Need to see if your shared folder is taking up space on your dropbox 👨💻? Find out how to check here.
Forum Discussion
Microsoft word and excel only opens online version, I want to open normal excel and word
When I go to open any excel or work files from my computer it only gives me an option to open the *online* version, not the version that opens up into a new window. I paid for all the software of mic...
Ross_S
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffHey folks,
The Open button allows you to either open the file locally, or via Office 365. If you are not seeing the option to open locally it's because the file isn't present on that machine.
Can you ensure that Dropbox is running firstly, however the most likley issue here would be that you may have Selectivly Synced out that file. To confirm the status of the file can you visually locate that file on the actual machine and then confirm it opens without issue.
Many thanks.
Rich
Super User II
Super User IIHi Ross_S,
I don't use Selective Sync on this computer, and the Dropbox client is running. The option to open the file locally does not appear. This is occuring on multiple computers.
I don't understand why I cant speak to someone so we can clear this problem right away.
I understand office 365 office doesnt sync with dropbox anymore (that sucks).
So how can I have my microsoft excel and word synced? That's all im asking for.
I know i can download it, then save as inside dropbox, although this makes the process more tedious taking away a lot of the efficiency reasons I decided to joing dropbox.
I need a solution.
- Rich
Southweststucco wrote:
I don't understand why I cant speak to someone so we can clear this problem right away.
For starters, phone support is only available to Dropbox Business customers on the Advanced or Enterprise plans. Everyone else needs to open a ticket with Support. Also, assuming this feature wasn't removed intentionally, then it will probably require a developer to resolve because it's probably not an issue that regular Support can handle. This isn't a problem specific to just you, so it will require additional troubleshooting and testing before it can be resolved. In other works, it's not a simple flip of a switch to resolve. Again, this is all assuming that the feature wasn't removed intentionally.
So how can I have my microsoft excel and word synced? That's all im asking for.
The Office apps have never "synced" with Dropbox. The only thing that syncs is the Dropbox client, when installed on your computer. As I understand it, the ability to open a file from the website in the locally installed copy of Office requires that you have the Dropbox client installed and the file already syncing to your computer. If that's the case, you should already have the file locally and you can just open it directly from your Dropbox folder instead of from the website. Any changes you save to the file would be synced back to your account by Dropbox once you close the file. And this would actually be quicker than opening the file through website.
- Jay
Dropbox Community Moderator
Rich wrote:
Hi Ross_S,
I don't use Selective Sync on this computer, and the Dropbox client is running. The option to open the file locally does not appear. This is occuring on multiple computers.
Hey Rich, it's working fine here:
Tested it on Chrome and Safari. If you're using a Mac, make sure that the Flash plugin is installed, and enabled for Dropbox in the Safari settings:
Southweststucco, if you're using a Mac, check the above as well!
- Ross_S
I wonder if we have a misunderstanding of what the button does:
Open -> Open in Microsoft Word = Open the actual Word doc that I already have on my desktop
If the doc isn't there then it will not open.
If you can't see the doc in that folder then I wouldn't expect to see that functionality.
Unless I missed it, can you confirm that if you navigate to that location, and double click the actual file, then it opens. If you're not able to complete this process for any reason then the option should not appear.
As someone (Rich?) mentioned on the prev page, this feature is just the same as double-clicking the local doc.
When accessing a file through a shared link, I no longer have the Open menu with the dropdown option to "Open in Word." I only have the Open button, which leads me to Microsoft Online - which I do not want to use.
The folders in which the files are saved are shared folders in which I either own the folder or have access to edit.I have been able to Open in Word/application until just this week. This happens regardless of file type. Colleagues who have access to the same folders and files have the Open/dropdown menu and are able to open the file from the location.
I know I can just go over to the folder, but that's extra steps and having it within the Dropbox link is much more convenient when working with folders with hundreds of files.
I'm using a Macbook pro and Chrome browser. I have the latest browser and Microsoft updates.
Any ideas?
Yes, to get the dropdown option for Word you have to have the file selected for sync (selective sync) (and thus resides on you local dropbox drive on your PC).
