How to insert a hyperlink that points to a network installation from a kb article?

[nidishman]

I have tried using the Hyperlink button in the WYSIWYG with several different options including file://servername/path/..., file://///servername\path\.... and just typing //servername/path....   I have also tried modifying the HTML.

If you copy and paste the //servername/path... into the URL field, it works.   What am I missing?

Thank you,

Nikol Dishman

[tltoulson]

Hi Nikol,

This is usually a browser issue.   If you click the link and then open up the javascript console, you will likely see an error that states something along the lines of:

Not allowed to load local resource

This is a security precaution in browsers to prevent javascript from accessing the local file system (imagine malware being able to affect your local filesystem directly from a website without even being downloaded).   The server:// method may work because you are no longer accessing a local file.

Edit:   Additionally, this means that you can link to an external document as long as it uses a secure/known web protocol that you can normally access through the browser.   For example: http, https, and ftp would all be treated as valid links.

Also, entering directly into the address bar is treated differently by the browser than a link in the page.   This is why you can access it via address bar but not in the link.

[Trevor Petrie]

Hi Nikol,

To get this to work in IE I added my ServiceNow domain e.g. https://mycompany.service-now.com to my Trusted Sites list.

Then the next time I visited a knowledge article there was a notification at the bottom of the screen advising that only secure content was being shown, I clicked "Show all" and now the links work as expected.

Unfortunately I'm not aware of a way to get this to work in Firefox or Chrome.

Cheers,
Trevor

[Mahesh Lingamgu]

Hi Nickol,

  Did you get this worked. I have a similar requirement to make one of the share point file name as clickable link.

Thanks,

Mahesh.

[Trevor Petrie]

Hi Mahesh,

I don't believe there is or will be a solution for this.

If it helps, we now tend to wrap the address with: "<pre style="display: inline-block;">address</pre>". The users have become familiar with copying and pasting.

For example:

1. Copy the following address:
   

   \\localhost\temp\new_document.docx

2. Press the Windows + R keys simultaneously then paste the address into the Open field.
3. Press Enter.

Cheers,
Trevor