Referencing local JPG image file in PDF export fails

Platform Notice: Data Center Only - This article only applies to Atlassian products on the Data Center platform.

Note that this KB was created for the Data Center version of the product. Data Center KBs for non-Data-Center-specific features may also work for Server versions of the product, however they have not been tested. Support for Server* products ended on February 15th 2024. If you are running a Server product, you can visit the Atlassian Server end of support announcement to review your migration options.

*Except Fisheye and Crucible

Problem

When exporting a PDF with an embedded image that's local to the file system, the following error appears in the logs:

1 Error creating background image: Invalid Image URL - error on relative URL : unknown protocol: c

Cause

File URLs are faulty due to incorrect file system links.

Resolution

On Linux,

On UNIX-based systems the file path below is:

\\laptop\My Documents\FileSchemeURIs.doc

The corresponding valid file URI is actually:

file://laptop/My%20Documents/FileSchemeURIs.doc

On Windows,

For the local Windows base systems file path:

C:\Documents and Settings\davris\FileSchemeURIs.doc

The corresponding valid file URI in Windows is actually:

file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/davris/FileSchemeURIs.doc

Updated on April 8, 2025

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