Spreadsheet viewer support in Dropbox DocSend

Overview

Spreadsheets can be previewed in the DocSend document viewer without link recipients having to download them first. This provides a more secure way to share your sensitive data that lives in spreadsheets.

Features

• Uploading spreadsheets:
  • Spreadsheets can be uploaded from local devices and cloud storage providers, similar to other file types you upload and send via DocSend.
  • Supported formats include Excel (.xls, .xlxs, .xlsm), Google Sheets (.gsheet), Open Document Spreadsheets (.ods), and .csv.
• File size support and availability:
  • If the file size is smaller than 40 MB, it will be available in the viewer.
  • Spreadsheets over 40 MB can only be shared as download-only files, and you will be notified if a file exceeds this limit.
• Preview and functionality:
  • The preview functionality mirrors the experience provided by the Dropbox viewer for spreadsheets, supporting all features available in Microsoft Excel 2016.
  • Only the end cell values are displayed, and the viewing of formulas is not supported.
  • Multiple sheets within a spreadsheet are supported, and users can navigate between them using tabs at the bottom of the viewer.
• Link creation:
  • The "allow downloading" option for spreadsheets is unchecked by default in the create link section.
  • Note: Watermarking is currently unavailable for spreadsheets.
• Analytics:
  • Spreadsheets are treated as paginated documents, where each sheet represents a page.
  • Instead of page numbers, sheet names are used and displayed to track viewer behavior by sheet.
  • Cell-level analytics are not available, which means specific user interactions with individual cells cannot be tracked.

Limitations

• 40 MB viewable file size:
  • Spreadsheets larger than 40 MB cannot be displayed and will be download-only.
  • Once processed, documents can’t change from download-only to downloadable and vice versa. Examples:
    • If you have a 50 MB sheet in DocSend, then update the document with a 10 MB sheet, it will remain download-only.
    • If you have a 10 MB sheet and update it with a 50 MB sheet, it will generate an error.
• 2 GB upload limit:
  • Spreadsheets over 2 GB cannot be uploaded, which aligns with the limit for other paginated document types.
• Viewer limited to MS Excel 2016 features:
  • The viewer supports features available up to Microsoft Excel 2016. Features introduced after 2016 may not appear in the viewer or may cause errors when loaded.
  • This limitation is consistent with Dropbox's spreadsheet support.
• No watermarking:
  • Watermarking is not available for spreadsheets.
• Viewer limitation for certain fields:
  • Some fields may not be visible in the viewer and will display as ######.
  • To ensure visibility, you’ll need to adjust column sizes in the file before uploading.
• Alternate file extensions for processing issues: 
  • In some cases, a sheet may fail to process. Using a different extension may fix this issue. Example: 
    • If you upload an .xlsx file and it fails to process, downloading it as an .ods file from Google Sheets and uploading it again may solve the issue.  
• Hidden column considerations: 
  • Hiding columns can sometimes cause the adjacent column to be hidden instead.
• Pivot table complications in certain formats: 
  • Pivot tables may not work in Excel's .xls, .xlsx, or .xlm formats. To fix this, upload the file as an .ods file instead.
• Compatibility with newer spreadsheet versions:
  • When converting a spreadsheet to HTML from Microsoft Office 2016, some features in newer versions may not be converted correctly. 
  • To fix this, make the document version 2016 compatible.
• Handling large spreadsheets: 
  • Very large spreadsheets can crash the iframe after loading many rows/columns. 
  • The only workaround is to split the spreadsheet into smaller files.