PDF Attachments Opening Inconsistently (browser v. download)

May 25, 2023

Hi,

I'm having trouble with pdfs in a Rise 360 course opening inconsistently. Some open in a browser window and others download automatically. My browser (Chrome) is set to open attachments in a new browser window, but it seem to matter how the browser is set. Can anyone tell me what's happening and how to fix it so they all open in new browser windows? Thanks!

9 Replies
Alexis Boyer

Here's a fun little tidbit: I was in the middle of developing my course when they fixed the problem, so half the documents in my module download automatically, and the other half open in browser windows. 

The only way to fix it seems to be re-uploading all the documents that are downloading automatically.

Giovannamaria Perini

HI,

I'm experiencing the same problem, which was communicated to me by a client. I need PDF files, uploaded using the Attachments block, to download to the device and not open in the Rise course page.

I reuploaded the PDF file to Rise, published the scorm package to the LMS but it doesn't work. The user who reported the problem still sees the PDF file inside the Rise page, if he uses the iphone, and can't download the file, if he uses his android smartphone.

There were and are no problems on the iPhone and Android smartphone used to carry out the tests.

Re-uploading the file doesn't seem to have worked.
What can I do? The customer got impatient...

 

Thanks for support.

Jose Tansengco

Hello Sharrilyn,

Happy to chime in!

Browser settings and the file type of the attachments are what determine if a file attachment will be opened in a new browser tab or downloaded. Google Chrome for example has a Privacy & Security setting that allows users to download PDF documents rather than open them in a new tab.

I did a quick test on my end and I can confirm that files like PDFs and image files opened in a new tab for me when I uploaded them via an Attachment block. Given that your end users do not have access to view certain attachments, it sounds like your courses are being viewed in an environment where certain security policies are being enforced. Please have the end users reach out to their IT team so they can check if opening attachments in a new tab is a change that they can implement to the end user's browsers.

Alexis Boyer

I'm wondering when your files were added to the course you're working on. There was a change of some sort made sometime within the last year, and I noticed that some files that weren't opening properly in a new tab were added earlier than the ones that were opening properly. If you haven't tried this already, I'd remove the files from the course and then add them back in. Once they're back, test the links in preview mode and see if they open in a new tab. I hope this helps!