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problems saving an excel worksheet to dropbox, automatically saves as corrupted pdf

problems saving an excel worksheet to dropbox, automatically saves as corrupted pdf

hjw13
Collaborator | Level 8
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I'm having problems with Excel/pdf .

All my excel files save automatically as a pdf on Dropbox (and yes, I have made sure when I 'Save as' there's the correct file type in the box). Then when I try to open the pdf as a pdf it's 'corrupted', as the previous posters have found.

I do have a workaround, I can open and use the file by right-clicking 'Open with Excel', but I can't send the information as an attachment in excel format, which I need to do on occasion. Sending the attachment as the saved pdf is usless as it won't open.

I have the latest version of dropbox and Windows and Office 365.

 

Advice very much appreciated!

 

1 Accepted Solution

Accepted Solutions

hjw13
Collaborator | Level 8
Go to solution
Microsoft was the problem, there was some default setting behind the scenes- I didn’t really understand it but it’s ok now. Thank you for the support and help in clarifying the situation.

View solution in original post

7 Replies 7

Jay
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution
Hi there, are you saving these files via the Dropbox site, Office Online, or the mobile app?
 
Are these new files you created, or simply editing existing files?
 
Thanks in advance!

Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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hjw13
Collaborator | Level 8
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Hi!

Thanks for getting back to me

I don't use the mobile app much

Working from Microsoft office: I creat the excel file in Office 365,, click on 'Save as' and put it into dropbox, file type Excel (xls etc). But When I go to dropbox to open the file it has mysteriously converted to a pdf - which won't open as a pdf because it's says the file is not supported etc.

Working from dropbox: I can use the 'open with' option to access the file as Excel, edit and save. I've tried using 'Save'; also 'Save as' version 2, making sure the file type is excel, but it still automatically saves as a pdf.

There are occasions when I need to send an excel file as an email attachment (not as a link to dropbox). I used to able to do this, but suddenly - a while back- this pdf issue cropped up. 

I don't have the same problem with Word documents, so I suspect it's something to do with the way Dropbox is 'reading' the Excel application.

Jay
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution
Dropbox doesn’t convert files from one format to another, so this change must be occurring before it is uploaded to Dropbox.
 
When you say you’re creating the file on Office 365, are you referring to a local installation of that app, or the web version? 
 
When the file is saved in the Dropbox folder on your machine, what is the exact filetype you’re seeing there? Can you try saving it to a different location outside of the Dropbox folder to see if it saves as an Excel file?
 
Is the file extension of the file as it appears on the site a PDF?
 
Could you confirm that this isn’t your local machine trying to open Excel files in a PDF viewer automatically, instead of opening in Excel?
 
Any info, including screenshots, would help greatly!

Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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hjw13
Collaborator | Level 8
Go to solution

HI Jay,

I think you've found the problem. Your reassurance that Dropbox doesn't reformat files has made me have another look at Microsoft. I saved the excel spreadhseet onto my oneDrive - and it saved as a pdf!!

I'm now contacting Microsoft to see what is happening their end.

I really appreciate your very quick responses and help - at least I've narrowed down the problem!

 

 

Jay
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution

Let me know how it goes when you get an update on this matter!


Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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hjw13
Collaborator | Level 8
Go to solution
Microsoft was the problem, there was some default setting behind the scenes- I didn’t really understand it but it’s ok now. Thank you for the support and help in clarifying the situation.

Jay
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution
Glad to hear that you found the solution! 
 
Enjoy your week ahead. 🙂

Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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