Start 2025 on time and up to date. Seamlessly integrate your calendars into Dropbox with these simple steps.
Forum Discussion
Files Open as Read-Only?
I am using Dropbox desktop App on my Mac (home) and PC (work). On the Mac (OSX latest version and Office 2011) everything works fine. But on my PC (Windows 7 Pro, Office 2010) files open as Read Only. If I go to Properties and uncheck "read only" for the file or folder in question, it is fine. But when I reboot, all my Dropbox files once again default to "read only". Can you help?
wrote:
I don't understand why when I open a file - it asks me at the top if I want to enable editing. Which I DO! so I click on it. But after i have closed the document and reopened it the edits I have made have gone. Does anyone know how you save edits on Dropbox withoutmoving a file/document out of dropbox every time?I have the same problem in my smart phone. After I make a change in an excel file, I have to save a copy. Then delete the original. That is the solution I found.
Same problem here. Macs 10.10.5, excel open files stored in a dropbox folder with read-only status. Help.
The solution that worked for me was to SHARE the files with myself. It wasn't only the dropbox files though, it was all of my files on the computer that had become read only. I had to SHARE each drive with myself. All works fine now.
I fixed my problem by updating my Microsoft. I had not check for updates in a while. When I did, I had updates, after that was complete my problems were solved in dropbox.
Hi,
I am sharing files from an iMac running Yosemite and Windows 7 home edition PC. All files on the PC in properties are marked with 'read-only'. Did any of the community solve this?
- Does your files contain a forward slash in it's file name? If so, try removing it and see if that helps, worked like a charm for me at least.
- How bizarre. Worked perfectly!
- I don't understand why when I open a file - it asks me at the top if I want to enable editing. Which I DO! so I click on it. But after i have closed the document and reopened it the edits I have made have gone. Does anyone know how you save edits on Dropbox withoutmoving a file/document out of dropbox every time?
wrote:
I don't understand why when I open a file - it asks me at the top if I want to enable editing. Which I DO! so I click on it. But after i have closed the document and reopened it the edits I have made have gone. Does anyone know how you save edits on Dropbox withoutmoving a file/document out of dropbox every time?I have the same problem in my smart phone. After I make a change in an excel file, I have to save a copy. Then delete the original. That is the solution I found.
- Rich
Super User II
I don't understand why when I open a file - it asks me at the top if I want to enable editing.
Are you opening the file directly from the Dropbox website? Files opened through a web browser are typically marked as Read Only.
But after i have closed the document and reopened it the edits I have made have gone.
When you open a file directly from the Dropbox website (or any website) that file is downloaded to temporary storage. If you make changes to the file and just save it as is, you're saving the copy in temporary storage. That file is not saved back to Dropbox automatically. You need to upload it back to Dropbox yourself.
Instead of selecting Save, select Save As and save the file to a location that's easy to get to (i.e. your Desktop, Downloads, etc.). When done, go back to the Dropbox website and upload the file to the folder you want it to be in.
- This is an awful bandaid to a HUGE problem Dropbox needs to fix!!
Has anyone actually fixed this? I'm having the read only issue on my PC. None of the solutions show here do anything.
Everytime I change the folders and remove the read only flag, the PC immediatelly puts the flag back on!
What is going on?
Thank you...that makes sense...although it's a bit of a pain! Because I assume you then have to go through the whole process of uploading the file and also remember to dump the old one. But again, thank you for explaining!
@Normek Industriservice AS - YES!! I tried everyone elses complicated solutions and the fix was as simple as removing the forward slash - TRY THIS FIRST
I'm having this same issue at with our dropbox file on our work Macs.
We share a bunch of files in dropbox and now excel insists on trying to open them all read only. if I move the file out of the dropbox folder, it opens fine. It is only in the dropbox folder that it screws up.
I've done all the updates, there are no forward slashes in the file names. I've recreated the files so they are unlocked, but as soon as I put them in the dropbox they are locked again "read only'.
Are there any other options to try?
