All files automatically supported by the device will preview in the window of the Dropbox app for iPhone. The Dropbox app also allows you to open files in other apps on the device, should they support the file type.
Exporting files to another app
- Select the Dropbox tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the file you'd like to open in another app.
- Press the icon depicting an arrow exiting a box at the top far right.
The
Open in... button is highlighted in green.
- A list of apps that are capable of opening the file will appear in the resulting menu. Select the app you'd like to open the file.
Note: Once you export the file to another app, any changes to the file may not be saved back to your Dropbox, unless the app is Dropbox-enabled. For a list of Dropbox-enabled apps, see our Dropbox App Directory.
Native file types
There are a number of file formats that can be opened natively on the iPhone and iPod Touch by simply selecting the file from the file browser. You can view these in the Dropbox app by simply tapping them from the primary Dropbox tab.
-
Images (.jpg, .tiff, .gif)
-
Music (.mp3, .aiff, .m4a, .wav)
-
Movies (.mov, .mp4, .m4v)
-
Microsoft Word documents (.doc, .docx)
-
Microsoft PowerPoint presentations (.ppt, .pptx)
-
Microsoft Excel spreadsheets (.xls, .xlsx)
-
Adobe PDF (.pdf)
-
Keynote presentations (.key)
-
Pages documents (.pages)
-
Numbers spreadsheets (.numbers)
-
Web pages (.htm, .html)
-
Text and rich-text files (.txt, .rtf, and many more)
Learn more about getting your media files (music, movies) to play on the iPhone.
All files automatically supported by the device will preview in the window of the Dropbox app for iPad. The Dropbox app also allows you to open files in other apps on the device, should they support the file type.
Exporting files to another app
- In portrait mode, tap the button with the Dropbox icon at the top left of the screen.
- From the menu, select the file you'd like to open in another app.
- Press the icon depicting an arrow exiting a box at the top far right.
The
Open in... menu.
- A list of apps that are capable of opening the file will appear in the resulting menu. Select the app you'd like to open the file.
Note: Once you export the file to another app, any changes to the file may not be saved back to your Dropbox, unless the app is Dropbox-enabled. For a list of Dropbox-enabled apps, see our Dropbox App Directory.
Native file types
There are a number of file formats that can be opened natively on the iPad by simply selecting the file from the file browser. You can view these in the Dropbox app by simply tapping them from the primary Dropbox tab.
-
Images (.jpg, .tiff, .gif)
-
Music (.mp3, .aiff, .m4a, .wav)
-
Movies (.mov, .mp4, .m4v)
-
Microsoft Word documents (.doc, .docx)
-
Microsoft PowerPoint presentations (.ppt, .pptx)
-
Microsoft Excel spreadsheets (.xls, .xlsx)
-
Adobe PDF (.pdf)
-
Keynote presentations (.key)
-
Pages documents (.pages)
-
Numbers spreadsheets (.numbers)
-
Web pages (.htm, .html)
-
Text and rich-text files (.txt, .rtf, and many more)
Learn more about getting your media files (music, movies) to play on the iPhone.
The Dropbox Android app will automatically search your device for an application that is capable of opening the file type you are attempting to view or edit. By default, the Android OS can display the following file formats:
-
Images (.jpg, .tiff, .gif)
-
-
Web pages (.htm, .html)
-
Text files (.txt)
Your device may be able to open more file formats natively, depending on your hardware and OS version. Otherwise, if Dropbox can't find an application capable of viewing your file type, it will give you the opportunity to open the file as a text file or see a list of recommended Android applications you can install and use to view the file.
The Android website has more information on Android supported media formats. To learn more about playing media through the Dropbox mobile application, visit our help center article on converting media for your device.
Export files to other apps or local storage
The Dropbox Android app also allows you to manually export files to other apps or even to your local storage or SD card.
- Launch Dropbox and browse to the file you'd like to export
- Press the downward blue arrow to the right of the file you'd like to export
- Tap the More option from the resulting menu
- Press Export
Dropbox will automatically generate a list of apps you can export files to, or you can select Save to SD card to save the file to your local storage.
The Dropbox BlackBerry app will automatically search your device for an application that is capable of opening the file type you are attempting to view or edit. By default, most BlackBerry devices can display the following file formats:
-
Images (.bmp, .jpg, .png, .tiff, .gif)
-
-
Music (.mp3, .aiff, .m4a, .wav)
-
Movies (.mov, .mp4, .m4a, .3gp, .avi, .asf,)
-
Web pages (.htm, .html)
-
Text and rich-text files (.txt)
If Dropbox can't find an application capable of viewing your file type, Dropbox will offer you the opportunity to open the file in another application.
The BlackBerry website has more information on BlackBerry supported media formats by mobile device. For specific information on which media formats are supported on your mobile device, refer to that document. To learn more about playing media through the Dropbox mobile application, visit our help center article on converting media for your device.
