Child Item

Dropbox needs access to my storage to view PDF email attachment

I have Dropbox on android, and everytime I open an email with an attachment it always says, 'to veiw this document Dropbox needs access to your storage'. All permissions are granted but I can't access my files anywhere. Please help I'm losing so much work.

Find more posts tagged with

Setting Up the Apps

Mobile

Spam

Accepted answers

Sanchez

Hey again, @Purdo79.

I think I’m still missing something here. If your email contains a PDF attachment, you should be able to download/view it using your device’s PDF viewer/editor. Dropbox is not involved in this process.

Are you perhaps being sent a Dropbox shared link to the PDF file?

Cheers

All comments

Sanchez

Hey @Purdo79, welcome to our community!

I want to make sure I understand your situation:

Are you composing a new email, and trying to attach a file that is located in your Dropbox?
Do you have our mobile app installed?
Are you signed into your Dropbox account via our app?
When exactly do you see the error message?

Let me know, and we’ll go from there.

Cheers!

Purdo79

When someone sends me an email, for example my insurance company, they attach my documents as a pdf, I try to open pdf, and I get a box appear on my screen that says, to preview this document, Dropbox needs access to your storage.

Sanchez

Hey again, @Purdo79.

Are you perhaps being sent a Dropbox shared link to the PDF file?

Cheers

Machine79

Not doing anything with drop box but all pdf on my android gives that same msg. Dropbox needs acess

Pearlie

Did you ever get this figured out? I’m having the same problem.

Xxxxxxxxxx-x

Hi - I have the same problem. No link involved. What do you propose to do or who can help?

Hannelieo

I also have the same problem. Can't open any pdf folder at all. No Dropbox links involved.

Purdo79

I found that after downloading attachments and getting Dropbox message, I open Dropbox, tap the + symbol bottom right of screen, then selecting documents, tap upload and then you can view in Dropbox

NorwegianWood

I have the same problem. Why should dropbox interfere with opening pdf-documents attached to an email? I am seriously considering removing dropbox from my device.

It applies both to physical attachments and general links (not dropbox accounts) on the net.

The solution is not going to be allowing dropbox to do so or so.

Dropbox, please fix this!!

NorwegianWood

By the way, this is not a problem on my pc, it is not a problem on my android phone, it is only a problem on my android tab. It might be bad version of dropbox. I will try to update it later.

NorwegianWood

Guys, I've found the solution, or at least an explanation. My device was set up to view pdf files using Pdf viewer. Pdf viewer seems to be Dropbox pdf viewer. Which means starting pdf viewer is starting a Dropbox app. So the solution is one of two:

1. choose another app to view your pdf files, which I did, no more privileges requested, or

2. swallow your pride and give Dropbox the privilege, hopefully you will have to do that only once.