I don't have the 'Open' button when using Firefox

[zanderman2010]

Hi -- I have a question about using dropbox with firefox. When I open my files in chrome, the open menu allows me to "open in word" with the desktop app, and my changes sync. However, in firefox, I only have the options to open in paper and to open in word online. Is it possible to use the open in word function with firefox?

[SvenVlieghe]

indeed strange, also looked into this but didn't found a solution yet:

- IE is showing the same behavior
- in the help pages, I've noticed that Flash is needed.. installed that on IE/Firefox, but didn't do the trick
- found some stuff about changing the 'file types' associations in Windows, but didn't work for me on Win10
- tried loging in with username or with Google account

note that you must have an active local Dropbox install, where you're signed in with the same account

[Jay]

Hi there, have you tried checking out the following article as to why the button isn’t appearing?

Let me know how it goes!

[SvenVlieghe]

Hi Jay,

Don't know about the topic starter, but I've came across that page. The only thing I didn't check was the firewall, but it seems to me that Chrome should also have issues when the firewall is blocking those ports.

Can you confirm that the IE/Firefox versions should indeed have the complete 'open' function? (so the dropdown where you can choose between 'word online', 'word', 'file explorer') I was thinking it was maybe never built in for IE/Firefox?

Thanks for the feedback,

Sven

[Jay]

Hi Sven, while I don’t have Word installed on the device near me, you can see clearly that the Open button is both visible and has options in there for Photos and File Explorer:

IE - Open buttonFirefox - Open button

[zanderman2010]

Hi Jay -- thanks for investigating. However, I tried all the steps in the article Sven linked, and I'm still not seeing the option to see in file explorer or to open in Word. I am on a PC, in case that matters.

[Jay]

Could you try using incognito/private browsing mode without any extensions running (aside from Flash plugins)? Also, clearing your cache and even resetting your browser entirely should help. 

Let us know how it goes!

[SvenVlieghe]

could it e.g. has something to do with Windows10? (I've tested on that version, also not working in private mode)

[SvenVlieghe]

Must have something to do with Firefox not recognizing the desktop app.

Extra tests:
- Desktop app NOT running, Chrome: also only the option to open in Word Online
- Desktop app running, Chrome works as expected
- IE this time actually behaved +- the same! However, I really needed to close the browser to allow it to recognize the desktop app, you could also try ctrl+F5
- sadly enough, Firefox was still strugling.. even when clearing stuff, relogin, ..

Does your desktop app run when starting windows? 

The real question now is thus: why isn't Firefox detecting the Dropbox desktop app?

[SvenVlieghe]

(note: I tried with enabling Dropbox at startup: Chrome/IE still work, Firefox doesn't)

Nothing to do with Office I guess, since the 'open in file explorer' option also isn't present.

Perhaps you can try a different version of Firefox (e.g. the portable app?), or by messing around with some settings there. My version: Firefox Quantum 63.0.1 64bit