Chrome - opening links/documents

[Koldov]

I've had a few complaints from various Teachers and TAs concerning the way Chrome is handling links to documents (the example was something on Twinkle).

 

Apparently I must have set something (a very long time ago) in the Chrome GPO that means it won't open in the browser (for viewing or printing), but simply asks the user to download the file and prompts for a location to 'Save As'. So, I just told them to create folder on the desktop, open it in the correct application (Word/Adobe etc.) for better document handling/printing and then delete it when done.

 

I must have thought at the time it would stop anyone clicking on a malicious link that would then automatically open the compromised file in a browser tab/webpage, so instead they would have to download the file (and this would then be scanned by our Sophos anti-virus), but now when I think about it logically I'm not sure how much of a security enhancement this is...

 

Yesterday my BM asked about this behaviour, if it was 'something I had done to make things difficult' (although I know they really meant 'more secure') and if so, could it be changed... apparently they open a lot of documents for viewing and printing and don't want to download them each time.

 

I get it and it's prompted me to think that maybe I should change the behaviour as it's not really protecting anyone from anything anyway...

[PrimaryNetMan]

PDF Files

 

Download Location

 

Download Location Prompt

[Koldov]

Thanks these are 'Windows' Chrome GPOs and so not for Chrome OS devices.

 

I guess Chrome can handle PDFs, but what about Word documents, am I right in thinking these would have to download somewhere (like %TEMP% ?) before opening in Word...?

 

They are sure that somehow when you used to click a link for a document on a webpage in Chrome, it just used to open the document... I'm not sure how this is supposed to work or if it is even something Chrome does/instigates as default... I've just always downloaded every document anyway so it's not a problem for me...

 

I think it DOES and has always download it (maybe to %TEMP% or 'Downloads')... (but I don't think 'auto-open' has ever been enabled).... it's just that they were never aware of this and now as I have the 'Ask where to 'Save As' GPO set, this short-circuits that behaviour and now they:

 

a) see the file being downloaded

 

and

 

b) it doesn't open the file automatically?

 

I've just been to see the BM and this has become an issue as we use a platform called 'Smartlog' for training and recording things like if a staff member has read a policy... they have just updated all our policies and the staff have to read them all and tick that they have done so.

 

However, there are a lot of Word documents (well, 12) and rather than them being opened automatically, every staff member is now going to have to download (Save As) each one and open them manually... but there is no way round this, Chrome wouldn't open them without downloading them. Even if I enabled a download location of 'Downloads' in the GPO instead of 'Save As' and enabled 'Show Downloads' they would still have to open them manually... maybe I should tell him to convert them all to PDFs so Chrome will open them...

 

EDIT:

 

I have found a GPO:

 

Computer Configuration > Policies > Administrative Templates > Google > Google Chrome

 

List of file types that should be automatically opened on download

 

So, I could add "docx" here, but I've never touched this, so I don't think they could have been doing this before... has Chrome ever had this behaviour enabled natively?