How can I open files in Excel, not Excel for the web or GSheets?

Hi Grahame3, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Are you trying to edit the files directly on the Dropbox site, the mobile app, or your desktop machine?

This will help me to assist further!

Hi  Jay - I mostly use my desktop plus i pad and are so used to Excel I dont want anything else. I belong to the Silver surfers but I am not at all technically proficient. I find it very had when so many computer programs say how much you  can do but seldom tell us HOW to do all they claim. So I am comfortable with Excel, dont need or want anything else.

I'm not sure what you mean about editing in Dropbox - I open the file in Excel or Wod and theen edit it, save and close it.

I had to make another username  Graham31??

If you have to make a new username, then it means you have another Dropbox account under a different email address. 

Are you opening the file in Excel or Word on the desktop or the mobile app, just to understand how it's opening?

Mostly on desktop, Win 10, occasionally on my i pad. It was working fine recently, I could open a file in Excel, work  on it close it and a few seconds later the  i pad version was updated. I just dunno how or why its all gone pear shaped.

So what exactly what is happening now when you open an Excel file on the iPad?

Same as on the PC, it opens in Excel for the web instead of Microsoft Excel which it was created in and has been no problem before

Sorry to jump in here, Grahame31!

I understand you're interested in opening your Excel files in Dropbox directly through Excel on your desktop, instead of Excel for the web.

Is the Dropbox application running on your computer? What do you see when you hover over your Dropbox icon?

Also, if you go to your All files page and locate an Excel file, then click on the "..." (ellipsis) button, then on "Open in", do you see a "file explorer" option?

This should allow you to open the file locally.

Hi Hannah, all comments are welcome. I don’t know what’s happened but I deleted Dropbox everywhere intending to look for an alternative, but it was suggested I download it again, create a new account and when I clicked on a file it said open with and Excel was an option. That wasn’t there before, so far it seems ok but…………….

Thanks for jumping in

Grahame