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I can preview offline files on my Android device, but I can't open them with Microsoft.
Hello,
I was on holiday and wanted to open a file I had successfully synced to be offline. However, when I tried to open the off-line file I received a message:
"you can view this file offline,...
Hey Pdecort! Apologies for any delays.
I double checked this with our team in the meantime and they’ve also confirmed that this is expected. Offlining mostly allows files to be previewed on the Dropbox mobile app, but to edit a file by using the Microsoft app in this case, you’d need to be connected to the internet. This is to prevent the creation of conflicts and duplicates on Dropbox, as the app won’t be able to detect your updates.
I’ve passed your feedback to our team though, so that they can also check your comments, in case this is something they’d consider changing in the future.
Walter
Dropbox Community Moderator
Dropbox Community ModeratorHey Pdecort - sorry to hear you're having issues with this.
Does it happen with only a particular file or all of your offline files? Did you try rebooting your device and/or clearing the app's cache since you first noticed this?
If you did and still get the same results, could you try another WiFi or cellular data?
Let me know more and we'll take it from there.
Hello,
Thanks for your prompt reply.
I have the same issue with multiple offline files.
When I have data/wifi I am able to sync the files successfully and get the green 'tick' indicating it has synced successfully.The problem is when I go 'offline' - i.e. turn my wifi/data off; or go somewhere without data reception - i.e. 'offline'. At that point I am no long able to open the files which are already downloaded for 'offline' use. Thanks.
- Walter
Can you also confirm that you're using these steps to offline your files Pdecort?
In the meantime, you could try exporting the files to your device locally, if needed.
Hello Walter - yes I have used those steps (Android) and - as I mentioned - I have the green tick indicating that it has successfully downloaded the file for offline use.
I only have DBox synced with one mobile device.
I tried some other files - a PDF and picture - and they do open offline. The Excel and Word documents do not. Also, the word document is 'password' protected and opens in Word on my phone in order to type in the password and open it... even if I'm not intending to edit it.
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