Viewing downloaded HTML pages or previewing pages from a text editor or website design app in a browser can be a routine activity for many of us. But what do you do when you get this unexpected error?
Safari cannot open the page. The error is ‘The operation could not be completed. (kCFErrorDomainCFNetwork error 1.)” (kCFErrorDomainCFNetwork:1)
It seems like a deep and complicated problem. Fortunately, the answer is simple: macOS tells you that you haven’t allowed Safari to open files from local volumes. This is part of Apple’s common security profile in macOS that prevents apps from opening files in locations or of a type they haven’t been explicitly allowed to access.
There is no real risk in giving Safari access to a file. Apple generally tries to limit what isn’t necessary, and that can get out of hand in these cases. Most Mac users don’t preview HTML pages. Since Apple has this broad approach, it doesn’t make sense for malware creators to try to exploit opening an HTML page in Safari as a vector.
To bypass this security measure:
- Open System Preferences > Security and privacy or System settings > Privacy and security.
- Click Full disk access.
- Click the + (plus) icon at the bottom of the list.
- Select Safari from the Applications folder.
Now try reloading that HTML page and you’ll find that Safari can handle it.
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We’ve put together a list of the questions we get asked most often, along with answers and links to columns: read our super FAQs to see if your question is covered. If not, we are always looking for new problems to solve! Email yours to [email protected], including screenshots if applicable and if you want your full name used. Not every question is answered, we don’t reply to email, and we can’t provide direct troubleshooting advice.
