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Forum Discussion
Access to a file after logging out
Hi,
I have access to the PDF file that was created from a Word file - after logging out of the account, through the browser history.
This looks like an error. Am I right?
Hi again, rwoj! From what you’ve mentioned so far, and especially since this is happening with Microsoft files, I believe that the issue lies in what’s mentioned here ("When you create/open a new file through Office Online, a link to this file is automatically saved to Dropbox for easy access”).
In that case, I’m afraid it’s not possible to prevent those shared links from being automatically generated, but you can always disable them from your Shared tab, like you’ve done already.
If you wish though, I can pass any feedback you have on this to our development team for you.
And one more thing - the PDF file was created automatically from a Word file because I was printing it.
Sorry for not being specific.
Sorry for not being specific.
Nancy
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffHey rwoj, sorry for jumping in.
Can you please log out of your Dropbox account once again, and then try to access this file?
Please take a full screenshot of what you see, and attach it in this thread (if there’s any personal info showing, feel free to remove it first).
I'd like to have a visual, and check this further.
Hi Nancy,
I did. I can see I have access to both a Word file and a PDF file generated automatically during printing.
Please note that this time I was working on a Mac, but the first time the situation occurred when I was working on Windows (10). In both cases in Firefox (123.0).
- Nancy
Thanks for these, rwoj! It looks to me that these are shared links, which is why you can access them even while not logged in to your Dropbox account.
If you go here, are you able to see these files in the list of shared links you’ve created on your Dropbox account?
Hello Nancy, thank you for your response.
Indeed, the files I mentioned earlier were on the shared list. However, I don't recall sharing them - nor can I find a reason why I would do so.
So I ran a test: I opened Dropobox in my browser and clicked on another Word file that wasn't in the shared links list. The file opened online (Microsoft 365?). I printed it (automatic PDF). From now on, both files (.docx and .pdf) are available through the browser history even after logging out of Dropbox, and links to edit and view the Word file were automatically created.
In fact, there's no need to print - just opening the Word file online automatically adds links for editing and viewing. But - if I then manually remove both links, this no longer happens again.
Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Rob
