Allow users to view items in a SharePoint Document Library, but not open the files

Question

I have the requirement to allow users to view the content of a document library, including browsing through folders, but not actually open the individual files.

There doesn't appear to be a permission to restrict users from opening files, but still display them.

Naturally it is an option to create a view that doesn't have the 'open link' in it, but that doesn't stop users from manually constructing the URL. Also there are other options in the context menu that I want to be available for the individual documents.

I realise that a similar question has been asked before.

Answer 1

If users aren't allowed to access the content of the files, I see no reason why they should be shown the actual files, or indeed why the files should take up storage in the document library. Why not populate a list or, if you want it to make as file-like as possible, generate some dummy file hierarchy (containing empty files but with the original names) from the actual original files, which can be stored away safely? This could be done dynamically, or with a batch process that is running on a timer, dependent on how often the content of the folders changes.

Answer 2

This isn't a complete answer, but maybe it will point you in the right direction and you can get it to work.

In a Team Site, there are the following Permission Levels:

Read: Can view pages and list items and download documents.

View Only: Can view pages, list items, and documents. Document types with server-side file handlers can be viewed in the browser but not downloaded.

The only difference between the two is that View Only has Open Items unchecked:

Open Items - View the source of documents with server-side file handlers.

Unfortunately, according to my testing and here and here, it does not work. At least not with Office documents.