Salesforce Tips

Why Salesforce Can't Report on Notes & Attachments (And What to Do About It)

If you've tried to build a Salesforce report that includes notes or attachments, you've probably hit a wall. The native Report Builder simply doesn't support it — and it's not a bug. It's a structural limitation.

Why the Report Builder Can't See Attachments

Notes & Attachments in Salesforce sit on a special object that can be linked to almost any other record type — accounts, contacts, cases, opportunities, and more. Because of this flexibility, Salesforce's standard report builder cannot create a clean, single report type for them. The relationship is too complex for the native tool to handle.

This means if you want to answer simple questions like:

• Which accounts have attachments?
• How many files are attached to open cases?
• What is the total file size across our opportunities?

…you're stuck — at least with native Salesforce tools.

The Old Workaround

Before apps like SFDC File Manager existed, admins would build custom objects to mirror the Notes & Attachments data, then run ETL jobs to copy the data across daily. It was messy, slow, and required constant maintenance. Duplicate data also consumed storage and created a confusing experience for users.

A Better Way: SFDC File Manager

SFDC File Manager is a native Salesforce app built specifically to solve this problem. It installs directly from AppExchange and runs entirely inside your org — your data never leaves Salesforce.

With it, you can:

• Run reports on files and attachments across any Salesforce object
• See file names, sizes, types, and linked records — all in one view
• Download files in bulk or export the report to CSV

No code, no custom objects, no ETL jobs. If your team has been struggling to get visibility into notes and attachments, check the full documentation or install SFDC File Manager and run your first report in minutes.