We are aware of the issue with the badge emails resending to everyone, we apologise for the inconvenience - learn more here.
Forum Discussion
Stanners
11 months agoNew member | Level 2
Database reference links don't work for other people accessing them
I have an access database and a set of excel files. The database links to the Excel files for data to feed the database. The output from the database is via an Excel file that links back to the database.
It all works when I use it but the file references don't work for colleagues.
The links are in the form C:\Users\petes\ then the drop box details.
With a server I can replace the C: drive letter with the server name and share \\server\share however I don't appear to be able to do the same with dropbox.
the suggested answer is to make the drives the same on all the computers that use it.
So I would have to set my dropbox to be something generic C:\Databases\xxxx
- HannahDropbox Staff
Hey Stanners, thanks for reaching out to us.
The situation here is that in 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 and it's why other users cannot access the reference links.
You can learn more about this here.
While we don't provide support for this, 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, but if you need anything else, let us know.
- StannersNew member | Level 2
So in my case
I swap C:\Users\petes\
for %HOMEPATH%
This doesn't work \\%HOMEPATH%\Daimon Barber Dropbox\A1 DB SharedFolder
Is this the correct format?
for
- StannersNew member | Level 2
Here is my link from the Excel file
DataFormat.Error: 'C:\Users\louis\Daimon Barber Dropbox\A1 DB SharedFolder\Costing_Pricing\Product Costs\BOMDatabase\BackOrders.xlsx' is not a valid path. Make sure that the path name is spelled correctly and that you are connected to the server on which the file resides.
Details:
Stock_V1.accdbC:\Users\louis on Louis
C:\Users\petes on my computer
How do I use the %HOMEPATH% to replace these
About Create, upload, and share
Find help to solve issues with creating, uploading, and sharing files and folders in Dropbox. Get support and advice from the Dropbox Community.
Need more support
If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X or Facebook.
For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.
If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!