Ios11.0.1 “Cannot save file” error saving from Office apps to Dropbox

[Malmacdowall]

Issues since latest ios11.0.1 update on IPad. 

Error in excel, word, PowerPoint when “Save as” and selecting a Dropbox file.

Error message is “Cannot Save File.  That file name wont work because it includes invalid characters or it’s too long. Please try a different name. “ 

Have tried saving the file with the file name A but still have same issue. 

Same error is generated when exporting as a PDF to Dropbox. 

Had been working fine until recent update of both iOS, Dropbox and office apps. 

No issues creating pdf or saving as different name to other cloud drives and to ipad. 

[Maple]

Hi Malmacdowall,

Can you include a screenshot to the flow that caused this?

[Malmacdowall]

1. Word for IPAD, select export2. Select PDF3. Choose drop box location4. Error message5. Same message with file name “a”

[Malmacdowall]

Also, same issue and process when selecting “Save as” .... 

Same in excel and PowerPoint. 

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@Malmacdowall wrote:

1. Word for IPAD, select export2. Select PDF3. Choose drop box location4. Error message5. Same message with file name “a”

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@Malmacdowall wrote:

1. Word for IPAD, select export2. Select PDF3. Choose drop box location4. Error message5. Same message with file name “a”

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[Maple]

Thanks for the screenshots! I'm able to reproduce this. The flow you're using is specific to Microsoft Word. It's not the Files app and it's not any Dropbox extensions. The error message being shown is from Word, so I would file a bug with Microsoft. It definitely looks like a bug.

While playing with it, I got the same error as you most of the time, but sometimes it did manage to save. Also sometimes when I get the error, the file still got saved to Dropbox, but the contents are missing (file size 0 bytes).

I tried linking a new Dropbox account and was able to save the pdf multiple times without it showing that error. You could try signing out then in of the same Dropbox account from Word. You can unlink the account by going to the home screen in Microsoft Word, and tapping your name in the top left corner, then swiping left on the Dropbox account in the modal that pops up. Then you can add it again with Add a Service in the same modal.

If you have iOS 11 and iPad you should also be able to save into the Files app via the "... More" location. However when I tried that Microsoft Word prompted me to get an Office 365 subscription so I think it is a paid feature.

If you're ok with saving just the docx (and not exporting it to pdf), you can select Send a Copy instead of Export, then select Send with Another App. In the modal that pops up, select Save to Dropbox in the bottom row and that should trigger our Action Extension, allowing you to save the docx into Dropbox (you will need to have the Dropbox app installed and be signed in). You can also optionally select Copy to Dropbox in the top row to actually open the Dropbox app to perform the save.

[Peter F.13]

I am having the same problem when saving from Word of iOS.  The problem first appeared after the ios11.0.1 update.  It appears to be specific to dropbox, because I can save the same file to OneDrive using the same filename.

[Malmacdowall]

Thanks for the feedback. Here’s how i went: 

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@“Maple wrote:
Thanks for the screenshots! I'm able to reproduce this. The flow you're using is specific to Microsoft Word. It's not the Files app and it's not any Dropbox extensions. The error message being shown is from Word, so I would file a bug with Microsoft. It definitely looks like a bug.”

This is the same response i got from Microsoft’s support engineers. .....  “It works saving to other cloud storage and location? Then its a DROPBOX issue..... better contact them”.   What does one do now??? 

@“Maple wrote:

While playing with it, I got the same error as you most of the time, but sometimes it did manage to save. Also sometimes when I get the error, the file still got saved to Dropbox, but the contents are missing (file size 0 bytes).

I tried linking a new Dropbox account and was able to save the pdf multiple times without it showing that error. You could try signing out then in of the same Dropbox account from Word. You can unlink the account by going to the home screen in Microsoft Word, and tapping your name in the top left corner, then swiping left on the Dropbox account in the modal that pops up. Then you can add it again with Add a Service in the same modal.”

Followed this process but no joy. I receive the same error. Also worth noting i also have had the 0 bytes files created. 

@Maple wrote:

If you're ok with saving just the docx (and not exporting it to pdf), you can select Send a Copy instead of Export, then select Send with Another App. In the modal that pops up, select Save to Dropbox in the bottom row and that should trigger our Action Extension, allowing you to save the docx into Dropbox (you will need to have the Dropbox app installed and be signed in). You can also optionally select Copy to Dropbox in the top row to actually open the Dropbox app to perform the save.

Thanks for the workaround. This helps for saving a copy of the file, but doesn’t help me with keeping the latest version on “recent” in the app. Now will have to check drop box then open each time to ensure i have the most recent... 

So... Still stuck....   It was working really well... Now it’s NOT and you blame Microsoft and they blame Dropbox.... 

Any other suggestions? 

[Maple]

Hi Malmacdowall,

I will help you get to the bottom of this.

Word is accessing your Dropbox using our API, not via the iOS app. This could be an API bug, however I am not seeing any API errors from your account, nor mine, that was a result of Word, nor does Word have any interesting errors.

The fact that the file is being created (though with 0 bytes) means that the name is not the issue. If our API is returning an error, the error message Word is displaying does not fully explain the issue. I don't have access to the Word app's code but they do. Can you ask them to look for why they are displaying this error message? What error or response are they receiving from us?

In the meantime I'm going to try going through other teams internally to reach out to Microsoft about this, however this may take a while.

UPDATE: I found our API team that handles the integration with Microsoft and they've identified the error. They're working on a fix and I'll update with a timeline soon. Thanks for the bug report.

This helps for saving a copy of the file, but doesn’t help me with keeping the latest version on “recent” in the app. Now will have to check drop box then open each time to ensure i have the most recent... 

What do you mean by "recent"? Do you mean it won't show up in the Recents feed?

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[jterk]

Malmacdowall,

We released the fix for this problem today - please let us know if you encounter any further problems.

-Jason

[jmc25]

I still get the same types of error messages and I just updated dropbox on my ipad literally a few minutes ago (3:40 pm 10/10).