unable to edit Microsoft files in Dropbox web

[Shaun S.10]

Attempting to use Dropbox web and editing Microsoft files. Dropbox support stated that there is currently an issue with Safari not allowing cookies to support editing Microsoft Office files (Word, Powerpoint, Excel) using a paid Microsoft Office 365 subscription, online. All has been well for over a year using this service and recently I can't edit these files online using a MAC OS and Safari. Safari is the built in web browser for MAC and Apple sets very high standards for security. Could Dropbox have this worng? Could it be that Apple makes updates to keep Safari more secure and Dropbox hasn't figured out what to do to get the service working again? It took over one month to finally get the information from Dropbox. Does anybody else share the same experience? No cleaning of cache or settings changes make this work. Dropbox said this is an issue Apple needs to fix. Interesting.

[Jay]

Hi @Shaun S.10, thanks for posting today!

I'm sorry to hear about this. As we've not received any other reports similar to this, it's possible that there might be some device-related issues which could be causing this on your machine.

Have you tried opening Safari in private browsing mode without any extensions running, clearing your cache and even resetting your browser entirely?

Let me know how it goes!

[Shaun S.10]

I did all of this and reported it back to Dropbox. I received a ticket last night saying the issue was Safari and that was that. There was no other support provided to me.

[Jay]

If that's the case, could you try replying to the support ticket letting them know this information so that they can investigate further?

[Shaun S.10]

This is what support said in follow up. I sent another email asking again for Dropbox to confirm. Unfortunately the support is lacking at this moment. As you can see I asked if this is Safari in general or Safari in my machine. The reply didn’t provide any solution.


Happy to help! If you have any other Dropbox questions, please feel free to reach out to me.

Regards,
Theo

PS: Want to make Dropbox even easier to use? Check out these tips and tricks to use your account like a pro:
https/help.dropbox.com/learn/getting-started-tips-tricks

Sales, Sep 10, 2020, 10:19 AM PDT:
Thank you kindly for the clarification and stellar support. Have a great day.

Regards,


On Sep 10, 2020, at 9:57 AM, Theo (Dropbox Support) <SUPPORT> wrote:


Theo, Sep 10, 2020, 9:57 AM PDT:
Hi Shaun,

I'm sorry for the confusion, let me explain.

The issue you have here seems to be with Safari and possibly the version of Safari on your machine is not able to support the opening of these files.

If you have any other Dropbox questions, please feel free to reach out to me.

Regards,
Theo

Sales, Sep 10, 2020, 3:48 AM PDT:
I am very confused now. Are you saying the issue is with Safari as a whole or with Safari only on my machine?

I posted a question to the community and an employee replied saying this is the first issue he knew about with Safari not working for editing Microsoft files inside Dropbox online.

Regards,</SUPPORT>

[Shaun S.10]

Dropbox reconfirmed the issue is with my safari and not safari in general. I’m reaching out to Apple for assistance with confirming I do exactly what Dropbox recommend with cache clearing. That way I can make sure it is done right. I think it has something to do with the cookies.

[TomWinter]

Hi there,

We are also experiencing this issue when trying to edit MS Office files using the 'open in PowerPoint for Web' option in Dropbox - it just opens a new tab in Safari but fails to load PowerPoint online. It works fine in Chrome.

I've cleared cache, tried a private browsing window, etc. but nothing has resolved it.

Is this something the DropBox team are looking further into?

[Jay]

Hi @TomWinter, could you try using incognito/private browsing mode without any extensions running, and even resetting your browser entirely?

If the issue persists on one browser, then it might be best to contact the developer of the browser for further assistance.

[TomWinter]

Thanks Jay - I've tried those steps to no avail. And I've had some great support from DropBox team who are looking in to the issue. it does seem to be specifically Safari-related, so I'll be heading over to Apple Support soon.

One of yur support team suggested that it might be connected to a Flash plugin - however, as I have a new Mac it does not have any plugins, and I note that Flash is reaching 'End of Life' next month and yuo can no longer download it from Adobe. Does DropBox make use of Flash? Could this be a cause of the issue?