hyperlinks in a file located within a shared folder do not open when opened by others

[Pike_Constr]

I uploaded a folder from my network to a shared dropbox folder. The folder uploaded contains branch files to support the hyperlinks I created . Within my dropbox folder, If I click on the hyperlinks they work/open.  Once I send out a link of my dropbox folder to be share with someone, the hyperlinks within the folder files do not work/open for the recipient . How can I get the hyperlinks to work for others to view? 

[Walter]

Hey there @Pike_Constr -how are you today?

From what I understand you're using hyperlinks to point to your own files on your own computer and you'd like them to work for other collaborators of the shared folder in question - please correct me if I got anything wrong. Read on for more information and possible workarounds:

In Microsoft Excel, you can create links in a workbook to another workbook or file on your computer using a formula that references an external location . When this link is created, it points to a location on your own hard drive.

When your workbook is downloaded onto another's computer, the locations that your formula points to are no longer there. The link in the workbook is looking for a specific place, for example /Your_Computer/Your_User/File, and that location is no longer accessible from a different computer.

To learn more about relative and external paths in Excel please consult the following Microsoft support page:  https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/328440/description-of-link-management-and-storage-in-excel

While we are unable to support you in configuring Microsoft Excel to work the way you would like, we suggest perhaps using wildcards in your formulas. 

Wildcards, such as "%HOMEPATH%”, if other users have the Dropbox folder located in the default location, would let you point to a location without having to worry about different usernames in the path.  

I hope this helps and please let me know how it goes!

[Pike_Constr]

Hi Walter,

Thank you for your response.

The hyperlinks are not created on or for a Xcel spread sheet. I use Bluebeam Xtreme for project management of pdf drawings. In Bluebeam, I create a main folder that contains multiple files that support the tree branch for creating the hyperlinks and  paste the hyperlink on my drawings. When I download or copy the project folder (tree branch) all the information travels together and the hyperlinks work. When I download the project folder to my dropbox account on my desktop, the links also worked. When I sent out a link from my Dropbox to someone else and they clicked on the hyperlink on their devise, the hyperlink do not work/open for the other person. If all the supporting files for the hyperlink travel together, why do they not open on Dropbox? The reason why I'm trying to use Dropbox to share my project folders instead of via Bluebeam studio is because it's to much trouble for my subcontectors to download the free Bluebeam viewer. I need a very simple way to share folders, like Dropbox. On Bluebeam, I can send a link for a individual file but not for a folder. For a folder, you need to have the Bluebeam viewer.

[Rich]

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@Pike_Constr wrote:

When I download the project folder to my dropbox account on my desktop, the links also worked. When I sent out a link from my Dropbox to someone else and they clicked on the hyperlink on their devise, the hyperlink do not work/open for the other person.

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It's the same problem that Walter described. The hyperlinks likely contain the full path to the linked file as it is on your computer, and since the Dropbox folder on everyone's computer is in a different location, the full path to the linked file is different for them than it is for you.

You have a file in your Dropbox that you want to link to. The link to that file will look something like this (assuming Windows and Dropbox in the default location):

C:\Users\Pike_Const\Dropbox\SharedFolder\LinkedFile.txt

That same file on my computer will have a link that looks like this:

E:\Data\Dropbox\Shares\SharedFolder\LinkedFile.txt

This is because your computer username is in the default Dropbox path, and also because people can choose to store their Dropbox folder anywhere (not to mention their ability to rename shared folders). Because of this, the link to the file is different for every user.

Aside from trying to use a relative link or a system variable like Walter suggested, the only other way to ensure this works is for everyone to store their Dropbox in the same exact location, such as C:\Dropbox, and make sure they don't rename the shared folder that the files reside in.

This isn't a Dropbox issue, but a symptom of how most programs link to external resources.

[Rob K.17]

I don't know if it will help in your case, but there are some characters you can use in Dropbox folder names which Windows doesn't like in the path names for hyperlinks.  I've found this problem when following hyperlinks to dropbox folders with # characters in them.

[julia_amaro]

Is there a solution to this issue?

I created a PDF Table of Contents and linked the topics to shared documents within Dropbox. The links work for me, but not for others. Is there a way that I can link the topics to the shared documents to that the links work for EVERYONE who has access to the documents?

[Rob K.17]

According to this article, providing you create your hyperlinks in the right way in Word they should be relative, rather than absolute and so should work for everyone.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/903163/how-to-create-absolute-hyperlinks-and-relative-hyper...

However if you are creating hyperlinks to Dropbox documents use the create link facility from within Dropbox online as these are robust and work for everyone, from anywhere.  Once you have created a couple you'll understand the link format and structure and can probably create them without using the Dropbox online link creation facility.