Unable to open PDF and PPT files using SSL and Internet Explorer
Platform notice: Server and Data Center only. This article only applies to Atlassian products on the Server and Data Center platforms.
Support for Server* products ended on February 15th 2024. If you are running a Server product, you can visit the Atlassian Server end of support announcement to review your migration options.
*Except Fisheye and Crucible
Problem
Opening attachments in Firefox works, but in IE does not. The external application used to open the attachment (eg. Acrobat Reader or Microsoft Office) will report:
"There was an error opening this document. The file cannot be found."
Cause
This problem is specific to Internet Explorer. IE normally downloads attachments into its "Temporary Internet Files" folder, however when the site is in HTTPS mode the attachments will not be downloaded. Causing an external application such as Adobe Acrobat to report the error message above.
Workaround
Remove HTTPS for attachment download. Refer to Running Confluence Over SSL or HTTPS for more information.
Need to restrict everything to SSL?
If HTTP cannot be used for attachment download, edit <CONFLUENCE_INSTALLATION>/conf/server.xml and add the following line within the <Context ... /> element:
<Valve className="org.apache.catalina.authenticator.NonLoginAuthenticator"
disableProxyCaching="true" securePagesWithPragma="false" />
Resolution
- Upgrade to 3.1 or later. See CONF-12438.