Links to local files from a SharePoint List

Question

Ok, I am new to server side development (especially SP development) and I don't know if this is possible but here goes:

I have a custom list which I populate from a local folder on my file system. The folder has many nested folders and files of different formats.

I added a custom ECB menu item for this particular list and I want to be able to open the file (either in the browser or the specific application) when the menu item in the ECB menu for a list item is clicked.

Here's what I have for e.g.:

SPUserCustomAction action = list.UserCustomActions.Add();
action.Url = "file:///C://Users//Administrator//Desktop//Dir//file1.txt";
//...

But when I click the custom menu item in ECB, I get a browser alert saying: Invalid Page URL.

Am I missing something or is there a particular way of opening files by any other method that can help my issue?

Answer 1

For Security Reasons, the browser does not allow Code to Access the local file System. Paths to local files require to be given by the user directly (eg. calling it using the Address-Box or selecting it for file upload).

Answer 2

This should be

action.Url = "file:///C:/Users/Administrator/Desktop/Dir/file1.txt";

Triple slash after the file:, then single slashes (not double) instead of the filesystem backslashes.

Answer 3

As you can see in msdn, the value inserted in the URL property cannot be a path to a local file.

Instead, a valid value is a relative path to the site. Example:

newUserCustomAction.set_url('/_layouts/create.aspx');

In your case, once you have the list populated with the files, the url action should point to the list item, not to the local file. Please try with:

action.Url = ”~site/SitePages/Home.aspx?ID={ItemId}&List={ListId}”/