Re: Links to Local Files (file://) don't work

gefaila · 04-13-2022 05:42 AM

I have a link to a local file.
It's file://lbbc-dc01/LBBC%20Data/KTP/2020/Reports/2020report.pdf
Clicking on that link here works; i.e. file opens the PDF in my browser.

Likewise the directory link is file://lbbc-dc01/LBBC%20Data/KTP/2020/Reports/

Clicking on that link here opens the directory in a browser

When I use that link in Appsheet as a link it is clickable, but doesn't open anything

Conversely if I edit the Appsheet link to be //lbbc-dc01/LBBC%20Data/KTP/2020/Reports, Appsheet does try to open the link, but what it passes to the browser is http://lbbc-dc01/LBBC%20Data/KTP/2020/Reports which fails because to succeed it would need to be file://...

What *should* happen is that file:// links should open in whatever browser any other link does.

@Steve, I believe this is a bug related to https://www.googlecloudcommunity.com/gc/AppSheet-Q-A/Link-to-Network-File/m-p/240143#M22167 but it didn't get solved.

Cheers

Andrew

WillowMobileSys

@gefaila wrote:
What *should* happen is that file:// links should open in whatever browser any other link does.

This is not entirely true. The "file" url designation has an option to specify a hostname. If it is omitted, as it seems it might be in your example, then it will try to use "localhost".

AppSheet apps are web apps - not web pages. The main difference being they are processed on a server and the RESULTING pages are served up to the device for display. When you specify the "file://" designation, it is actually attempting to be processed on the AppSheet server and of course doesn't find your file.

If your local machine is accessible via the Internet, then you could adjust the file URL to specify your machine as the host and then the file should be able to be accessed.

While AppSheet might be able to enhance its platform to process the "file://" designation locally, it's not likely. It would work fine for you on your machine but not for any other users - unless they had copies of the same file on their machines. And I have no clue how the URL would behave on a mobile device.

As a general rule, you DO NOT want files to be accessed by the apps from "localhost". It's not good practice. If the machine is a server, then access it through its server designation and you should be fine.

gefaila

All our users (within the company) have access to file://lbbc-dc01/LBBC%20Data/KTP/2020/Reports/2020report.pdf

That's why the link is needed.

Steve

Try file:/// (three slashes) rather than file:// (two slashes).

WillowMobileSys

It does work locally? Well, I'll be a ___________________<<fill in your favorite proverb>>!!

Steve

I didn't say it would work--it depends on how/if AppSheet handles file URLs. I'm just noting the proper syntax for them.

gefaila

That's a helpful suggestion.
I'll try it.

gefaila

@Steve I checked the solution you suggested

Try file:/// (three slashes) rather than file://

Sadly that doesn't work. Does it work for you?

Surely there is a way to link to local files that all users have access to.

Marc_Dillon

>>"Surely there is a way to link to local files that all users have access to."

Why would you assume that? It's a cloud-based application. "Local" wouldn't even be the same for different users.

gefaila

@Marc_Dillon wrote:
>>"Surely there is a way to link to local files that all users have access to."
Why would you assume that? It's a cloud-based application. "Local" wouldn't even be the same for different users.

Hi Marc, respect to you for contributing here.
Maybe I've misdirected you by saying "local".
I meant to say "networked".

So in our case, the networked file file://lbbc-dc01/LBBC%20Data/KTP/2020/Reports/2020report.pdf is indeed the same for all users. We only share the app to users who are in the company, and so they have access to that networked file.

So to try again ...
Surely there is a way to link to network (LAN) files that all users have access to e.g. file://lbbc-dc01/LBBC%20Data/KTP/2020/Reports/2020report.pdf

What the customer wants is to have the above link stored as a link in a table, and have the file open when the user clicks on it.
Everything works, except that Appsheet isn't able to open file:/// links in the same way that it successfully opens http:// links

Steve

I suspect AppSheet is designed without support for the file: URL type. I'll ask internally to try to get a definitive answer.

Steve

Confirmed: AppSheet does not support file: URLs.

gefaila

Do you agree that there are cases where this would be desirable?

graham_howe

I think there are cases where it might be useful, you could add a suggestion in Feature Ideas - Google Cloud Community However I'm not sure this really is inline with the objective of AppSheet. The primary purpose is actually to create mobile apps rather than desktop applications. On a mobile device the concept of a local or even LAN file is probably not so relevant. When you consider that the data sources used by AppSheet are cloud based then it seems reasonable that the content they link to should also be cloud based.

gefaila

Hi @graham_howe , appreciate you pitching in.
Is the primary purpose you cite " ... to create mobile apps" a primary purpose expressed directly by Appsheet? Or is that an inference from what it's become, or what Appsheet believe it's being used for out in the field?

Since the Open in Tab feature exists in the design window, and since the app performs and runs very well from both a phone and a web browser, I imagine that it's clearly intended to function as both.

Our team would be using the phone when necessary, and the web app when possible in a seamless way.

We're all designing value propositions aren't we. I see value in understanding how the customer derives value from the product, not only how it was intended by the developers.

graham_howe

I'm not sure if I have seen this documented and to be honest my own development has been more geared towards desktop/browser use cases than mobile. Obviously the tool does a great job of creating desktop apps. However it is clear that every app we develop is design to work on mobile. I would argue that the absence of the ability to have multi-column forms, to effectively manage column widths or to embed iframes, are all examples of a mobile first approach.

Perhaps a better way to explain it is that every app is intended to be functional on mobile. Therefore I would not expect that a feature which is not really relevant to mobile use cases would be the highest priority for the developers. Remember though, I am just another user of the tool, I have no more influence over or knowledge of the platform design than any other member of the community. That's why I suggested this be added as a feature request.