[Solved] Internet Explorer Download .odt as .zip file?

[adnhk]

Hi All,

Does anyone know how to make Internet Explorer of Windows XP SP2 download .odt file extension as .odt file extension, instead of making it .zip? Here's a URL for some example of what I meant:

http://www.pitonyak.org/oo.php

Just use IE 6 on XP SP2 and try to click on any of the .odt files there. IE will ask you to Open, Save the ZIP file? This is a major issue for the enterprise I am working in as we have hundreds of forms to be posted on our intranet and the standard browser we use is IE. Changing browser is not an option too as there are hundreds of applications already written and tied to ActiveX...

Thousands of users will face issues downloading and opening these forms if IE keeps changing the extenstion to .zip. Believe me, 90% of users will not know how to change the file extensions and helpdesk calls will be tremendous. Please can some experts kindly advise on this?

[Hagar Delest]

Use a real web browser like Firefox, respecting the standards.

Else, see here: [Solved] IE not playing nice.

Thanks to add '[Solved]' at beginning of your first post title (edit button) if your issue has been fixed.

NB: I move your thread in the Windows forum.

[ccornell]

Use a real web browser like Firefox, respecting the standards.

Couldn't agree more. IE6 is a poor choice for a web browser and should only be used as a last resort if nothing else is available.

For Windows, better choices are Firefox (first choice for most people), Opera or Seamonkey.

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/
http://www.opera.com/
http://www.seamonkey-project.org/

[huw]

This is a re-post of something I wrote on the other forum:

First, you should check the Mime Type is correctly configured on the webserver. If you are not configuring the webserver yourself, you can check using Web Sniffer.

Submit the file link to Web Sniffer (you need only make a HEAD request type), and check the Content-Type in the HTTP Response Header. It should match that given here: Mime Content Types used in OpenOffice.org1.0 / StarOffice 4.x and later. If it doesn't then you should contact the webmaster and ask them to correct it.

Once that is correct, if the problem continues, you can look into different browser / OS software and settings.

For sample files on a correctly configured webserver, try some OOo templates. Put any of those file links into Web Sniffer to see mime content type served correctly.

A bit of background:
Getting around IE’s MIME type mangling
MIME Type Detection in Internet Explorer

[adnhk]

Hi All,

Thanks for the link. It never occurred to me that the issue to be resolved on the server side.

Sadly, our "corporate standard" guys seems to think otherwise Sigh... and making cases even worse, is that we've got tons of Intranet applications that specifically uses ActivX...

Anyway, issue has been resolved. But this will only work on our Intranet as individual Internet website will need to specifically add in application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet into their own Web Server else IE will still treat these as .zip file. I am wondering if there is any other way to make IE itself recognise these extensions and not touch the server.

Will close the case for now cos at least it solves my office needs.

[ccornell]

Sadly, our "corporate standard" guys seems to think otherwise Sigh... and making cases even worse, is that we've got tons of Intranet applications that specifically uses ActivX...

Companies are starting to realize that they need to think about the long standing standards... just look at how many companies are moving off Windows and MS Office... there is hope

[Hagar Delest]

For information, I heard that IE7 had not that bug, you can try it. But of course migrating to Firefox is better. Note that FF has an extension (IE TAB) to use the IE engine in the FF window. You still need IE to be installed but you can use that feature for the sites where you need IE only.

[acknak]

Hey, great links huw--thanks! It's nice to understand what's really going on.

So are we putting IE users at risk for cross-site-scripting attack by allowing forum users to upload images here?

I guess an image in an OOo forum post would not be a particularly attractive target.

[huw]

So are we putting IE users at risk for cross-site-scripting attack by allowing forum users to upload images here?

The uploaded images are hosted here (the same site), so no cross-site-scripting risk. Images hosted elsewhere - on the poster's own site, an upload site, a compromised server somewhere, etc - and displayed inline here with

Code: Select all

[img]http://example.com/pic.png[/img]

would be cross-site. I don't know enough about security to say what risk they are.

[David Morgan]

Aren't they putting themselves at risk using IE?

Edit: Sorry, didn't check the date