Forum Discussion
SharePoint on premise: Anonymous users open in client application not working
Hello,
I have an external SharePoint site where Anonymous access is enabled for the entire site. I've activated the “Open Documents in Client Applications by Default” feature. Also, on the site document library, advanced settings, under “Opening Documents in the Browser”, I've selected “Open in the client application”.
As an anonymous user, when I open an office document, it opens the file in the browser. When I open a PDF, it prompts me to login. Unexpected behavior for an anonymous user.
As an authenticated user, when I open an office document, I get a prompt to open the file in the client application. When I open a PDF, the file displays in the PDF reader. Expected behavior for an authenticated user.
How can I force all files to open in the native application when accessing the site as an anonymous user?
- The behavior you're experiencing with PDF files is likely due to the default security settings in Adobe Acrobat or Reader. By default, Adobe products will not allow PDF files to be opened from untrusted locations, such as an anonymous SharePoint site.
To force PDF files to open in the native application when accessing the site as an anonymous user, you can try the following steps:
Open Adobe Acrobat or Reader.
Go to Edit > Preferences > Security (Enhanced) > Privileged Locations.
Click on "Add Folder" and select the folder where your SharePoint site is located.
Click on "OK" to save the changes.
This should add the SharePoint site to the list of trusted locations in Adobe Acrobat or Reader and allow PDF files to be opened in the native application.
Additionally, you can also try adding the SharePoint site to the list of trusted sites in your browser's security settings. This may help to prevent any browser-based security warnings or prompts that could interfere with the file opening in the native application.
Note that forcing files to open in the native application for anonymous users can be a security risk, as it may allow malicious files to be downloaded and executed on a user's computer. Therefore, it's important to ensure that your SharePoint site is properly secured and that you trust the files being downloaded from the site before implementing this solution.Thank you for this information. In order for these steps to work, the user accessing the site would have to perform these steps in their Adobe and/or browser, correct? As the Site Collection Admin, is there a global setting that could work in this case? Also, opening a office document like word or excel, in it's native application doesn't work for anonymous users. Is their a way to make this behavior work for anonymous access?
- It is correct, I meant that the user should perform these steps in their Adobe and/or browser.
