Can Google Chrome open local links?

I am linking on an intranet page to a local file on a shared drive:

<a href="file:///s:/test.xls"> Test</a>

This works in IE and Firefox with an addon called local link.

How can I get this to open in Google Chrome?

You can't link to file:/// from an HTML document that is not itself a file:/// for security reasons.

This question is dated, but I had the same problem just now, the solution I found was to map a virtual directory in IIS to the networked drive with the documents, so the url became a friendly "http://" address.

Setting virtual directories:

IIS:

http://www.iis.net/configreference/system.applicationhost/sites/site/application/virtualdirectory

Apache:

http://w3shaman.com/article/creating-virtual-directory-apache

Cheers!

From what I've seen of this the following is true for Firefox and Chrome;

1. If you have a HTML page open from a remote host then file:// links will not work i.e. Your address bar reads http://someserver.domain and the page contains a link such as <a href="file:///S:/sharedfile.txt">

2. If you have a HTML page open from your local host then file:// links will work i.e. your address bar reads file:///C:/mydir/index.html and the page contains a link such as <a href="file:///S:/sharedfile.txt">

For Internet Explorer point 1) does not hold true. A file on your local host can be accessed using the file:// link syntax from a webpage on a remote host. This is considered a security flaw in IE^{(By who? References?)} (and it's there in IE8 too) because a remote host can access files on your local computer without your knowledge .... admittedly they have to get lucky with the filename but there are plenty of commonly named files there with the potential to contain personal/private information.

LocalLinks now seems to be obsolete.

LocalExplorer seems to have taken it's place and provides similar functionality:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/local-explorer-file-manag/eokekhgpaakbkfkmjjcbffibkencdfkl/reviews?hl=en

It's basically a chrome plugin that replaces file:// links with localexplorer:// links, combined with an installable protocol handler that intercepts localexplorer:// links.

Best thing I can find available right now, I have no affiliation with the developer.

The LocalLinks extension from the most popular answer didn't work for me (given, I was trying to use file:// to open a directory in windows explorer, not a file), so I looked into another workaround. I found that this "Open in IE" extension is a good workaround: <https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/open-in-ie/iajffemldkkhodaedkcpnbpfabiglmdi>

This isn't an ideal fix, as instead of clicking the link, users will have to right-click and choose Open in IE, but it at least makes the link functional.

One thing to note though, in IE10 (and IE9 after a certain update point) you will have to add the site to your Trusted Sites (Internet Options > Security > Trusted sites). If the site is not in trusted sites, the file:// link does not work in IE either.

I've just came across the same problem and found the chrome extension Open IE.
That's the only one what works for me (Chrome V46 & V52). The only disadvantefge is, that you need to install an additional program, means you need admin rights.

It's not really an anwser but a workaround to open a local link in chrome using python.

Copy the local link you want to run then run the code bellow (using a shortcut), it will open your link.

import win32clipboard
import os
 
win32clipboard.OpenClipboard()
clipboard_data= win32clipboard.GetClipboardData()
win32clipboard.CloseClipboard()

os.system("start "+clipboard_data)

Hopefully this helps others in an enterprise setting looking for a solution. My solution after much tinkering was the following:

Follow the steps in the following link to install legacy browser extension and gpo settings: https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/3019558?hl=en&ref_topic=3062034

Enabled legacy browser redirect for "file://" through chrome gpo configuration Google Chrome -> Legacy Browser Support -> "Websites to open in alternative browser"

Configure gpo to also install extension: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/enable-local-file-links/nikfmfgobenbhmocjaaboihbeocackld that redirects file:// links to bypass chrome file:// link block.

The extension opens the links which then triggers google chrome to open the link in internet explorer. The result is IE opens a window, then opens the file/folder for the user, then IE closes itself.