How do we link to Windows Explorer folders?

Question

For instance, I'd like users to have the option to click on a link inside Confluence (on our server version) and go to a windows explorer location (&/or file). The following being one example.  C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14

I've searched for 'linking' in the user guide (Confluence_5-6-0_CompleteGuide_PDF_CONF56-050914-0441-4..pdf) but may have missed something.

Davin Studer · Answer

To link to a shared folder you use this format. Keep in mind this will ONLY work with Internet Explorer by default as it is the only browser that supports the file protocol out of the box. You can get extensions for Chrome and Firefox that will enable the file protocol.

file://///server/path/to/document.doc

Yes, you need five slashes at the front. The protocol is "file:///" ... with three(not two)slashes. The next two slashes are the beginning of the UNC path.

Firefox extension
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/noscript/?src=search
(In the extension options on the Advanced tab->Trusted tab ->Allow local links

Chrome Extension
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/locallinks/fkkidcgelfcjmebocoaicnelkbnpgpmm

Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Answer

You need to start by thinking about how you are presenting these links.

A basic c:\directory will only ever open the local directory on the user's machine, and the way to enable that as a "link" is entirely down to the browser on the user's machine.  And not of much use because each machine is different.  Most importantly, I don't think it's what you mean.

I suspect you've got shared directories on a server somewhere.  The question about linking to them now becomes "how are you publishing these shares?"