Finding out document type for a stored file.

Hi all, I am trying to find out what the mime type is for files that are stored on my webserver, so I can convert the contents into a database. Basically, if it is in 'text/richtext' format I want to run one routine, if it's in 'application/msword' format another routine, and everything else another. I can retrieve this fine when a user uploads a file to the server, by using the '<input type=file name=userfile>' command ($userfile_type), but I am stuck when retrieving the file from the server. All I can think of is to 're-upload' the file, but there must be a more efficient way. Any help would be most appreciated. Many thanks Alexis