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| Product |
| XFile |
| Version |
| 2.5.1 and above |
| Title |
| Downloading with XFile on Windows Vista and Windows 7 using standard user with Internet Explorer 8 in Protected Mode |
| Problem |
| As of version 2.5.1, XFile’s CAB installation supports non-administrative ActiveX installation mode in Internet Explorer 8 on platforms running Windows Vista and later (for reference see MSDN article Non-Admin ActiveX Controls). This means standard users can now install XFile through the CAB file download in IE8 to their own user profiles without administrative involvement.
Although XFile installs successfully in user-mode on Windows Vista and later, there is one consideration that users need to take into account regarding download transfers. By default, on Vista and Windows 7, IE8 runs in “protected mode” for the Internet zone. When protected mode is turned on, the Internet Explorer process can only write to the locations under user's profile. The extensions like XFile running in IE with Protected Mode are even further restricted. They can only write to the low-integrity locations in the user’s profile area, as such: \Users\[standarduser]\AppData\Local\Temp\Low or \Users\[standarduser]\AppData\LocalLow. What this means for XFile is that when doing a download with XFile, the user can only save the downloaded file(s) to these specific low-integrity locations. For attempts to save to other locations in the user’s profile, XFile’s behavior will depend on whether it is a resumable or non-resumable download transfer.
Non-Resumable download:
During non-resumable downloads with XFile EE(Enterprise Edition) or SE(Standard Edition), when the user attempts saving the file to a higher integrity location such as \Users\[standarduser]\Desktop, XFile will instantly throw the following error:
SoftArtisans.XFRequest.1 (or SoftArtisans.XFRequestEE.1)
4294967295 InternetReadFile: The handle is invalid
|
Resumable download:
During resumable downloads with XFileEE (resumability is available only in Enterprise Edition), when the user attempts saving to a higher integrity location, XFileEE will silently fail without throwing an error. That is, the transfer will start normally but when the download is complete, the file(s) will not actually be saved to the specified directory.
While this limitation in download save locations is a security restriction imposed by Windows and Internet Explorer, we recognize the fact that XFile's error handling needs improvement. This issue will be addressed in a future release. |
| Solution |
There are two workarounds to avoid these download issues:
1) Turning off the Protected Mode in Internet Explorer for the Internet zone:
To turn off the Protected Mode setting for the Internet zone in IE8, follow the steps below:
- From the menu in IE, go to Tools > Internet Options
- On the Internet Options panel, go to the Security tab, select the “Internet” zone and at the bottom deselect the check box that says “Enable Protected Mode (requires restarting Internet Explorer)”.
- Click OK. IE will prompt a warning that says “The current security settings will put your computer at risk”. Say OK to the prompt as well.
- Close all open IE instances.
Since this workaround consists of disabling a security feature in IE, the second workaround may be more preferable.
2) Adding the site to the Trusted Sites zone:
In Internet Explorer 8, by default the Protected Mode is disabled for the Trusted Sites zone. Therefore when you add the site to this zone, the users will be able to save the download to any location in their profile area. |
| Created : 4/29/2010 8:08:36 PM (last modified : 4/29/2010 8:08:36 PM) |
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