Browser not Supported when opening Smartsheet link in Word/Excel/PowerPoint

Cesar Perez

Hoping for an answer to this issue. I have added Smartsheet URL links to different Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. The issue is that the link does not open the file when clicked. Instead I get an error stating the browser is not supported. The links work fine when I enter them in the URL address in Chrome, Edge and Firefox. These browsers are up to date but the error persists. I tried customer support but they were not able to help. I tried all their suggestions and still get the error.

Jeff Reisman

@Cesar Perez

The obvious first question - what is your default browser and is it fully up to date?

Can you share the format of the links to your Word docs?

Cesar Perez

Thank you @Jeff Reisman

The default browser is Google Chrome and it is up to date. The sample link image is below in Word which has the following URL:

https://app.smartsheet.com/sheets/P7Fpf5rvFXXJFF65FhP5897XMGHCfxCF9Xwp5wx1?view=grid&filterId=3810975611676548

ker9

@Cesar Perez - I had a similar problem back in June. I eventually got my IT department involved and I ended up getting a new laptop because the old one was out of warranty. I have no idea if that was the real problem, but the link issue was resolved. Something to look at, hope this helps.

Cesar Perez

Thank you @ker9

TylerH

What version of Microsoft Word/Office are you using? I am experiencing this today when redirecting to a Smartsheet form from a non-HTTPS intranet web application running on IIS in Windows Server 2012 R2. The redirect works fine for me in Firefox, Chrome, and Edge, but for others it does not. I believe I may have trusted the connection at some point for the non-HTTPS intranet web application, and that is why it is working for me.

Obviously links from Microsoft Word are not the same situation as from a non-HTTPS website redirect, but the underlying cause may be the same: the source of the connection is not a secure/trusted, so Smartsheet.com is declining the connection. If that's the case, it's Smartsheet's fault for not showing users the right error message, but it's the end user's fault as well (to some extent, it's not exactly documented, AFAICT) for creating a link from a non-trusted/insecure source.

Same issue from the past (except from embedding in SharePoint Online)

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/82889/browser-not-supported-error-when-embedding-in-microsoft-365-sharepoint

Same issue from another discussion forum (from embedding in old version of Word): https://www.msofficeforums.com/word/51841-some-hyperlinks-work-others-give-browser-date.html

I will try to test things out and report back if I'm able to find anything.

TylerH

Update: when I published the same web application (previously hosted in IIS on a Server 2012 R2 environment without SSL) to a Server 2022 environment running IIS with SSL, the redirect now works fine. Again, I know that is not the same scenario as your issue in MS Word, but it may help you narrow down the cause to either the OS being too old, an OS-level setting being set incorrectly (or not set at all), or not using an HTTPS connection in some way (note: I don't mean just "you didn't use https in your URL"—I mean the protocol being used at some point between clicking the link and being directed in a web browser to the Smartsheet resource is not using HTTPS or some similar, required technology).