Member Avatar for andrewliu

Hello,

I have a problem between different browser.

I have a link that directs to a folder that is shared within a localhost server and it works find with internet explorer, but it doesnt work with chrome or mozilla.

<a href='\\Server\folder\'>Click Here</a>

That is a simple code I have set up. Its not supposed to direct to a weblink but a folder that is being shared.

In chrome, the link doesnt do anything when I click on it. In firefox, it just directs me to a website error. In internet explorer, it works.

How do I make it work for all browsers?

Thank you

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by tinymark

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The difference in behavior is not a bug in the markup. Internet Explorer historically lets pages hand off UNC/file paths into the Windows shell, while Chrome and Firefox block requests to local files from pages served over HTTP/HTTPS for security. That is why sees the link work in IE but do nothing or show an error in Chrome/Firefox.

UNC paths must be expressed as file URIs when used in HTML. For example:

<a href="file://myserver/share/Folder%20Name/">Open share</a>

Or, if the share is mapped to a drive letter on the client:

<a href="file:///Z:/Folder%20Name/">Open mapped drive</a>

Note: spaces must be percent-encoded (%20). The exact file-URI rules are defined in the spec (RFC 8089) and URIs use forward slashes, not backslashes. See RFC 8089 for the file-URI format: RFC 8089: The "file" URI Scheme.

Practical, cross-browser solutions that avoid relying on IE-specific behavior:

  • Expose the folder via HTTP/WebDAV on the server (serve an index or directory listing). Linking to an http:// or https:// URL will work in all browsers.
  • Create a small server-side script that lists and serves files from the share (PHP/Node/Python), then link to that script.
  • In tightly controlled intranets, deploy a client-side helper (protocol handler or browser extension) that opens file/smb links — this requires installation on every client and should be used only in managed environments.

Troubleshooting tips: paste a file://... URL directly into the browser address bar to test whether the client can reach the share; open the page locally via file:// to see whether the browser allows local-origin links; and remember that single vs. double quotes in the HTML attribute does not change browser security policy. was right that HTML quoting style is mostly cosmetic; was correct that Windows UNC syntax differs from URL form.

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Member Avatar for floatingDivs

Are you sure you didn't invert the slashes?

<a href="//Server/folder">Click Here</a>

Also, you should probably be using double-quotes instead of single-quotes.

Member Avatar for andrewliu

its different because i'm not passing in an actual web link, its a directory path in a folder.

Also, I don't see why the quotes would matter?

Member Avatar for floatingDivs

andrewliu,

Also, the double quotes are typically used for HTML and single quotes used for PHP when echoing (thus avoiding the hard-to-read backslash double-quote escape).

As for Firefox having problems, have you tried clearing your cache? Or maybe its IE than needs the cache clearing?

Member Avatar for andrewliu

Hmmm, i used the single quotes cause it was in php i had an echo "<a href='...


I will try that solution when I'm in the office. But if my code works for IE, it should work for other browsers right? I need to access a folder with a ahref link.

Member Avatar for tinymark

What is the server type 'nix or windows. This makes all the difference. If I need to mount any of my CIFS(samba shares) I use \\\\sharename\\folder with no trailing backslash. For windows I use \\sharename\folder. I hope this helps.

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