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Forum Discussion
My .docx can't be previewed when using my iPad or iPhone.Is it too long, and why is this happening?
Hi everyone, sorry for the outburst, but it's absurd that an application like Dropbox has such a significant limit for those who work with word files of over 1000 pages. In my case, I have a file of about 1500 pages in word format, and the DropBox application on both the iPad and the iPhone cannot open it, but only displays a preview, which once clicked, does not allow me to see it. summary, thumbnails, nothing else, just a scroll down, between the top with overlapping writing. Reports to Dropbox are of little use because they are always ignored. It's really frustrating not being able to see the file as you want just because it has more than 1000 pages, I'll start by saying that it only weighs 15 MB, so I find it absurd.
- Megan
Dropbox Staff
Hey Richardo, let's jump right into this!
Do you notice this behavior, only with these two specific files or with others files too?
Also, if you try to open the content using Microsoft Word and preview it there, does that work? Do you have the Word app installed locally on your iPhone & iPad?
Let me know more, and we'll take it from there!
First I would like to thank you for your response and I hope you will make an update that corrects this problem. The problem I mentioned is present on both iPad and iPhone, and for all types of word files with over 1000 pages. The Word application is installed on both devices and the file opens, but it is not the same as viewing it directly in the app, like on DropBox, where I am free to click on the bookmarks, open the thumbnail that interests me.
I did a lot of tests losing a lot of hours. First of all, if I try to access online I get the error: .docx files are supported, but an error occurred. Having said that, I tried deleting 1 chapter at a time to see if the preview changed and therefore the file fixed itself. I delete several chapters and when I delete chapter 43, as soon as I try to save, suddenly the file opens on both the iPad and the iPhone. Without the chapter in question, we are on page 1429 and so far everything is ok. Without adding the chapter, to understand if it was a page-related problem, I started adding about 20 blank pages and the file still opens. I tried again to add one page of the chapter at a time and after adding only one page, the problem recurred, so I came to the conclusion that the problem is due to the number of words and probably not to the pages of the file. In my case, they manage to open correctly, file with approximately 502594 words, i.e. 1429 pages, 39403 paragraphs and 79680 lines. I still wonder what the point is if the official website lists 160 MB as the maximum limit for doc files, if it then cannot manage a 30 MB file , where you simply need to reach a word limit to no longer display the file correctly. This is a huge limitation because to view the file normally, I would have to convert it to PDF and then open it. This means that for every change I make to the Word file, I would have to remember to delete the old PDF and convert the Word file into a PDF file every single time for every single change, I find it really absurd and above all limited. I have given you all the information possible to investigate the problem and I hope you find a solution as soon as possible.
- Sorry, you no longer gave me an answer, much less a solution. She didn't even tell me if she reported the problem to the developers, if anything is being done to investigate the problem, nothing at all. Could you help me please? This is a big change to DropBox, it makes no sense to set a limit of 160 MB if you can't open simple 30 MB files, just because they have so many words or pages. It is obvious that your 160 MB of files are equivalent to millions of words, you had to calculate this too, otherwise what is the point of setting these limits. I would appreciate a reply, thanks.
The iPhone and iPad DropBox application cannot handle word files with more than 1000 pages. The preview of the file does not load, if you try to open it, it opens in a strange way as you can only scroll down, the writings are all overlapped, there are no thumbnails or bookmarks, it is a file with a horrible experience and such a limitation on Dropbox is not acceptable considering it is one of the best applications. More than an idea, it is a way to alert you to a problem.
I have a word document that I have uploaded to dropbox that is 1.9MB in size. It is approximately 600 pages, but I can't open it in dropbox. It tells me that "docx files are supported and we don't know what went wrong." I can open the file locally just fine using microsoft word. What's going on?
Also if I turn the document into a PDF file I can open it, but then I can't edit it...
- Nancy
Hi Noleafcloverx, and welcome to our forum!
Is there any chance the document is 190MB and not 1.9MB? If yes, then the size of the file would be the issue (the current limit is 160MB).
If not, can you test this via a different browser/incognito mode and let me know if the same error appears?
Finally, even if you can’t preview the file on Dropbox, there may still be an option to open and edit it. Can you check if you can do this? You can also send me a screenshot, if you prefer.
Keep me posted.
Here is a screenshot:
I've tried it on 2 different computers and also in incognito/private mode and this is the result each time:
I have also seen other users who have reported a similar problem, I wonder if it is normal that I cannot view a simple Word file with 700 pages, of 1.4 MB. It's absurd, I followed all the guidelines present and I also read in the community, there is no solution to this absurd bug and an update that corrects the problem is never released, but what assistance is there on Dropbox, does it exist?
I have lost hope, it is now impossible to work with word files, docx format. with many images, words or pages because in all three cases, on the iPad or iPhone it is not possible to view these files, you cannot see the preview, consequently all the content comes out superimposed, without an index and only with scrolling bottom, terrible display. I have done a lot of tests, the problem persists, and I have seen that this problem is common to other people and that despite this, it is never solved, despite constant reminders, and this is unfortunately very disappointing. In my case, I created a simple 80-page word file, with many images, small dimensions (since the word limit is 180 MB), in my case we are around 50 MB and despite this, you can't see the preview of the text. 'ipad. I don't know what to do anymore because if you can't even see a file with a few pages in Word there's no point in using the application anymore.
BenDBXCommunity Manager
Hi Riccardo3,
Thanks for following up here. I've brought this to the attention of our engineering team. The previously reported fix likely only fixed the viewing/previewing errors for Excel files, leaving .docx files affected. We're actively investigating. I'll provide an updates here when I have news to share.
Ben
Thank you. I hope that the problem will be solved as soon as possible, also because it is very important, especially for those, like me, who work with word files of many pages, it is really a shame that they cannot be viewed with mobile devices.
