The folder may be located in an unavailable location, protected with a password, or the filename contain illegal characters

Different users…different issues but all are using the same product i.e. SharePoint

And we are here to resolves the issues and guide them in right directions.

This time-I am sharing in interesting issues which is based on sharepoint designer. User opened a ticket by mentioning that she is getting the following error message while opening the site in sharepoint designer.

The folder 'http://localhost' isn't accessible. The folder may be located in an unavailable location, protected with a password, or the filename contains a / or \.

What needs to be done if we encounter such issues? If we notice carefully then we will come to know that the error message is self explanatory. Ok-what exactly?

Here are the guidelines by which you can check the parameters one by one and get back to me in case of any questions/queries/information required:

1)   There is no such site or folder?

2)   This location is inaccessible because you are using FORM Authentication? You need to extend the web application on another port to connect to SPD.

3)   URL contains illegal characters?

4)   URL contains file names i.e. default.aspx

5)   Check in Central Administration > Application Management > Authentication Providers. Make sure "Enable Client Integration" is set to "Yes".

Thank you. Please feel free to contact/any queries/any questions, I would be more than happy to help you as well as resolves your issues.