Why was I informed that I need to update Document Handler or Content Handler?
The notification was sent out because previous releases of the Locator 2.x Document Handler and Locator 4.x Content Handler we publish have shipped with an SSL certificate that expired August 8th, 2022
An updated version of both Document Handler and Content Handler has been released with a new certificate.
What is the Document Handler?
Document Handler is a user-side extension (installed on end-user machines, i.e. workstations) that allows users of your Locator 2.x installation to open documents in native applications on their workstation directly from the search results page.
You can find out more about the Document Handler in What is the ayfie Document Handler? and the Document Handler White Paper.
What is the Content Handler?
Content Handler is an extension analoguous to Document Handler, but used with Locator 4.x . The two extensions are not cross-compatible and should not be installed concurrently on the user’s system.
You can find out more about the Content Handler in the Ayfie Locator Installation Guide and Ayfie Locator Architectural Overview
If I have received the notification, does it mean my users are affected?
No. The notification was sent to all active customers, as the Document Handler and Content Handler do not require a separate license and any customer could be using them - we have no way to determine this on our side.
Document Handler: How to determine if my users are affected?
Are you using the Document Handler in your organization?
If no, then your users are not affected
If yes, then your users may be affected - see next bullet points
Is HTTPS enabled in your Locator installation?
If no, then your users are not affected (but would be affected by the issue if you enable HTTPS later without upgrading Document Handler)
If yes, then your users may be affected depending on the version of Document Handler in use - see next bullet points
Are your users using the single-user or multi-user version of Document Handler?
If single-user version is installed, then your users are not affected and no further steps are required.
If multi-user version is installed, then your users may be affected depending on the release of Document Handler you are using - see next bullet point.
Which version of Document Handler are you using?
Versions up to and including 2.7 SR2 are not affected as SSL support was introduced with 2.7 SR3
Versions from 2.7 SR3 up are affected and you need to upgrade Document Handler to the latest version
The installed type and version of Document Handler can be checked using the Control Panel / Apps & Features on your users' workstations:
Content Handler: How to determine if my users are affected?
Are you using the ContentHandler in your organization?
If no, then your users are not affected
If yes, then your users are affected
Do I need to update Locator and/or Supervisor?
Document Handler
No. Document Handler is backwards compatible with all currently supported releases of Locator 2.x and Supervisor 2.x. Please refer to End of Life ayfie Products to determine if your Locator version is still supported.
It should function for earlier releases that have since become unsupported, but we cannot guarantee that.
However, the version available to your users for download through the UI will not be the current one until the next Locator 2.x Service Release. The current version is downloadable through the ayfie Locator Clients page in our Public Knowledge Base.
In the mean time, you can replace the installer served by your Locator installation - it is located in \RestService\ClientDownloads\DocumentHandler under the Locator installation directory (a direct way to open this path in Explorer is to enter the following PowerShell command on the server: explorer ((Get-ItemProperty ("Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Virtual Works\ViaWorks") -Name "InstallDir")."InstallDir" + "RestService\ClientDownloads\DocumentHandler" ) ). Please make sure to perform iisreset (or just reboot the Locator server) after replacing the file to ensure the new version is served.
Content Handler
Maybe.
If you are using the multi-user version of Content Handler and deploying it through group policy, updating Locator is not needed.
If you are using the single-user version of Content Handler and let the users install it themselves, they can only obtain it through a download link in the Locator 4.x UI and you will need to restart your Locator installation for it to update automatically (Ayfie Locator Installation Guide under “Starting and Stopping”) and serve the correct download.
Upgrade Instructions
Single-user versions of both Handlers can be installed by the users themselves, provided you supply them with the correct installer.
Rollouts of the multi-user version of Document Handler should be handled by your IT.
Document Handler (Multi-User)
The multi-user version of Document Handler is available from ayfie Locator Clients
Content Handler (Multi-User)
The download link and instructions to roll out the multi-user version of Content Handler are available under the “Content Handler” section of Ayfie Locator Installation Guide
What is the impact of outdated Document Handler / Content Handler certificate?
Locator search will continue to work
Opening documents that are viewed through the web browser (e.g. Sharepoint Online) will continue to work
Downloading documents will continue to work
Document previews will continue to work
Document Handler
The Document Handler check (ran from the Locator 2.x Search UI) sets a cookie on the user's machine ( ProtocolHandlerInstalled-v2 with a value of "1" ). This cookie should already be present for all existing users, unless it expired or has been intentionally cleared.
If the check previously passed, the user will be unaffected until the cookie expires or is cleared
For users who have not previously passed the check (or whose cookie has been cleared/expired), the check to determine if Document Handler is installed will fail, producing a warning icon next to the "Account & Settings" menu button in the search UI:
For users who do not have this cookie set, opening document types which require client software on the user's machine will not work unless the Document Handler installation check is overridden (see: "Workaround", below)
Content Handler
The Content Handler check (ran from the Locator 4.x Search UI) does not persists its' result.
Content Handler will not work and Locator will behave as if it is not installed
How to override the installation check?
Document Handler
From the "Account & Settings" menu, go to "Client Downloads" and check the "Already installed" box underneath the Document Handler download button:
Content Handler
There is no option to override the installation check for Content Handler.
A note on upgrading the Content Handler
While installing the new version over an already installed previous one will work, certain Registry entries relating to the previous version of Content Handler will remain, causing both to appear in the Add/Remove Programs dialog. This can be avoided by uninstalling the old version before installing the new one.
This has been reviewed by the development team and determined to be a non-critical cosmetic issue that should not take priority over making the fixed Content Handler available to customers.