How to Whitelist a File Extension

First, what does it mean to whitelist?

This is a practice commonly used in cybersecurity to ensure that you can reach a certain website or approve certain email addresses, domain names or applications while rejecting others. 

Why would I need to use it?

Because in today's society we have to be very careful to protect against cyber threats, and sometimes our efforts to protect ourselves and our networks can hinder our progress on a project. To change things in Virtus Flow, we may need to whitelist an extension to assure the system that, yes, this is indeed safe to use and the proper way to submit this.

How do I Whitelist a file extension in Virtus Flow?

What if you want to allow CVS and PDF files only? Follow the below steps to ensure your forms will be filled out according to your specifications.

Step 1: Select Files in Value Type

Step 2: Click on Show Advanced Column

Step 3: Select the files you want to Whitelist (by default, all are accepted)

Below, the CSV and PDF files are whitelisted.

Step 4: Upload Files

If the selected file extension is not whitelisted, an error appears and the file is not loaded

If the whitelisted file extension is used, the file is loaded correctly

The above method allows for multiple files extension types to be used in one Files field. Another option is to use the dedicated fields in Virtus Flow if you only need one type, for example, only PDF's. Follow the steps below to try!

Step 1: Choose your Field

Now, when a user attempts to upload a file of a different type, an error will appear. This works for any of the above file types, PDF, DOCX, or PDF.