Calling up documents on a file server via a web server (IIS)

Artikel: 1391549 | Erstellt am 02.06.2022

Description of the problem

The WebModel is on a web server and is accessed via HTTP(s) link. Linked files should be called from the file system. All common browsers block this call. The files should neither be copied to the web server nor moved to it, a DMS (document management system) is not available.

Despite these technical constraints, it is possible to access the file system from a web server. In this article you will learn how to create a virtual directory for this on an IIS-based web server and link documents or folders in the file system.

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Warning – web server required

The instructions only explain how to create a virtual directory under Microsoft's Internet Information Services (IIS), as we recommend these from viflow 8 onwards. If you haven't set up IIS before, read the following articles on installation and setup first:

1st step 2 Create user and generate UNC path

Create user and generate UNC path

Create a user in Active Directory (AD).
Give the user at least read rights for the directory on the file server that contains the documents to be linked.
Create a network share for the user to generate a UNC path (eg: \\tstsrv22\Administrator\Desktop\transfer).

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Step 2 – Create Virtual Directory on "Internet Information Services (IIS)".

Create a virtual directory on "Internet Information Services (IIS)".

Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager {{1}}.
1. Right-click on a website (eg Default Web Site) and create a new directory using the Add Virtual Directory … {{2}} command.
2. Under Alias enter the name that the virtual directory should have (eg Documents) {{3}}.
3. Under Physical path enter the UNC link {{4}} that you created in point 3 of step 1.
4. Now click on Connect as … and enter the data of the newly created user (step 1) {{5}}.
5. Confirm with OK.
6. Restart the IIS (e.g. open command prompt as administrator and run the command iisreset carry out).
7. Finally, test the call via your browser (in this example: https://name-oder-ipadresse-des-servers/Documents/YourDocument.docx).