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Forum Discussion
Cannot edit some text files in Dropbox on iPhone?
In the Dropbox app on iPhone SE, I can open all my text files, but in some of them I do not get the Edit icon (looks like a cursor) at bottom left, so cannot edit them.
In others, I get the Edit icon at bottom left, and can edit them.
In both cases the text files are from the Notepad app on my Windows 10 PC.
When I cannot edit a text file, the settings and menus that I can call up do not seem to provide any solution.
Am I missing something?
Mike
K-C-L (and others following)
Thanks! You're onto the right cause, and solution ...well, workaround.
Dropbox App editor won't handle either certain characters (extended) or Windows Notepad default ANSI files. A pretty obvious shortcoming. These get rendered in a non-editable file - which looks like monospaced courier, but doesn't make a space for each <spacebar>. Go figure.
Anyway, the workarounds are:
- Convert all your Notepad ANSI files to UTF-8 (open file in Notepad, Save As..., dropdown box -> choose UTF-8 and Save. (Save all new files as UTF-8). This is what I am doing.
- Open the file in Dropbox App. Select a word, then Select All. Copy. Create new file (Text). Paste into the window, name, and Create. Kinda klugy.
Those both work - I've tested.
- There is a way to change Notepad default to UTF-8, which would prevent this from re-occurring, but you have to touch the Registry (I don't want to do that)
- Download Notepad++ which apparently can set a default without touching the Registry (cannot verify). Reportedly Notepad++ takes less resources too (don't know about that either)
OK, a PITA. But do-able. I guess.
But, the real problem is Dropbox App cannot show text files (.txt) in monospaced font (e.g. Menlo or Courier). This is basically a disqualifier for Dropbox for musicians who use text files to create Tab, or Notation files, or chord charts. That's a lot of people left out in the cold. Since they all share files, so Dropbox could / should own this market, but have shut themselves out.
- Minato
Dropbox Staff
- Rich
Super User II
Minato wrote:
Actually, it does. Simple text files can be edited within the Dropbox app by tapping the Edit icon in the bottom left corner when the file is open for viewing.
Tapping the edit icon opens the file within the Dropbox app. You can then edit and save the changes. No other app is required.
Rich - Yes, as I said originally, the Dropbox iPhone app does edit, and your description is exactly what happens for me with Notepad .txt files, when it works. But in some Notepad .txt files the Edit icon at bottom left is missing, and nothing that I can find on the page seems to change this.
I'll do a bit more analysis to see if I can spot a difference between a Notepad .txt file where this works and a Notepad .txt file where it does not work. Then I could put both of these on here to see anyone else can edit the one that I cannot edit.
Thanks,
Mike
As I said originally, the Dropbox iPhone app does allow me to edit some Notepad .txt files, but not others. I am trying find out why.
Please see the reply from Rich - his description of what happens is exactly what I see, when it works. But sometimes the Edit icon at bottom left is missing, even though it is still a Notepad .txt file.
Mike
- I wondered whether the .txt files that I cannot edit in Dropbox app on iPhone are ones which contain live hyperlinks - web addresses, email addresses, phone numbers.
But no, there are .txt files with hyperlinks that I can edit.
Mike I started all this so i am popping back in.
The Dropbox Team have not yet told us why we can edit some .txt files but not others.
Moving on, I guess that I can no longer edit .txt files on Dropbox anyway, because I have removed the Dropbox folder from my PC and I have removed the Dropbox app from my iPhone. Nowadays I just go into the Dropbox website with a password and take care to sign out when I leave. So I cannot edit .txt files on Dropbox, is that right, please?
What is "Paper", and is it in any way helpful to my situation?
Mike
- Sanchez
Dropboxer - I started this thread, but Cardinal2B has already opened several Tickets about this same problem, so I am hoping to see the final reply of the Dropbox team here anyway.
If I open a Ticket it would only be duplicating Cardinal2B's complaints.
As already described, I am now using Dropbox via the website only, so , as you say, I cannot edit .txt files on Dropbox.
"Paper" will not edit .txt files, if I am understanding you correctly?
Mike
I had this problem with some of my files too. I found some extended ASCII characters (e.g., e-with-accent-grave) in a non-editable file. When I converged all extended ASCII characters to basic ASCII printable characters, the iPhone Dropbox app made the file editable.
As to the display font, my guess is that it is either chosen based on whether the file is editable or whether the ASCII is clean. Though it is strange that the monospaced font used when extended ASCII is present does not actually render the extended ASCII characters: it puts some generic blob there instead (which does make it easy to find the offending characters when scrolling through the file).
K-C-L (and others following)
Thanks! You're onto the right cause, and solution ...well, workaround.
Dropbox App editor won't handle either certain characters (extended) or Windows Notepad default ANSI files. A pretty obvious shortcoming. These get rendered in a non-editable file - which looks like monospaced courier, but doesn't make a space for each <spacebar>. Go figure.
Anyway, the workarounds are:
- Convert all your Notepad ANSI files to UTF-8 (open file in Notepad, Save As..., dropdown box -> choose UTF-8 and Save. (Save all new files as UTF-8). This is what I am doing.
- Open the file in Dropbox App. Select a word, then Select All. Copy. Create new file (Text). Paste into the window, name, and Create. Kinda klugy.
Those both work - I've tested.
- There is a way to change Notepad default to UTF-8, which would prevent this from re-occurring, but you have to touch the Registry (I don't want to do that)
- Download Notepad++ which apparently can set a default without touching the Registry (cannot verify). Reportedly Notepad++ takes less resources too (don't know about that either)
OK, a PITA. But do-able. I guess.
But, the real problem is Dropbox App cannot show text files (.txt) in monospaced font (e.g. Menlo or Courier). This is basically a disqualifier for Dropbox for musicians who use text files to create Tab, or Notation files, or chord charts. That's a lot of people left out in the cold. Since they all share files, so Dropbox could / should own this market, but have shut themselves out.
Definitely a pain in the arse, but what's new? The IT world is full of busybody software that most people don't want, and software that should be dead easy, but isn't. What is simpler than text files?
A couple of days ago, I put in the wrong passcode 2 or 3 times on my iPhone SE - it was poor light and I did not have my glasses. It said "iPhone disabled - try again in 5 minutes". Cut a long story short - it stayed like that - I phoned them and they erased all my iPhone data and reloaded it from iCloud. It only took an hour or so, on top of 1 day worrying about it . . . . . without telephone help, I doubt that I could have got it working again.
I am wondering whether I could manage without computers, again . . . .
Mike
