Excel file shortcut won't open from Dropbox

[Jwaldrup]

My co-worker is having problems looking at a excel document that i shared with her...  It is saying something like .ink files can't be previewed and i believe there is a horse or something...  It could possibly be a shortcut file.. but i have tried correcting it but not sure i have...    I get the same message but i can click the download button and it will downlad for me and open but i do get the horse image and the .ink files cant be previewd

email address is:  [removed]

[Rich · Accepted solution]

A shortcut file is just that; a shortcut to the original. It's a pointer to the original file. When you open a shortcut on your computer, your operating system knows to look for the original file and open that instead. If you copy the shortcut to another computer or sync it through a service like Dropbox, it's no longer valid. It points to a location that doesn't exist. This is why it works for you but no one else.

You need to put the original file in Dropbox and let that sync to your co-worker. Shortcuts and links won't work.

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