Firefox won't open local html files on Android tablet

[DeadlyErnest]

The following code used to work in FireFox on Android 5 but doesn't work in the latest FireFox on Android 9. More importantly, can you tell me what I can do to make it work so I can read html files on the local file system.

Below is standard HTML code that works in a PC browser as HTML 4, HTML 5, and XHTML but fails with error messages of "Cant find URL" or "No app to open that file." NB: Extra spaces added to stop the code running.

< p class = " center " > < img src = " .. / images / in_the_mail_900.jpg " width = " 900 " height = " 1350 " alt = " Cover " > < / p >

< p class = " center " > < img src = " in_the_mail_900.jpg " width = " 900 " height = " 1350 " alt = " Cover " > < / p >

In the code above the first references a file in another sub-folder within the same folder the html is in a sub-folder of, while the second is another file in the same folder as the web page the code is on.


The moment you use a file reference link and not an Internet based absolute link you get the 'No application can open this link' fault message. At this time my best guess is that FireFox has no code to allow it to use a file reference link and it requires a http or https start to the link to work.

The device concerned is a Lenovo Tab M7 with Android 9 and the latest version of FireFox available from the App Store.

All of the code and files I'm having trouble with on the SD Card they're on work perfectly well in FireFox 83.0 on my Zorin Linux PC as well as other browsers on my sons iMac and Windows 10 systems.

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This basic topic had been briefly discussed on old thread, but not resolved. Not sure if the original post had the very same issue. I was advised to start a new thread, so I am.

viewtopic.php?f=47&t=3039034

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Sort of related to the above, I can't find a way to have FireFox take over the file associations for .htm - yes I can get it to control the association for .html but not .htm. This issue is because the Android 9 file association process doesn't recognize FireFox as a valid app for some reason.

[DeadlyErnest]

I just had a thought and checked something that really illustrates the issue. I have a website which is all basic html code in which the relative file references above are used. I have a copy of the website on the sd card, this is the exact same code as is on the web server. If I access the web page on the sd card I get the faults and error messages above. However, when I access the same files in FireFox on my PC it displays correctly, when I hit the web server by the Android device FireFox and my PC FireFox it displays properly. This makes it clear the issue is the FireFox on the Android device has an issue with accessing a local file reference link. I tried changing the file references to draw from the Internet web server starting with absolute URLs of http:www. and the links worked perfectly. For some reason FireFox on Android 9 does NOT like a link in the local file system.

I find this very frustrating as my old device used a much older version of Fire Fox I had put on an Android Asus Note from 4 or 5 years ago and everything worked perfectly on that.

[DeadlyErnest]

I saw the thread below and tried an older version of Firefox on one of my son's old tablets and found that everything works perfectly on Firefox 68.11.0 on Android 5 but not on the latest Firefox from the on-line Idiot Stores. Also, Firefox 68.11.0 will not install on Android 9. Grrr. Now if the developers can identify what they took out of Firefox 68.11.0 to cause the problem, and put it back into the next version of Firefox I'll be a very happy chappy.

viewtopic.php?f=47&t=3063747