Open links to Office files in native app rather than browser- SharePoint Online

Question

Hi

I have a user who has created links to Excel (in pages), when they click the link the file opens in browser.

I have already activated the site collection feature for that site and when a user clicks a document that opens in the Excel App and not the browser - so that works.

The issue is, when a user creates a link to that same file, the link on the page when clicked opens the same document in the browser, is there a way around this, the Site Pages library does not have the option Opening Documents in the Browser setting to "Open in the client application"

Answer 1

Hello @G99 ,

By design, when the document link is added to the page, the document cannot be opened in the client application.

The Site collection feature "Open Documents in Client Applications by Default" works in the Document Libraries.

You can could open file link in client application using URL schema:

• ms-excel:ofe|u|https://tenant.sharepoint.com/sites/sitename/libraryname/***.xlsx

Thanks,
Echo Du

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Updated Answer ======================

Hi @G99 ,

Yes, From a link only supports http/https link or email address.

You can try the following solution:

1.Go to the Documents library, select the specified excel file and click on "Copy link"

2.On the Link copied panel, click on Copy button

3.Go to the page and Edit it

4.On the Quick links web part, click "+ Add links", select "Form a link" option, paste the link to textbox. Then, delete the Id information in the link.

5.On the Quick links panel, you can can customize thumbnail

6.Republish page

7.After doing the above operations, when you click on the excel document link on the page, you will be prompted “Do you want to open *.xlsx from tenent.sharepoint.com?**". Please click on **Open* button

8.If the Microsoft Excel Warning Box dispalys, please click on Yes button.

Thanks,
Echo Du

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Updated Answer =======================

Hi @G99 ,

By design, in Chrome, cannot open the document link located on the SharePoint pages directly in Client application.

Indeed, in Chrome, documents can only be opend in the Client application through downloading.

In Chrome, you can only open excel files in the Client application by entering the following url in the browser:

• ms-excel:ofe|u|https://tenant.sharepoint.com/sites/sitename/Shared%20Documents/*.xlsx**

Note:
This link is not applicable to the SharePoint pages, it only works in the browser.

Thanks,
Echo Du

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Answer 2

Has there been any easier workaround to this? The folks sharing this link are not tech savvy. I really want all users to have this spreadsheet open in the native desktop app by default, and every library setting and site content setting I can change, I have. It still defaults to opening in the browser. I cannot instruct every potential user to manually go in and change their settings for this one document, that's impossible. I also don't want to add every potential user to the library. I really need to ensure that this document, (or all documents, if that's what it takes), when shared, are always opened in the app by default. The web version is absolute clown shoes. It can't support the custom settings in conditional formatting or carry the macros over or anything. Please let me know if this feature can be changed.

Answer 3

Hello @Echo Du_MSFT
I had already tried that having found the info online, but when I go to paste the link "From a link" option, I get the following error:

Enter a link from a website (https:// or http://) or email address (mailto:)

Answer 4

Hello @Echo Du_MSFT

I have tried this too, prior to logging this, sorry I should have mentioned. This process works fine but only in Edge, it does not behave this way in Chrome or another browser, rather it downloads the file without prompt
again this is not what the users are expecting, and by default Chrome is the default browser in the org. Any other suggestions?

Answer 5

Hello @Echo Du_MSFT

I did not get an alert that you had responded, afraid it doesn't work - when i paste the following as a link on a page:

ms-excel:ofe|u|https://Org.sharepoint.com/:x:/r/sites/SPSITE/DocLib/Folder/Folder/Link%filename.xlsx

I get the following error:
Enter a link from a website (https:// or http://) or email address (mailto:)

If i paste your suggested in Chrome, of course that works, and opens the attachment in client version of Excel. but the issue has always been allowing a user to click a link in SP and for the file to open in the client version of Excel, be it they are using Chrome or Edge?
Is this not possible?