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Forum Discussion
Problems with linking Excel files in Dropbox for Business
Hi,
We have just changed from local fileserver to Dropbox for Business, and have now ran into trouble with linked Excel documents.
I want to fetch and display values of a certain cells in one excel document on Dropbox into another excel document on dropbox. The problem now being that the reference is made to the file version stored locally on the PC's, not the masterdocument on Dropbox. This means that the link becomes user depenant (works only for the one who creates the link).
More of a excel challange maybe, but I cannot seem to insert a relative address or a use the for cell lookup. Any suggestions?
HRO wrote:
The problem now being that the reference is made to the file version stored locally on the PC's, not the masterdocument on Dropbox. This means that the link becomes user depenant (works only for the one who creates the link).
First, there is no master/slave relationship to the files you put in Dropbox. All changes are synced from all computers and no single copy is considered a master. Just putting that out there so there's no confusion.
Links to files will always need to be created using the file on your computer. There is no way to link to the file online (in the manner in which you're trying to do it). Also, as you've experienced, linking to other files within Office files (and most other programs as well) will always use the full path to the file. Relative paths are not possible within Office files. This means that the path will almost always be different on different computers since the user's home folder is usually part of that path. This is how Office and most other programs work and has nothing to do with Dropbox.
The only way to ensure that files referencing other Dropbox files will continue to work on other computers is to make sure that everyone's Dropbox folder is stored in the exact same location on each comptuer. Usually something like C:\Dropbox would work.
- Rich
Super User II
HRO wrote:
The problem now being that the reference is made to the file version stored locally on the PC's, not the masterdocument on Dropbox. This means that the link becomes user depenant (works only for the one who creates the link).
First, there is no master/slave relationship to the files you put in Dropbox. All changes are synced from all computers and no single copy is considered a master. Just putting that out there so there's no confusion.
Links to files will always need to be created using the file on your computer. There is no way to link to the file online (in the manner in which you're trying to do it). Also, as you've experienced, linking to other files within Office files (and most other programs as well) will always use the full path to the file. Relative paths are not possible within Office files. This means that the path will almost always be different on different computers since the user's home folder is usually part of that path. This is how Office and most other programs work and has nothing to do with Dropbox.
The only way to ensure that files referencing other Dropbox files will continue to work on other computers is to make sure that everyone's Dropbox folder is stored in the exact same location on each comptuer. Usually something like C:\Dropbox would work.
Hi Rich
Thanks for your info so far - I've been battling with this issue for a while now. The linking between Excel spreadsheets is crucial for us. I note that you say "The only way to ensure that files referencing other Dropbox files will continue to work on other computers is to make sure that everyone's Dropbox folder is stored in the exact same location on each computer. Usually something like C:\Dropbox would work."
Can I move a Dropbox folder so that it is directly under the C:\ drive and still have it sync with the website account? Doesn't it need to be within the User folder to be recognised? Thanks - David
- Rich
You can move to any location you want (external drives are NOT recommended). It will continue to sync to your account just fine. Just make sure you use the option in Preferences to do it.
