Forum Discussion
Create a link to a FileServer in SP
Hi all,
I've a question for you, could you please tell me if it's possible to create a link between a SharePoint site and a FileServer? Let me explain:
- I use a SharePoint list to list all my projects.
- A Power Automate flow creates a new SP site for every new entry on the list
- When I click on the code of a project, it's a link to the new site my flow just created.
- I can store all my documents in this site EXCEPT my drawing files which are too big and impossible to work online on it.
- So I have an hybrid solution with plans and big files on a fileserver and communication / admin files on Teams/SP.
- What I want to do is to create a link between the 2 solutions. So I can have an URL on my Server folder to redirect to the SP site. But is it possible to create a kind of link on the SP site to open the file File Explorer on my mapped folder (\\ServerName\Projects\ProjectCode)?
Is it possible to create something like that?
Thank you in advance for your help,
So, it can be done, but not cleanly. Navigate to the file inside of SharePoint, click the three dots and add shortcut to OneDrive, inside of the mapped OneDrive folder in explorer right click and select new > shortcut, in that field put the \\servername\ect shortcut.
From SharePoint in order to be able to open the link you'll have to select open > open in app and allow the prompt. This bypasses SharePoint's method of appending http: to every link you try to add within the web interface.
Even if you manage to get the link to your shared folder been populated within Sharepoint, you cannot circumvent any browser security without 3rd party extensions.
References pointing to local resources are blocked by default for most modern browsers.
Perhaps you could make use of the following feature available with lists in modern experience
(unfortunately not for document libraries):
Whereby, you still need to train your customers to manually open Windows Explorer and paste the clipboard value into the address bar.
