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3van-wright's avatar
3van-wright
New member | Level 2
7 years ago

Corruption of Excel Files saved to Dropbox

We have Dropbox for business and collaborate on a number of Excel files using Mac. Only one user at a time is permitted to access the file to avoid sync errors; all computers have installed the latest operating system, MS Office version. 

 

We regularily encouter Excel files being saved to Dropbox becoming corrupt. Version history is used is used to recover the last stable version often losing work. 

 

I have been on a number of threads that report the same issue, with no solution. This has been ongoing for a number of years and cannot replicate the specific circumstances in which to create the corruption. This is not an issue with MS Excel as the problem is isolated to Excel files save to Dropbox.

 

Has anyone got a explaination / solution for this happening? 

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  • Lusil's avatar
    Lusil
    7 years ago
     
    Although we don’t take any action on your Dropbox files that would cause them to be corrupted, have you by any chance tried to download the file in question directly to your computer, and then opening it? 
     
    You can also check to see if there are any incompatible characters included in any file names that may be causing file issues.
     
    Finally, I’d kindly recommend checking this article out for further info which may help in the process.  
     
    If you’re still experiencing some issues with this, could you please provide me with a screenshot (omitting any personal info) of any relevant error that you may be seeing?
     
    Thanks in advance. Let me know how it goes! :grin:
  • Lusil's avatar
    Lusil
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    7 years ago
     
    Although we don’t take any action on your Dropbox files that would cause them to be corrupted, have you by any chance tried to download the file in question directly to your computer, and then opening it? 
     
    You can also check to see if there are any incompatible characters included in any file names that may be causing file issues.
     
    Finally, I’d kindly recommend checking this article out for further info which may help in the process.  
     
    If you’re still experiencing some issues with this, could you please provide me with a screenshot (omitting any personal info) of any relevant error that you may be seeing?
     
    Thanks in advance. Let me know how it goes! :grin:
    • kemjdm's avatar
      kemjdm
      Helpful | Level 5
      6 years ago

      I am having this same issue (a year later). I don't understand why the above was marked as a solution, as it doesn't offer a solution.

      Moving the file to a local folder once it is corrupted does not work. There are no incompatible characters. In fact, the Excel files are able to be opened at least once. Then, at some later point become corrupted.

      A screenshot of the error message is attached.

      • Daphne's avatar
        Daphne
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
        6 years ago

        Hey there kemjdm,

        Is the file that you're trying to open currently synced "local" or is the file "online only" using smart sync in your Dropbox folder? You can clarify this by checking the sync icon next to the file in your File Explorer window. 

        Can you let us know if you're able to open the file correctly if you download the file from the website? Also, are you able to preview the file correctly on the website or do you also see an error there? 

        Let me know what you find - Thanks!

  • zesid's avatar
    zesid
    New member | Level 2
    5 years ago

    Corruption, to excel files can affect your productivity, so, if you want to recover corrupt excel files then you can use the manual procedure or can use a tool that can repair Excel files.

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