Prove Files Connect works
You are here if Files Connect might be enough on its own. Its published limits are stale. This page has you test the real ones.
For Salesforce admins, IT and security reviewers, and whoever signs off the budget.
Published by CloudFiles, who sell one of the alternatives to Files Connect. Every limit here is either quoted and dated, or tested in a sandbox and dated.
Do this now
Run five checks against Files Connect, in a sandbox if you have one. Write down exactly what works and what doesn't. That is the entire task.
Before you start
- You need View Setup and Configuration to open Files Connect setup.
- A sandbox org, or a low-risk record in production if you don't have one.
- Read access to whatever SharePoint site Files Connect points at.
- No admin change required to run the checks themselves.
How to test it
1. Read
Open a record with Files Connect configured. Confirm you can see and open a linked SharePoint file.
2. Search
From within Salesforce, search for a file by name. Confirm it actually finds it.
3. Write
Try to create or update a file from the Salesforce UI. Files Connect is documented as read-only here: confirm whether that's still true, and whether writes would have to route through the Chatter REST API instead.
4. Download size
Try a file over 50MB. Salesforce's own FAQ caps downloads there, attributed to a component (“Secure Agent”) retired on 1 October 2021. Confirm whether the cap still applies in practice rather than trusting the stale published number.
5. External access
If Experience Cloud or portal users need these files, confirm whether they can see them at all through Files Connect.
If your AI is connected to your Salesforce sandbox, ask it directly: “Open [record], list every Files Connect-linked file, attempt to open one, search for one, and upload one, and report exactly what succeeds, what fails, and any error message.” Log its answers against the checklist below.
What you found
| Operation | Salesforce's claim | What you found |
|---|---|---|
| Read a linked file | Supported | — |
| Search by name | Supported | — |
| Create or update from Salesforce | Not supported (Chatter REST API only) | — |
| Download over 50MB | Capped, per a stale FAQ | — |
| Experience Cloud access | Not documented | — |
Three or more failed checks is worth reading the guide's other routes.
When to re-test
Re-run these checks whenever Salesforce changes Files Connect, your SharePoint tenant changes, or before you rely on it for something new.
Where this stops
This page tests whether Files Connect works today. It does not decide your workload, and it does not pick a destination if Files Connect isn't enough: the three gates on the guide are where those get answered. CloudFiles sells one of the alternatives. The test itself needs nothing from us.
Check my working
Most readers will not need this. If the results left you unsure, send them and a person will read them.
- Report: written assessment, two to three working days.
- Reader: a person. Not a bot, not an auto-reply.
- Call: only if you ask. We won't ask twice.
- Fields: four. No phone, no company size, no mailing list.
That's with a person now.
You'll get a written assessment within two to three working days. No call unless you ask for one.