CQ5.X: When downloading Office Documents using IE an Authentication Prompt is displayed

Issue

A user authentication prompt with the following message, "The server [hostname] at Jackrabbit Webdav Server requires a username and password", pops up when attempting to download Office Documents using Internet Explorer on a machine with Office 2003 installed.

Cause

Microsoft Office used to be WebDAV enabled, which means that it used to open .doc, .xls, and other office documents from a built in WebDAV client (and Internet Explorer) enables the user to write the document. Changes will be written back and eventually persisted (if the user has sufficient permissions to do so) upon pressing save.

The OPTIONS request is used to determine if the server is DAV-enabled and which DAV features are provided by the server.

See also http://www.webdav.org/specs/rfc4918.html#HEADER_DAV

Resolution

To stop the authentication prompt from being displayed then create an empty file in CRX /apps/sling/servlet/default/OPTIONS.jsp.

If you do not know how to do this then follow this process (CQ5.3 only):

1. Log into http://[host]:[port]/crxde as admin
2. Browse to /apps in the tree on the left side
3. If they do not already exist, create this set of folders under /apps, sling/servlet/default
4. Click Save All
5. Right click the /apps/sling/servlet/default folder
6. Select Create... => Create File...
7. Enter "OPTIONS.jsp" as the filename
8. Click OK
9. Click Save All

Applies to

CQ5.X