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Html – Add a link to an access file in sharepoint online

In my organization, we have an access file in which everyone can add new lines according to the work they do. And now, we adopted sharepoint online to manage our intranet.

The file is in a server folder like this:

\server01folderaccess_file.mdb

We want to create a page, in sharepoint online, with a link to this file (to open it directly in the server, not to download it to user PC), but we are not able at all. No matter how we include the link in the page, sharepoint online always convert it to a link with "file:", like this:

file://server01/folder/access_file.mdb

No one can open the file this way, and in the chrome console we get the error:

Not allowed to load local resource: file://server01/folder/access_file.mdb

Can anyone help us?

Thanks in advance!

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2

Answers


  1. 0

    Unfortunately, this is not possible due to browser security restrictions. You can’t directly open files from a network share like \server01folderaccess_file.mdb in SharePoint Online due to modern web browsers blocking the file:// protocol used to access local files.

    There are a few potential workarounds though:

    • Upload the file to SharePoint Online: You could upload the Access file to a document library in SharePoint Online. Then, you can create a link to the file in the document library. When users click the link, they’ll be able to open the file directly in Access if they have it installed.

    • Use a network drive: If the file needs to stay on your local network, you could map a network drive to the SharePoint library, then create a shortcut to the file on the network drive. This would allow users to open the file directly from the network drive.

    • Use a custom application or third-party tool: You could create a custom application or use a third-party tool that can open files from a server location. This would likely involve more development work and may not be feasible depending on your organization’s resources and policies.

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  2. 0

    Microsoft Access databases like .mdb and .accdb files cannot be opened and edited directly in a web browser, including Chrome and Edge. When you try to open an Access file from a web browser, it will download a copy of the file locally.

    I have personally done some research, since I do not do much regarding sharing files, but here is what I have found:

    • Security Concerns: Browsers are designed to disallow accessing files from the local file system, even if the HTML document is also on the local file system. This is to prevent potential security risks, such as malicious scripts accessing sensitive data on your local file system.

    • File Type Compatibility: Web browsers are primarily designed to interpret and display web content, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Microsoft Access files (.mdb or .accdb) are database files that require specific software (Microsoft Access) to interpret and display their content.

    • Server Response Headers: When you try to open a file through a web browser, the server sends response headers to tell the browser how to handle the file. If the headers indicate that the file is an attachment, the browser will download it instead of displaying it.

    • Protected View Settings: In some cases, the issue could be related to the Protected View settings in the desktop application. If “Enable Protected View for files originating from the internet” is checked, it might prevent files from opening directly in the desktop app.

    Here is a few workarounds you can try:

    • Microsoft Access Online: You can use a hosted remote desktop service to run Microsoft Access online. This allows you to access and share an Access database application with colleagues in different locations and integrate it with other applications.

    • Online Access DB Opener: There are online tools like MDB Opener1 and MDB, ACCDB Viewer and Reader that allow you to view and search through a Microsoft Access database file without having Access installed on the machine. After extracting the database, you can view the data with their built-in viewer or export all tables as Excel or CSV files.

    • SharePoint Lists: If your organization uses SharePoint, you can import your Access data into a SharePoint list. SharePoint lists can be accessed and edited by multiple users simultaneously in a web browser.

    • Office 365: If you have an Office 365 subscription, you can use Access 365, which allows multiple users to access and edit a database stored in the cloud.

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