Google-sheets – Given a shared Dropbox link to an Excel file, how can I easily open it in Google Sheets

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Scenario:

I get an email every two weeks with a vendor's price list as a link to an Excel file in their Dropbox.

At this point, I have to:

  • open the link — This takes me to Dropbox, where the file is opened in a preview mode that is not compatible with cut and paste into a spreadsheet.
  • download the file to my computer — I have a choice to download to my computer or copy to my Dropbox.
  • upload the file to my Google Drive — To do this I go to any open Google app tab, click New, Upload, grovel through the file structure to find it.
  • from there I can open it with Google Sheets.
  • copy 6 columns of data out of the sheet, and
  • dispose of the file.

What I would like to do in Google Sheets is to open the file directly as a read-only file and save a bunch of steps.

My personal account is on Gmail. I use the web interface.

Is there a way to easily open this link directly as a sheet?

Best Answer

Google Sheets doesn't include a built-in feature to open Excel files from Dropbox but maybe there are Google Sheets add-on that does that and if not you could use Google Apps Script to automate the procedure that you are already doing. By the other hand there are services like IFTT, Zapier among others that could help you.

To learn the pretty basics about add-ons and Google Apps Script checkout https://support.google.com/docs/answer/2942256?hl=en

You could try Office Editing for Docs, Sheets & Slides, a Chrome extension that claims:

Once the extension is installed, Office files that you drag into Chrome, open in Gmail, Google Drive, and more, will be opened in Docs, Sheets, and Slides for viewing and editing.

Maybe it work with Dropbox too, I didn't tried it yet.

I suggest you ask for a Software Recommendation on https://softwarerecs.stackexchange.com

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