UNC Links with Preceding Backslashes Don't Open in Editing Mode

Bug reports
1

Steps to reproduce

  1. In Windows 11, create a link to a remote server. I cannot share the one I’m using, but it should point to a valid network location using following format: [link name](<file:///\\MyCompanyServer\MySharedFolder>)
  2. Ensure that “editing” mode is activated for the note and “source view” is turned off (i.e. live preview is active).
  3. After ensuring correct formatting of the link, click it.

Did you follow the troubleshooting guide?

Yes, I followed the troubleshooting guide. This error is reproducible in the latest version of obsidian, in a sandbox vault, in restricted mode with all community plugins deactivated, and with locally stored markdown note files.

Expected result

The location specified in the link opens.

Actual result

A popup message is displayed reporting “Windows cannot find MyCompanyServer\MySharedFolder. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again.”

Environment

SYSTEM INFO:
Obsidian version: 1.12.7
Installer version: 1.12.7
Operating system: Windows 11 Enterprise 10.0.26200
Login status: logged in
Language: en
Catalyst license: insider
Insider build toggle: off
Live preview: on
Base theme: adapt to system
Community theme: none
Snippets enabled: 0
Restricted mode: on
RECOMMENDATIONS:
none

Additional information

There are three more important factors here. They are important considerations as they demonstrate that the issue is not simply an error in the link formatting or server location:

  1. The UNC link to [link name](<file:///\\MyCompanyServer\MySharedFolder>) works correctly once reading view is activated.
  2. This issue can be avoided by replacing the backslashes preceding the server name with their URL encoded equivalents. If the link is instead [link name](<file:///%5C%5CMyCompanyServer\MySharedFolder>) it works in both editing mode with live preview and also reading view.
  3. Note that the actual UNC path to the server starts with “\MyCompanyServer”, using only two backslashes. Four are used in the example above to account for the double backslashes escaping each other and being interpreted as a single character.
3

Sometimes things get a little tricky trying to illustrate markdown formatting in a markdown editor. I don’t see the option to edit my initial post, so please note that the file paths above should be typed out with quadruple backslashes before the server name. The format should be:
[link name](<file:///\\\\MyCompanyServer\MySharedFolder>)