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Sharing links in Excel spreadsheet - opens dropbox but not link

Hi I hope someone can help with this probably simple problem. I have an excel spreadsheet that I want to share links to documents with. I find my document in dropbox, right click, share link get the address and then post this into excel as a hyperlink. Once the hyperlink opens it opens my dropbox to a blank page not to the specified document. How to do do this properly?

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Katherine C.

The help says

If the person you share the link with already has the file or folder saved in their Dropbox, they will be taken directly to that file or folder's location.

I obviosuly have the file in my dropbox but the link takes me to a blank dropbox page inside my dropbox, doesnt show me the location or file at all

Philip S.1

I have another way of doing this, and this assumes that the Excel file you have is actually within the Dropbox structure somewhere (which is a reasonable assumption).

So simply create a hyperlink (Ctrl + K) within the cell in Excel and select the file you want to hyperlink to. Excel actually stores this as a RELATIVE path to that file, so even if someone else clicks that link it will open correctly. Here is the example:

Your Excel file is in "C:\Users\Katherine\Dropbox\Excel\MyFile.xlsx" and you want to link to "C:\Users\Katherine\Dropbox\Attachments\MyLinkedFile.docx".

So you hit Ctrl + K and use your filing system to find MyLinkedFile.docx. What happens is that Excel will store the link as "..\Attachments\MyLinkedFile.docx".

If you then tell Bill to open the Excel file and he clicks it, the relative link will correctly find "C:\Users\Bill\Dropbox\Excel\MyFile.xlsx" - in fact it won't matter where Dropbox is stored it will always work.

Hope that helps,

Phil

Katherine C.

Thankyou very much Phil for your answer I do appreciate your time.

That was the first way I was trying it, but then I can not seem to access these "mylinkedfile" from another device or computer.

My aim is to create an excel spreasheet that has hyperlinks to my important documents and files that I can access not only at home, but anywhere. I can currently obviuosly open my files anwhere by searching in dropbox, but I thought a planning document with the files listed in it in the catergories I need it would suit my needs this time. Eg I am a teacher, I want to link these documents into my lesson plans and be abel to access it through the excel sheet at school too???

Eric B.5

I am having the same problem, too. Uploaded to my Dropbox are an Excel Spreadsheet containing links to photos, and the photos themselves. When I click on the links in the Excel file, however, I get a message window saying that I can't access the photo files. I can go directly to and open the photos, of course, but I need to be able to see where they each tie in to the Excel file. -Eric

Soluciones C.

Hey Katherine and Phil and everyone,

I'm struggling with kind of the same issue but with external links to Excel files.

I created links between my Doc1 and my Doc2, so that whenever I update Doc1, Doc2 is updated too. I need all my partners to be able to do the same: edit Doc1, and check the modifications in Doc2.

During the first trials, what Phil said worked: Excel stored the path as relative path, and when Bill edited Doc1 he could see that Doc2 was updated as the path was the one on his computer.

But now, and especially since I converted the files from xlsx to xls, this does not work anymore. Excel stored the path of my computer and does not update it on Bill and everyone else's computer.

Do you have any explanation and solution?

Thanks so much for your help!

lyn d.

I am having the same issue - I want to link photos and compliance docs to a tender master list but the links seem to fail. I need to rework the business document library into a workable process - currently we are utilising an over complicated process due to this probelm

Susan C.30

I have the same problem. A worksheet containing hyperlinks to Word documents works fine for me, but not for other users. If anyone knows a solution please share it. Thanks

Lea B.3

Hi All,

Sharing a Dropbox link in a Excel file....

I have the same problem to... I have a Excel spread sheet we use to track estimates.. We have one folder on Dropbox with all our estimates in as pdf's, we want to email the Excel spreadsheet tracker out to colleagues allowing them to click on the shared hyperlink we have pasted on to the spread sheet taking them to each individual pdf, but when they click on the link they receive an error message "Cannot open the specified file" we know the links are live & the spread sheet is fully active with no restrictions, but what i find even more strange is if i email the the spread sheet back to myself, using the same PC i made the spread sheet with & me being spreadsheet author and Dropbox owner i to receive the same error message...

Im sure its a easy fix, but can someone please help us...?

Regards Lea.

Mark

It sounds like you've actually used relative links Lea - as in the work on that one machine only as they point to local folders (le. Lea's Work\Dropbox\Excel\Quotes). As soon as the excel file is ANYWHERE else those links fail.

The only way around it I can think is to use Shared Links which when clicked would open the Dropbox webpage and an electronic PDF for your staff to view.

Lea B.3

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your quick reply

Ive had a quick look, we have copied & pasted the 'shared' links from our Dropbox page on the DP website and still get the same error message..

I will have another look tomorrow when i have a bit more time, but i believe we have tried all ways within the spreadsheet but with no joy. If we send the same links pasted in a email or even a text message they work perfectly...

Speak soon,

Mark

Hi again

If they work pasted in emails etc. then it isnt a Dropbox issue..... annoyingly it sounds like Excel is 'tweaking' them and doing something to the data. No idea what that is however!

One quick thing to check is that when you are using the links in Excel that Excel is told they are web links (so it is treating them as HTTP and not trying to open a folder on your machine).

Kat P.3

The most simple way around all this is to make the hyperlink link to the file where it is stored online in your Dropbox through the "https://www.dropbox.com/filename" link. You can get this link online or by clicking the right mouse button on the file stored on your computer and clicking "Copy Dropbox Link".

Working so far for me.

Lea B.3

Hi Kat,

That will not work when you send the document, that link will only remain live to you on your own drop box on your PC, not externally.

I've found the correct way, try typing this in your cell:

=HYPERLINK("copy and paste your drop box link here","type the name of the file you want to call it here")

if i want to share a estimate which is a PDF file, it will look like this:

=HYPERLINK("https://www.dropbox.com/s/blah020/blah020/blah020/blah020.pdf?dl=0","Estimate Number 1")

Good luck

Lea

Susan C.30

Well done Lea! I think you've cracked it. This is indirect, but it does work.

Thank you.

Susan

Lea B.3

Kat P.3

Good point Lea, I was having the problem with shared dropbox folders.

I wonder if you get around that problem by getting the dropbox file's share link (share file to people who have the link), and then just copy that into the Excel hyperlink box?

Amit H.

Same Issue.

Excel file + Hyperlink in sheet = Open excel file on browser.

Issue= Not easy to open hyperlink from excel sheet.

Want the link to be open on single click.

Any solution please...

Susan C.30

Amit, mine do open on a single click.

BarbaraHarris

Hello all; I have set up a spreadsheet of nominations where each record has a hyperlink to suppporting documents. (I used Insert hyperlink and all the documents are in the same dropbox folder as the excel workbook) The aim is to share this with the judges so that they can all read the material. I shared a link but when I tested it, the hyperlinks didn't work.

Mark

The links wont work Barbara because as has been said the links are for your specific machine only. As soon as you are not on your machine the links are broken and so wont work.

You need to use a different way to link the things together I'm afraid.

Maybe used Shared Links?

BarbaraHarris

The problem is that I want a community of about 10 to access around 200+ files, some of which are zipped and contain up to 6 individual files. I understand about using drop box links rather than the document hyperlinks and it worked yesterday, but I am really confused because my colleague with whom i have collaborated says that he can access the files via the hyperlinks! Also, I suspect that I will have to unzip and get the drop box link for each separate document, probably around another 100 links or so. oh dear...

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