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Lori S's avatar
Lori S
New member | Level 2
5 years ago
Solved

Can't open files in desktop app

I can see all my files but none of them will open in my desktop app. I restarted my laptop and that didn't work. Now I'm trying to uninstall the app and it won't uninstall. Any suggestions?

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  • Lori S's avatar
    Lori S
    5 years ago

    Hi Walter! Thanks for responding. I wasn't getting any error messages at all. Just, nothing happened when I tried to open a file. I finally uninstalled and reinstalled the app and it's working now.

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  • Megan's avatar
    Megan
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    4 years ago

    Hi GHiggins, let's jump straight into this! 

     

    From your screenshots, and the cloud-like icons on the files, it seems these are set to be available online-only. 

     

    Can you access your Dropbox folder, right click on them and select Make available offline? What happens when you try to preview them after changing that setting?

     

    Keep me posted!

  • GHiggins's avatar
    GHiggins
    Explorer | Level 3
    4 years ago

    Hi Megan, Thanks for your help. Your suggestion works to open the files from the desktop app. However, I don't really want to do this every time I have to open a file. My computer is ALWAYS connected to the internet, so making the file "available offline" doesn't really make sense here. Shouldn't it simply pull the file as needed? Is that an option? Your help is much appreciated.

  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    4 years ago

    Hi GHiggins, if the file isn't downloading when you're trying to open it directly, it's best to mark the file or folder as available offline so it's already on your machine when you try to open it.

     

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