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Re: "Open with" option missing

"Open with" option missing

Luc_W
Helpful | Level 5
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I'm using the Dropbox app in a Pixelbook, and until today, I used to be able to open pdf files using Xodo Docs by clicking on the three vertical dots on the right of the file names.  For some reason, the "Open with" option in the dialog has disappeared, and I have been unable to recover it. 

The dialog looks like this now: http://bit.ly/2ErF8dM

 

I have uninstalled and reinstalled the Dropbox app, to no avail.

I have even done a factory reset of the Pixelbook, but when I log into my Google account, the setup process automatically re-installs all the apps I had in the previous iteration of Pixelbook.

 

This leads me to believe that my Google account has created a mirror image of the "profile" or "setting" files of the corrupted Dropbox app, reintroduces them to the machine after the factory reset.

 

Is there a way to remove every single file (especially profile) associated with the Dropbox app?  Uninstalling Dropbox via Play Store simply removes the app, but if I reinstall it, and open and log in to Dropbox, everything looks like before, including the "Recents" menu (with the files recently opened).  

 

Incidentally, this is not a specifically pdf issue.  The dialog looks the same if I try to open a *.docx file, for instance.

Thanks for your help.

32 Replies 32

gribley
New member | Level 2
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Thanks for the idea. Yes, I have "Export", but that saves the file elsewhere on the device for editing. I want to edit the Dropbox offline/cached file directly, so when I'm done my edits on Android are synced back up to Dropbox.

More details if anyone's interested: My workflow last semester for grading student papers worked great: "Open with" my pdf annotator, make notes and comments, and then save the file, which would sync it back to Dropbox. I could grade dozens of papers on my Android tablet that way, and they would then sync back to my desktop. Exporting would require me then to copy them back over into Dropbox -- an unnecessary step.

Alas, I still can't find the vanished "Open with" option 😞

Jay
Dropbox Staff
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Hey there,

It’s possible that you chose to permanently open using the built-in Dropbox PDF viewer.

When you select an app to open the file, you'll have the option to use this app "Always" or "Just once." Choosing "Always" sets this app as the default app for opening this type of file from Dropbox.

To change or clear your default apps, you can do so from the Dropbox settings:


- Open the Dropbox app
- Tap on the menu button
- Tap the gear icon (or "Settings" on older versions of the app)
- Scroll down and tap "Manage default apps"
- Find the app you'd like to remove and tap "Remove"
- Confirm the removal by tapping "Clear"

Let me know if after that you get the ‘Open with…’ option!

Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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jay h.5
Helpful | Level 6
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I have the same problem. The suggested "solution" doesn't work. The "open with" option doesn't appear.

 

If I go to Manage default apps in Settings and remove, say, Word to open .docx files, the next time I go to dropbox to open a .docx file, the dialog box does not include the Open With opton. Instead, I have to open the document in the dropbox viewer. I can use the icon in the lower right corner of the screen to give me the option to select Word, which then launches the "just once/always" dialog. If I select Always, the selection has no effect the next time I want to open a .docx file. I still have to use the lower right corner icon to open in Word. And if I go into Settings>Manage Default applications, Word will be shown as the default. However, dropbox doesn't honor that default.

 

This is a new problem. Open With used to work and set the default application. There was no need to go through the viewer first to get to what you want to be the default.

jay h.5
Helpful | Level 6
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This topic should not be shown as "solved." The problem is unremedied. The clunky word-around is just that: clunky.

 

And it's not the way that Open With worked, and allowed the default application to be set and honored, for years.

Jay
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution
Hmm, in this instance, we’ll need to do some further troubleshooting with our support team. 
 
For any users having the same issue, please could you write in to us with more details, such as what type of phone you’re using, and any additional information you feel would help!

 

 

[This thread is now closed. If you have a similar or new question, you can ask here.]


Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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greig2000uk
Explorer | Level 3
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I have the same issue. Its a pain to use the workaround and it doesnt work properly, im using an HTC 10.

I use a couple of excel worksheets, i have to open them with the standard dropbox method then use the bottom right open with icon (basically opening my document twice) I then have to go back and close the default method that dropbox used to open my document otherwise I cant edit my document with my default app. Also recent documents I open do not stay in the "recents" list now, I have to star them....

 

lets just keep the replies here where everyone can see them and be updated rather than filling in seperate help requests for the same problem.

Grandschmu
New member | Level 2
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Same problem here on my Galaxy Tab A.  The option "Open with" disapear few days ago.  I tried everything but nothing works, there's no possibility to open file with an app other than the previwer.

hany82
New member | Level 2
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same problem here since updating Dropbox on my android tablet to the latest stable verdion, never installed a beta version, "open with" is gone and is totally unusable now, updating the app is expected to make it more usuable not to remove essential functionalities from it. why this thread is marked as solved ?

Sanchez
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution
Hey everyone, 

As we’ve mentioned earlier in this thread, our team is looking into the Open With option having gone missing from the ellipsis icon’soptions. 
 
In the meantime, you can use the alternate method for getting an Open With option (solution posted by our own rodrigo_dbx). 


wrote:

 

While we figure out why the option went away, you should be still be able to Open With from the document Preview.

 

1) Tap/click on the PDF that you want to open with. (You should see a preview of the first page).

2) On the bottom you should see the Open With button that looks like this below:

Screen Shot 2018-01-11 at 3.19.23 PM.png

Thanks!

Sanchez
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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remigio
New member | Level 2
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Please, please guys, revert back this last awful change.

 

It used to be the coolest thing to open pdf documents with my favourite external app (xodo), edit, underline, highlight and then save the document automatically to dropbox to continue studying when in my computer but this new idea of having to export first, edit and then upload is as cool as that moron who uses a big mug and is the head of the FCC.

 

 

Need more support?