---
template: "page.peb"
title: "Read Salesforce File Skill"
description: "Use the Read Salesforce File skill to let an iDialogue agent read Salesforce ContentVersion files as semantic markdown or exact editable text source."
displayName: "Read Salesforce File Skill"
category: "skills"
contentType: "reference"
audience: "admin"
tags: "skills,read-salesforce-file,files,contentversion,document-processing,agents,salesforce"
section: "skills"
seoTitle: "Read Salesforce File Skill"
seoDescription: "Learn how Salesforce admins can use the Read Salesforce File skill to let custom agents inspect, summarize, extract from, or read exact source from Salesforce Files."
---

# Read Salesforce File

Add the Read Salesforce File skill to let an iDialogue Agent read a Salesforce `ContentVersion`. The skill supports one admin-facing read flow with three modes:

| Mode | Use For | Returned Body |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `auto` | Default agent behavior | Exactly one representation chosen by file type |
| `semantic` | Summaries, extraction, Q&A, document review | `file.md`, created just in time and cached |
| `source` | Exact editable source for text-like files | Decoded `VersionData`, cached as `source.{ext}` |

The tool always updates `file.meta.json` with ContentVersion metadata, detected content type, artifact keys, checksum values, charset, and the mode used.

## How Auto Mode Chooses

`auto` returns only one body. It uses `source` for text-like web, code, data, and template files. It uses `semantic` for binary or document formats such as PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and images.

Agents can call a second mode only when the user task genuinely needs both exact source and semantic document understanding.

## Source Mode File Types

Use `source` mode for exact text source such as:

| Category | Extensions |
| --- | --- |
| Web | `.html`, `.htm`, `.css`, `.svg` |
| Code | `.js`, `.mjs`, `.cjs`, `.ts`, `.tsx`, `.jsx` |
| Data | `.json`, `.xml`, `.csv`, `.tsv`, `.yaml`, `.yml` |
| Markdown and text | `.md`, `.markdown`, `.txt`, `.text` |
| Templates | `.peb`, `.njk`, `.liquid` |

Do not use semantic markdown as the source for writing HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JSON, XML, SVG, template, or other source files. Use `source` mode first so the update is based on exact decoded file text.

## Semantic Mode

Use `semantic` mode when the agent needs to understand or extract information from a document. The tool creates or reuses `file.md`.

For most document formats, the semantic artifact is produced through OpenAI file processing. Excel files are extracted locally so agents see evaluated worksheet values rather than formula text.

## Related Skill

Use `create_salesforce_file` when the agent needs to create a brand-new text-like Salesforce File.

Use `update_salesforce_file` when the agent needs to save a full updated text source body back to Salesforce. That creates a new immutable `ContentVersion` for the same `ContentDocument`.