Need to see if your shared folder is taking up space on your dropbox 👨‍💻? Find out how to check here.

Forum Discussion

eastpaw's avatar
eastpaw
Helpful | Level 6
4 years ago
Solved

Dropbox on Android suddenly unable to open protected Word document

Hello. I've had the same password protected Word doc in my dropbox for years now.   On the same Android device I've been using for years as well, I am suddenly unable to open that file. When I tr...
Android
Microsoft
Mobile
Preview
Third Party Integrations
  • jereunderwood's avatar
    jereunderwood
    4 years ago

    After struggling to figure out what I would do since Dropbox was now saying that one of my very essential files could no longer be opened on my Android phone because this Word document was encrypted in Microsoft Word, I accidentally discovered that the problem can easily be solved if you simply ignore the message "File type not supported" and click on the vertical three-dot-menu at the top right of the screen and then select "Open with..." Then choose Word to open the document and all is exactly as it used to be. The message "File type not supported" should definitely be changed to avoid this confusions.  

jereunderwood's avatar
jereunderwood
Helpful | Level 6
4 years ago

After struggling to figure out what I would do since Dropbox was now saying that one of my very essential files could no longer be opened on my Android phone because this Word document was encrypted in Microsoft Word, I accidentally discovered that the problem can easily be solved if you simply ignore the message "File type not supported" and click on the vertical three-dot-menu at the top right of the screen and then select "Open with..." Then choose Word to open the document and all is exactly as it used to be. The message "File type not supported" should definitely be changed to avoid this confusions.  

llayen0314's avatar
llayen0314
Explorer | Level 3
4 years ago

Thanks, I tried but still get error "Can't open this document" password protected file ae not supported.

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

    Hi llayen0314, could you send me a screenshot of the error you mentioned? 

    • llayen0314's avatar
      llayen0314
      Explorer | Level 3
      4 years ago

      The picture to your right is the first error message. The picture on your left error message after I click on the 3 dots right hand corner to open with ...

       

       

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

        Sorry to jump in here, llayen0314.

         

        It seems that password protected files cannot actually be previewed through our mobile app.

         

        For more info and workarounds, see this article.

About Integrations

Find solutions to issues with third-party integrations from the Dropbox Community. Share advice and help members with their integration questions.

The Dropbox Community team is active from Monday to Friday. We try to respond to you as soon as we can, usually within 2 hours.

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X, Facebook or Instagram.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!