Opening / Saving Documents Directly from / to Server in a SharePoint-like Manner

The Ajax File Browser can open documents directly from server without additional download / upload steps. After editing the document you can save it directly back to server in a SharePoint-like manner.

To open documents from server, the Ajax File Browser is using two different approaches depending on the browser and file type:

1. The Java applet. The Java applet is used in Firefox, Chrome and Safari. It is also used in Internet Explorer if no Microsoft Office 2007 or later version is installed, or if the file is not Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint file. If required version of Java is not installed, the Ajax File Browser will request Java download and installation.
2. Microsoft Office ActiveX. The ActiveX is used in Internet Explorer only if the file is Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint document and Microsoft Office 2007 or later version is installed on a client machine. If the ActiveX is not found, the Java applet is used.

Important! On Windows XP you may not be able to open all file types directly from server. On this OS you can open / save only documents associated with applications that natively support WebDAV. For example on Windows XP you can open / save Microsoft Office and OpenOffice documents.

Requirements for Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office contains its own WebDAV client module that has additional requirements and limitations. To successfully open/save Microsoft Office documents the following conditions must be met:

Your WebDAV server must be located on site root (for example http://server/). Microsoft Office submits configuration requests to site root and requires the server to respond properly. If your WebDAV server is non-root (for example http://server/dav/) Microsoft Office may open documents as read-only.
1. Your WebDAV server must support Class 2. Microsoft Office locks documents when creating and opening files for editing. If Microsoft Office is unable to lock the document it will be opened as read-only.

You can find more about Microsoft Office read-only issue here.

Microsoft Office Authentication

Important! Microsoft Office 2010 and Internet Explorer requires secure SSL connection when used with Basic authentication, it will fail to open a document via insecure connection with Basic authentication. For a workaround please see this article:  You cannot open Office file types directly from a server that only supports Basic Authentication over a non SSL connection with Office 2010 applications.

Microsoft Office applications always ask for the authentication when used with Basic and Digest authentication. If you check "Remember my password" checkbox it will still display the login dialog, but the user name and password will be already filled-in, so you just click "OK". If NTLM or Kerberos is used than MS Office asks for credentials only 1 time during first document access.

Microsoft Office Templates

In Ajax File Browser you can initiate creation of Microsoft Office documents directly from the web interface. This feature is supported in only in Internet Explorer and only if Microsoft Office 2007 or later version is installed.

To create a new document, Microsoft Office requires template files that are located in 'templates/' folder by default. To change the default location use SetMsOfficeTemplatesPath method:

The templates folder must contain templates with following names: template.docx, template.xlsx, template.pptx.

Important! You must specify full path to templates folder including domain name and protocol.

Important! Microsoft Office will request an exclusive lock on a template file when creating a new document. This means your template files mast be located on a WebDAV server (not just in a static directory on a website) that supports Class 2 exclusive locks.

Opening Folder Content in a Desktop File Manager

The Ajax File Browser can open folder with a default OS file manager. For example on Microsoft Windows it will show files in Windows Explorer and on Mac OS X it will open Finder. This enables a quick jump from your web application to familiar desktop tools.

To open desktop file manger the Ajax File Browser is using following approaches:

1. The Java applet. It is used in Firefox, Chrome and Safari.
2. HttpFolders behavior. This component is used only in Internet Explorer.