Linking local files to the Document Center on a Shared Drive

Steps to get Document Center to link to local files on a shared drive using Internet Explorer (IE).

Browser security typically restricts accessing links to local files from Internet for obvious security reasons. Fortunately,  there are a couple of ways to do this using IE. The first option is to use Internet Explorer’s trusted sites options and a special file path format. The second option is to setup a local Intranet http or ftp server that can serve the local shared documents via http or ftp protocols.

Option 1: Steps to get Document Center to link to local files on a shared drive using Internet Explorer (IE).

1. Mark <clientname>.leading2lean.com as a trusted site in IE (instructions for IE 9, other versions are similar). For example: acme.leading2lean.com

2. File -> Internet Options -> Security Tab

3. Click on “Trusted sites” check mark.
4. Click on Sites button.
5. Uncheck the “Require server verification” checkbox at the bottom.
6. Put the dispatch website URL in the input box and click the add button.

7. You;re finished. Click close, then Ok, etc… to exit the Internet Options dialog box.

8. Go to Document Center, find a document, and click the upload document button.

9. In option 1 Link to an existing file on the Web or Local Network:

10. Put the path to the file in the input box.

11. The file path needs to be of the form: \\server\path-to-file
12. File paths with a drive letter (c:\ or i:\) won’t work due to IE security restrictions.
13. Click the test link to verify the file path is correct.
14. Click the Save button and follow the instructions to complete the action.

Option 2: Setup a web server (http) or file server (FTP) to serve your local files.

1. Get with your local IT resource and setup a webserver or ftp server to serve the files on your local shared drive.
2. This means that files on your local shared drive (for example: i:\file.pdf) are now available in your browser via a link (URL) similar to (http://intranet/file.pdf, http://intranetfiles.company.com/file.pdf, ftp://intranet/file.pdf, or ftp://intranetfiles.company.com/file.pdf )

3. Identify the URL to the file you want to link to in Document Center.

4. Go to Document Center, find a document, and click the upload document button.

5. In option 1 Link to an existing file on the Web or Local Network:

6. Put the path to the file in the input box.

7. The file path needs to be of the form: \\server\path-to-file
8. File paths with a drive letter (c:\ or i:\) won’t work due to IE security restrictions.
9. Click the test link to verify the file path is correct.
10. Click the Save button and follow the instructions to complete the action.

If the above 2 options don’t work for you, you might want to reconsider uploading the file to the Dispatch Server and allow it to serve as the document host for your team. The files are protected and only available to employees in your company with active, valid Leading2Lean login credentials.