix Business Workflows services.

By default, end users can add a maximum of three attachments to the answers to all service questionnaires. You can configure this number to up to 20 attachments.

Scenario of configuring global and question-specific number of attachments

Apex Limited has several services created in BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog for different lines of business. Most of these services have questions that need up to five attachments. Allen, the BMC Helix Digital Workplace administrator wants end users to be able to add a maximum of five attachments to these services. He increases the default number of three attachments to five attachments globally for all BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog native services.

Out of these services, there are two services that require a maximum of 10 attachments. Hannah, the BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog administrator increases the question-level maximum attachments to 10 so that it overrides the global setting of five.

Maximum file size

You can set the maximum permitted file size for all attachments that end users add with comments and service request questions.

Default value—5 MB

Allowed and restricted file types

The following file types are restricted by default:

.ade, .adp, .app, .application, .asp,
.bas, .bat, .cer,
.cgi, .chm, .cmd, .com, .cpl, .crt, .csh, .csr,
.dev, .dll, .drv,
.exe,
.fxp,
.gadget, .go,
.hlp, .hta, .htaccess, .htm, .html, .htpasswd,
.inf, .ins,
.isp, .jar, .js, .jse, .jsp,
.ksh,
.mdb, .mde, .mdt, .mdw, .msc, .msh1, .msh1xml, .msh2, .msh2xml, .mshxml, .msi, .msp, .mst,
.nk,
.ocx, .ops,
.pcd, .pcx, .php, .php2, .php3, .php4, .php5, .phps, .pht, .phtm, .phtml, .pif,
.pl, .prg, .ps1, .ps, .1xml, .ps2, .ps2xml, .psc1, .psc2, .py, .pyc,
.rar, .rb, .reg,
.scf, .scr, .sct, .sh, .shb, .shs, .shtml, .svg, .swf, .sys,
.tcl, .torrent,
.url, .vb, .vbe, .vbs, .vbscript, .vbx, .vxd,
.xhtm, .xhtml, .xml,
.wmf, .ws, .wsc, .wsf, .wsh, .wss,
.zip

The following file types are allowed by default:

.ai, .avi,
.bmp,
.csv,
.doc, .docx,
.gif,
.jpg, .jpeg,
.mp4, .msg,
.pdf, .ppt, .pptx, .psd, .png,
.rar,
.tif, .tiff, .txt,
.vsd, .vsdx,
.wmv,
.xls, .xlsx,
.zip,

Important

If BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog is unavailable, the custom attachment settings are saved only for BMC Helix Digital Workplace.

Supported URI schemes

By default, following URI schemes are supported:

Scheme	Description
http	HTTP resources
https	HTTP connections secured
ftp	FTP resources
sftp	SFTP file transfers
ftps	FTP over SSL
geo	Geographic locations
mailto	SMTP email addresses
mms	Windows streaming media
news	Usenet news groups or articles
nntp	Usenet news using NNTP
sip	Used with Session Initiation Protocol
sms	Short message service
smsto	Short message service to
ssh	SSH connections
tel	For telephone numbers
webcal	Calendars in iCalendar
wtai	Wireless Telephony Application Interface
xmpp	Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol

Before you begin

Make sure you complete the following actions before you change the attachment settings:

Action	Description
Set the attachment limit in Action Request System	When end users add attachments in the end-user console, the maximum attachment size limit set in Action Request System overrides the configuration in BMC Helix Digital Workplace. To learn how to set the limit inAction Request System, see the Max Attach Size parameter in Setting administrative options.
You want to modify the number of maximum attachments for comments	Make sure that you have BMC Helix Digital Workplace administrator permissions. Best practice: To avoid failing attachments, we recommend that the attachment limit set in BMC Helix Business Workflows matches with the attachment limit in BMC Helix Digital Workplace.
You want to modify the number of maximum attachments for service requests	Make sure that the fulfillments do not restrict the attachments. For more information, see Integrating-BMC-Helix-Digital-Workplace-Catalog-service-requests-with-BMC-Helix-ITSM-Smart-IT and Configuring-fulfillment-details-display-in-service-requests. Make sure that you have both - BMC Helix Digital Workplace administrator permissions.

To set the attachment settings

In the BMC Helix Digital Workplace Administration console, navigate to the Configuration tab.
In the left pane, click Attachments and Links and perform one of the following tasks:
To save the default attachment settings, click Save.

