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
jaidgossamer
8 years agoHelpful | Level 7
Pdf viewer in web browser
Hi: I used to be able to view pdf files in Chrome's native pdf viewer. Suddenly, I am no longer able to view files through Chrome's viewer, but only through what looks to be some new dropbox proprie...
- 8 years ago
Hi all:
I finally found a solution that might not be ideal for everyone, but actually solves the problems listed above . . . I've been having issues using the Dropbox viewer to view my pdfs, have not been able to view any larger pdfs, and one other poster mentioned that he was having some difficulty sharing his pdfs with others.
I've been asking for a fix that would allow us to completely bypass the Dropbox viewer so that we can view our pdfs in Chrome's native viewer. Some of the techs were lovely and brilliant enough to come up with the fix that involves "printing" the pdf (and then canceling out of the print dialog box), which allows you to then see the pdf in Chrome viewer. Unfortunately, though, this did not solve the issue of not being able to open larger pdfs - if the pdf couldn't be open in Dropbox viewer, then trying to "print" the pdf does not work, and you also will not be able to view the pdf in Chrome.
The one solution that I have been using that satisfies all the above issues is to abandon Dropbox and use Google Drive to store and share my pdfs. I've been able to open and view ALL pdfs in Google Drive (even 6,000 page legal tomes!!!) without any issue, and GD also allows us to connect all sorts of third party apps so that we can view our pdfs in the third-party viewer of our choosing. I've also had a much easier time sharing these pdfs with my colleagues on GD . . . Dropbox sharing was easy so long as the receiving party also had a Dropbox account.
This has really been a god-send as I work with people all over the country, and these people often access these work documents via Mac OS, Windows, iOS, and Android platforms . . . Google Drive has allowed us the straight-forward ability to download items directly onto the desktop/Google Drive app without having to hunt for the proper methodology for doing so.
So, while I absolutely love Dropbox, I really don't want to have to add several extra key strokes to get things done, or spend time figuring out how to do the simplest things, or have massive changes made to a system that not only wasn't broken in the first place, but also wasn't wanted, warranted, or needed, while ultimately taking away functionality. I work 12 to 15 hours a day, 7 days a week, and I can't afford to have my workflow disrupted so severely every other month when some random new change is rolled out.
So, those looking for maximum functionality when using, storing, and sharing pdfs should consider doing so via Google Drive.
- 8 years ago
I am customer for years, could you guys please just give us the ability to open pdf with the native chrome viewer? Dropbox PDF viewer is much worst and limited, while you guys don't have a PDF viewer as good as chrome, for example, dont obligate your paying customers to use this. It is like we are paying Dropbox to make the service worst everyday, dont "fix" what wasn't broken to begin with.
jaidgossamer
Helpful | Level 7
This problem was eventually solved by members of the dropbox support team. They emailed me a "hack" that allowed me to force open pdf documents in chrome's pdf viewer by pressing Shift+Ctrl+[file].
Oddly enough, full functionality returned to my dropbox account on Mar 22, which now allows me to open pdf documents in chrome's pdf viewer by pressingly only Ctrl+[file].
Since it was a little confusing, I'll re-describe the original problem . . . Prior to March 15, 2017, I was able to open pdf files in chrome's pdf viewer, as well as open documents by pressing Ctrl+[file]. (This was when I accessed my dropbox account through the chrome browser). Suddenly, I lost that functionality, was only able to open files one by one, and only in dropbox's proprietary viewer. This limited functionality of my dropbox account, since I could no longer open several files at once (without great effort). Additionally, the dropbox viewer DOES NOT open pdf files larger than 50mb (I've been able to open pdf files up to 200 mb in chrome's viewer without issue). Now, somehow, my dropbox functionality has fully returned.
So, if you are having the same problems I was - please try the Shift+Ctrl method of forcing open pdf files in chrome's viewer.
Thank you once again to the dropbox support team for all of their help in this matter!
Ed
8 years agoDropbox Staff
Would you mind taking a minute of your time to fill out a survey sharing your experience using our Dropbox Community? You can access the survey here: http://bit.ly/2lNKIxT
Thank you!
Thank you!
- SubAtomia8 years agoHelpful | Level 5
Dear Ed,
The issue is not how well we like the Community. The root cause of the problem is Dropbox operates differently on Chrome than it does on Safari. Essentially we have a loss of functionality with Chrome. And the question is what is Dropbox going to do about it? Or should we be prepared to lose functionality with Safari as well?
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