Auto open files

Question

Auto open files

Moreno, Ivan 0

i have 2 policies set in place for my browsers: 1st to set what file types are set to download and open automatically and 2nd from what URLs this will be allowed from. it used to work, we would click on a form for a file, it would download and then open, now it just downloads.

Not sure if i have a policy conflicting or missing that is causing this behavior; iv'e just about read every article that is online, and checked all the GPO policies that i think might conflict.

Basically i want links that take you to forms in my intranet page to download and open up automatically.

Please advice.

2 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Carl-L 10,295 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Moreno, Ivan,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

Before we proceed further, may I know if there are any changes to the forms or your browser before these starts?

Additionally, may I have a photo of the policy to check for you? Please remember to remove all personal information before posting.

I'm waiting for your reply.

Moreno, Ivan 0 Reputation points

2026-02-13T15:02:34.96+00:00

Hi, here is a screenshot of the policies in place. We did get a new ADMX file for edge, as we are going through a hardening process, we disabled and re-enabled these policies one by one to make aware that they were working and know exactly its functionality. We have our home page set to our intranet page, which is an "http", from there users were able to click on i.e. Forms, and click a link a form would download, then it would open, now it just downloads. Let me know if that helps, thanks again for your help.
Moreno, Ivan 0 Reputation points

2026-02-13T15:08:27.5333333+00:00

No changes to the forms that are set on the intranet/home page; for the browser, we did disable and re-enabled these policies one by one as we are going through a hardening process, so we wanted to make sure each policy was working and also to know its full functionality of each. We did download a new ADMX file for edge, but we had the same functionality in Chrome, not sure if that makes any difference, because its not working in Chrome either. We have our intranet page i.e. "http.company.net" and "file:///L:" set up, this is where the users would go to our home page, click on a link, the form would get downloaded, and then opened, now it just gets downloaded. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks.
Moreno, Ivan 0 Reputation points

2026-02-13T15:10:02.24+00:00

Sorry, there's 2 comments; first one gave me a server error when submitted, then i submitted again, then it showed up after the 2nd time.
Carl-L 10,295 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-14T13:24:14.5633333+00:00

Hello Moreno, Ivan,

Thanks for replying.

As I checked, the AutoOpenFileTypes policy is already applied. For what could block it in the ADMX, actually it would be the same policy as well. Can you please go there, check the path Administrative Templates > Microsoft Edge to see the entry of "AutoOpenFileTypes" and "AutoOpenAllowedForURLs". Also,please note that the extension entries must be in lowercase.
Carl-L 10,295 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-16T10:47:18.8166667+00:00

Hello Moreno, Ivan,

Just checking in to make sure that you have received my reply. Please let me know if you have any updates.
Moreno, Ivan 0 Reputation points

2026-02-16T15:26:07.2833333+00:00

Thank you for your reply, for the file types we have it set as below; for the URLs we have it set as:
http://our.company.net

file:///L:

NOTE: it has always been like this and working; not sure what setting we modified that caused it to break.

Thank you for your reply and help.
Carl-L 10,295 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-18T13:18:29.4366667+00:00

Hello Moreno, Ivan,

Thanks for letting me know.

It seems normal to me, unless that the forms are in any extension that is not listed here.

In this case, I think it'd be best if we can directly look at the computer to check it out for you. However, forum moderators cannot do so, in this case, you can contact Microsoft Support, or the Service Center if your company has signed up for it.

Thank you for your understanding.

Answer 2

To ensure that files download and open automatically from your intranet page, you need to verify the following policies:

ClickOnceEnabled: Make sure this policy is not set to Disabled. This policy allows users to open files using the ClickOnce protocol, which is essential for automatic opening after download.
DirectInvokeEnabled: Similar to the ClickOnce policy, ensure this is also enabled if you are using DirectInvoke for file downloads.
List of file types that should be automatically opened on download: Confirm that the file types you want to open automatically are listed here.
URLs where AutoOpen-FileTypes can apply: Ensure that the URLs of your intranet page are included in this policy to allow the specified file types to open automatically after download.

If any of these policies are misconfigured or missing, it could lead to the behavior where files only download without opening. You may want to review these settings in the Group Policy Editor to ensure they are correctly configured for your needs.

References:

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Auto open files

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