diff --git a/modules/helpdesk/pages/helpdesk/ticket-file-data().php b/modules/helpdesk/pages/helpdesk/ticket-file-data().php
index e4f54aa..8895bc5 100644
--- a/modules/helpdesk/pages/helpdesk/ticket-file-data().php
+++ b/modules/helpdesk/pages/helpdesk/ticket-file-data().php
@@ -79,21 +79,47 @@ if (strlen($data) > $maxFileSize) {
     return;
 }
 
-// Ensure filename has an extension — derive from content if missing
+// Detect file type from magic bytes
+$detectedType = match (true) {
+    str_starts_with($data, "\x89PNG") => ['image/png', '.png'],
+    str_starts_with($data, "\xFF\xD8\xFF") => ['image/jpeg', '.jpg'],
+    str_starts_with($data, "GIF8") => ['image/gif', '.gif'],
+    str_starts_with($data, "%PDF") => ['application/pdf', '.pdf'],
+    str_starts_with($data, "PK\x03\x04") => ['application/zip', '.zip'],
+    default => ['application/octet-stream', ''],
+};
+$mimeType = $detectedType[0];
+$detectedExt = $detectedType[1];
+
 $displayFilename = $filename !== '' ? $filename : 'attachment-' . $entryNo;
 if (!str_contains($displayFilename, '.')) {
-    $ext = match (true) {
-        str_starts_with($data, "\x89PNG") => '.png',
-        str_starts_with($data, "\xFF\xD8\xFF") => '.jpg',
-        str_starts_with($data, "GIF8") => '.gif',
-        str_starts_with($data, "%PDF") => '.pdf',
-        str_starts_with($data, "PK\x03\x04") => '.zip',
-        default => '',
-    };
-    $displayFilename .= $ext;
+    $displayFilename .= $detectedExt;
 }
 
+$inline = trim((string) $request->query('inline', '')) === '1';
+$isImage = str_starts_with($mimeType, 'image/');
+
 header('X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff');
 header('Content-Security-Policy: sandbox');
 
+// For inline image requests, serve with correct MIME type
+if ($inline && $isImage) {
+    header('Content-Type: ' . $mimeType);
+    header('Content-Disposition: inline; filename="' . addcslashes($displayFilename, '"\\') . '"');
+    header('Content-Length: ' . strlen($data));
+    header('Cache-Control: private, max-age=3600');
+
+    while (ob_get_level()) {
+        ob_end_clean();
+    }
+
+    $stream = fopen('php://memory', 'r+');
+    fwrite($stream, $data);
+    rewind($stream);
+    fpassthru($stream);
+    fclose($stream);
+
+    return;
+}
+
 Router::download($displayFilename, $data);
diff --git a/modules/helpdesk/web/js/helpdesk-communication.js b/modules/helpdesk/web/js/helpdesk-communication.js
index 8df1813..e044a98 100644
--- a/modules/helpdesk/web/js/helpdesk-communication.js
+++ b/modules/helpdesk/web/js/helpdesk-communication.js
@@ -119,18 +119,14 @@ export function renderCommunicationFeed(entries, options = {}) {
     if (typeVariant === 'file' && fileDownloadUrl && entry.file_entry_no) {
       const fileName = entry.file_name || 'attachment';
       const fileUrl = fileDownloadUrl + '?entryNo=' + encodeURIComponent(entry.file_entry_no) + '&ticketNo=' + encodeURIComponent(ticketNo) + '&filename=' + encodeURIComponent(fileName);
-      const ext = fileName.includes('.') ? fileName.split('.').pop().toLowerCase() : '';
-      const imageExts = ['jpg', 'jpeg', 'png', 'gif', 'bmp'];
-      const isImage = imageExts.includes(ext);
+      const imgUrl = fileUrl + '&inline=1';
 
       html += `<li class="helpdesk-chat-row helpdesk-chat-row--activity" data-variant="file">`;
       html += `<div class="helpdesk-chat-activity helpdesk-chat-file" data-variant="file">`;
       html += `<span class="helpdesk-chat-activity-pill">${esc(actor)} ${esc(t('attached a file'))}`;
       if (timeLabel) html += ` ${esc(t('on'))} ${esc(timeLabel)}`;
       html += `</span>`;
-      if (isImage) {
-        html += `<a href="${esc(fileUrl)}" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="helpdesk-chat-file-preview" aria-label="${esc(fileName)}"><img src="${esc(fileUrl)}" alt="${esc(fileName)}" loading="lazy"></a>`;
-      }
+      html += `<a href="${esc(fileUrl)}" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="helpdesk-chat-file-preview" aria-label="${esc(fileName)}"><img src="${esc(imgUrl)}" alt="${esc(fileName)}" loading="lazy" onerror="this.parentElement.hidden=true"></a>`;
       html += `<a href="${esc(fileUrl)}" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="helpdesk-chat-file-link"><i class="bi bi-download" aria-hidden="true"></i> ${esc(fileName)}</a>`;
       html += '</div>';
       html += '</li>';