1. A method implemented at least in part by a computing device comprising: intercepting a request by a user to open an electronic document; from a server, querying a client computing device to determine whether the client computing device has a specific software application capable of opening the electronic document; receiving, on the server, a response indicating that the client computing device has the specific software application capable of opening the electronic document; dynamically altering, on the server, the request to enable a network browser to open the electronic document instead of the specific software application; submitting, to the client computing device, the altered request for opening the electronic document; receiving, from the server, data in a format acceptable for rendering the electronic document in a web browser on the client computing device, wherein the data comprises a format different than physical files opened with the specific software application; and opening the electronic document in the web browser on the client computing device, wherein the request is altered by appending query parameters to the request, wherein the query parameters indicate whether a document library on the client computing device is set for the electronic document to be opened in the network browser even if the specific software application is accessible on the client computing device, wherein the query parameters contain an encoded server-relative path to the electronic document's file and an encoded absolute path to the page that was used to open the electronic document's file, wherein the absolute path parameter is used by the network browser to navigate back to the page when the electronic document is closed, wherein the intercepting the request is generated by the selection of a link and wherein the request, if it were not intercepted, would cause the specific software application to open the electronic document, and wherein the acts of receiving and opening are performed without user interaction other than the user's selection of the link.
1. A method implemented at least in part by a computing device comprising: intercepting a request by a user to open an electronic document; from a server, querying a client computing device to determine whether the client computing device has a specific software application capable of opening the electronic document; receiving, on the server, a response indicating that the client computing device has the specific software application capable of opening the electronic document; dynamically altering, on the server, the request to enable a network browser to open the electronic document instead of the specific software application; submitting, to the client computing device, the altered request for opening the electronic document; receiving, from the server, data in a format acceptable for rendering the electronic document in a web browser on the client computing device, wherein the data comprises a format different than physical files opened with the specific software application; and opening the electronic document in the web browser on the client computing device, wherein the request is altered by appending query parameters to the request, wherein the query parameters indicate whether a document library on the client computing device is set for the electronic document to be opened in the network browser even if the specific software application is accessible on the client computing device, wherein the query parameters contain an encoded server-relative path to the electronic document's file and an encoded absolute path to the page that was used to open the electronic document's file, wherein the absolute path parameter is used by the network browser to navigate back to the page when the electronic document is closed, wherein the intercepting the request is generated by the selection of a link and wherein the request, if it were not intercepted, would cause the specific software application to open the electronic document, and wherein the acts of receiving and opening are performed without user interaction other than the user's selection of the link. 4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the link comprises a Universal Resource Locator (URL) for the electronic document within the document library.