(Optional) To modify the default attachment settings, complete the fields specified in the following table:

Setting	Description
File type rules	No restrictions—Select if you want end users to be able to upload all attachment file types. Blocked list—Select to specify the list of unsupported file types. Allowed list—Select to specify the list of supported file types. If you select this option, the corresponding text field that lists the allowed attachment types cannot be empty.
File upload size (per attachment)	Default value—5 MB Valid value—up to 2097 MB Warning BMC recommends administrators use optimal attachment sizes for best system performance and to reduce overhead on the database storage. Configuring attachment size over 25 MB could lead to significant performance degradation. If you are a SaaS customer, refer to the attachment policy in Integrations in the BMC Helix Subscriber documentation.
Rich-text comment fields	Default value—3 Valid values—1 to 20 Warning: If you reduce the number from the default limit of three attachments and users in BMC integrated products such as BMC Helix Business Workflows, BMC Helix Virtual Agent, BMC Helix ITSM: Smart IT, or BMC Helix ITSM add more than the configured number of attachments to their comments, then the comment itself fails and is not received in BMC Helix Digital Workplace.
Default limit for attachment-type questions	Default value—3 Valid values—1 to 20 The changes apply globally for all services.

The following image shows an example of the modified attachments settings:

Click Save.

To modify the list of supported URI schemes

You can modify the list of supported URI schemes based on your security concerns.

In the BMC Helix Digital Workplace Admin console, navigate to the Configuration tab.
In the left pane, click Attachments & Links.
On the Links tab, edit the list of supported URI schemes.
Click Save.
(Optional) If you want to restore the default supported URI schemes list, select Reset to default > Save.

Result

The following image shows how end users can add the configured number of attachments to a service:

Result_10 attachments added.png

The following image shows how end users can add the configured number of attachments to a comment:

Example_attachments in comments.png

How attachments are displayed in BMC Helix ITSM

If an end user adds attachments to a service request that has a fulfilment in BMC Helix ITSM, then the attachments are displayed as follows:

Attachments added in response to questions—A work note is added to the fulfilment request with attachments in the format Attachment from Request Entry - <FILE_NAMES>, where <FILE_NAMES> is a comma-separated list of file names that are added as attachments to the work log. One work log is created for every 3 attachments.
Attachment added to comments—A comment is added in the format: Comment text: File names - comma separated list of attachments. Subsequent comments are added with comma-separated file names of the attachments. One Work Info is created for every 3 attachments.

The following image is an example of how attachments are displayed:

Troubleshooting

The following table describes the common errors and steps to overcome them:

Error	Steps to overcome
End users cannot attach files with the extension types that were added to the Allowed list and they receive the following error: The file is invalid because it is unsupported and/or may be damaged For example, the .cer extension is included in the Allowed list, but end users cannot attach the files with the .cer suffix.	BMC Helix Digital Workplace determines the file's extension based on its content, not by the extension indicated by the file's suffix. For example, an end user uploads a file with the .cer suffix, but BMC Helix Digital Workplace detects it as a .pem file based on the content. Then, BMC Helix Digital Workplace checks whether the .pem extension is included in the Allowed list, not the .cer extension. If the .pem extension is not included, the user can't attach this file. You must validate the file's actual extension based on its content, not by the extension indicated by the file's suffix: (Version 23.3.03 and later) To determine the file's actual extension, download the dwp.log file and search it for the modifiedRealFileExtensions detected by tika string based on the operation ID. For more information about working with logs, see Contents-of-the-logs and Configuring-logs-for-BMC-Helix-Digital-Workplace. Add the detected extension to the Allowed list.
End users are unable to attach the configured number of attachments to the comments.	Make sure that the service is a BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog native service. Check the configured limit of attachments. Check whether the end user has added inline images to the comment. The configured attachment number is a combination of inline images and attachments.
End users are unable to attach more than the default number of attachments to answers of attachment-type questions	Make sure that the service is a BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog native service. Make sure that the fulfillments do not restrict the maximum number of attachments. Make sure that the total file size limit does not supersede the maximum number of attachments setting.
End users are unable to attach more than the maximum number of files for attachment-type questions.	Verify that the question-specific attachment limit is set to override the global setting. For more information, see Adding-questions-to-a-questionnaire.