This must be simple, and obviously, PCs can do it, but I cannot figure it out on a mac.
I am trying to populate a spreadsheet with links to the files on the server so my team can easily find and open the files. Surely there is a simple way?
The problem is Microsoft against the rest of the civilized world. They have their so-called Uniform Naming Convention that is intended for use within their walled garden client/server realm and doesn't play nice in shared platform environments.
Microsoft:
file:///C:/Users/someuser/desktop/thisfile.txt
\\servername@SSL@443\Share Name\Folder Name\file.txt
UNIX (macOS) and Linux
file:///Users/someuser/Desktop/thisfile.txt
https://servername:443/Share%20Name/Folder%20Name/file.txt
smb://servername/Share%20Name/Folder%20Name/file.txt
So, without some namespace converter from Microsoft UNC to common sense, you cannot send emails to someone with a Microsoft UNC format that is receiving Mail on UNIX or Linux and have it just work without requiring conversion to a format that the current platform understands.
A converter to do this is not pretty, or simple to code.
Use the file URI scheme. Should be the same as Windows.
file://host/path
If you omit the hostname, you will need an additional /
file:///path
The application you are using it must support the URI scheme.
It might be functional from a corporate server perspective, but I would never send anyone a link to a local file on my Mac. They couldn't get to it, anyway. Apple seems to have abandoned its efforts in a corporate environment.
You can create them in Office documents.
In the file system, shares are mounted at /Volumes. Nothing, generally, knows the server path from which those were mounted. It can be found, and you could probably create a shell script to build such a method and embed it into an Automator Quick Action.
lucy kafka Said:
"How do I link to a LOCAL file (not URL) ?: This must be simple, and obviously, PCs can do it, but I cannot figure it out on a mac. I am trying to populate a spreadsheet with links to the files on the server so my team can easily find and open the files. Surely there is a simple way?"
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Permissions:
An error messages about not being able to access it? If so, it may be a permission issue. So Right-Click: on the file > Select: Get Info > and Share it with particular users.
Hmm, on a PC you can just do it through link to a Quick Access in the File Directory — you are saying on a mac you have to type or paste something, you cannot just click, or click-drag?
It seems very strange to be missing something this basic, especially in a mac OS.
VikingOSX Said: "A converter to do this is not pretty, or simple to code."
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Cool thought - think I'll make one for my own use (MS Visual Basic, and AppleScript).
I did write one in Ruby in 2019 and it still works in Ruby 3.0.0. Visual Basic and AppleScript. A horrible cocktail…
VikingOSX Said:
"I did write one in Ruby in 2019 and it still works in Ruby 3.0.0. Visual Basic and AppleScript. A horrible cocktail…"
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OK - I'll make two for my own use.
How do I link to a LOCAL file (not URL) ?
