You might see that the Dropbox Community team have been busy working on some major updates to the Community itself! So, here is some info on what’s changed, what’s staying the same and what you can expect from the Dropbox Community overall.

Forum Discussion

wowitt's avatar
wowitt
Explorer | Level 3
2 years ago

".7z files can't be previewed" message

I have always been able to preview and extract .7z files on Dropbox. They are small 15 kb or less size files. Today when I attempt to access a .7z file, I am receiving the message ".7z files can't be previewed" . I checked the Help Center and under "File types that preview as a zip file". It states "If your file has one of the following extensions, it will preview as a zip file. You’ll be able to see a list of all folders and files within the zip." The .7z file type is included. What has changed?  I am running version 346.2.6.

Dropbox Basic
Error Messages
Mobile
Preview
Tablet
  • Megan's avatar
    Megan
    2 years ago

    Hi wowitt, I hope you're doing well!

     

    Generally, password protected files cannot be previewed in Dropbox, so you might need to either download them, or remove the password protection in order to preview them.

     

    You can see more info about this here.

     

    I hope this clarifies! 

  • wowitt's avatar
    wowitt
    Explorer | Level 3
    2 years ago

    I updated to version 348.2.4 and have same result.

    • Mark's avatar
      Mark
      Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
      2 years ago

      How are you trying to preview? Website or app on mobile?

      • wowitt's avatar
        wowitt
        Explorer | Level 3
        2 years ago

        If I go to dropbox.com and I select a 7z encrypted file that is password protected I get a message that it cannot preview a password protected 7z file.

        If I go to dropbox.com and I select a 7z file that is not password protected I am able to preview the 7z file.

        If I use Windows Explorer and I select the 7z file on the dropbox drive, either password protected or not, I can extract the 7z file.

        If I use the Dropbox App on Android (tablet or phone), I cannot preview either password protected or non-pw protected 7z files. 

        My only recourse now on Android is to download the 7z encrypted file and then unencrypt the file. Then delete it. Not a very clean solution.

        In the very recent past I could use the Dropbox App to preview 7z encrypted and pw protected files. I did this all the time. Something has changed.

        Interestingly I can store a 7z encrypted password protected file on google drive and open it with the Zip Extract App that integrates with google drive so that it is a single step process.

        Any reason why this has changed for Dropbox App on Android when Help Center states that 7z can be previewed?

         

About View, download, and export

Need support with viewing, downloading, and exporting files and folders from your Dropbox account? Find help 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!