Files show up on records through the Files related list. On most modern Lightning record pages it appears by default, but on custom or older layouts you may need to add it and tune how sharing behaves. Here is how to surface Files on a record and control who can do what.
- Open the Lightning record page or page layout
From Setup or the gear menu on the object, edit the Lightning record page in the App Builder, or open the classic page layout for the object whose records should show Files.
- Add the Files related list
In the App Builder, drop a Related List Single or Related Lists component and choose Files, or in a page layout add the Files related list under Related Lists. Save and activate the page.
- Upload and attach a File
On a record, use the Files related list or drag a file onto the page. The upload creates a ContentDocument and a first ContentVersion, and a ContentDocumentLink ties it to that record.
- Set the sharing level
Use the Share option on the File to add people, groups, or other records, and pick Viewer or Collaborator. For external surfacing instead of upload, configure Files Connect through an external data source.
The Lightning component that displays Files linked to the current record and lets users upload, preview, and download them in place.
Controls whether someone can only view and download a File or can also edit it and upload new versions.
Determines whether the File is available to all users or limited to internal users, which matters for Experience Cloud and external sharing.
Grants a group of users access to a whole body of files at once, independent of record level sharing.
- Files do not inherit record sharing automatically. Without a ContentDocumentLink or library access, a user cannot see the File even if they can see the record.
- The Notes and Attachments related list is the legacy one. Add the Files related list, not Notes and Attachments, for modern file behavior.
- Image-only or scanned PDFs are not indexed for content search unless OCR has added a real text layer.
- Files count against File Storage, not Data Storage, so large media can exhaust file storage long before data storage fills.