Microsoft Office 2013 has a new feature where users can connect cloud services as a storage place and use them within the open/save menu. As of now Office 2013 supports only two services: SkyDrive and Office 365 SharePoint. If you use Dropbox to store all your files and would prefer that as a cloud service in Office, then here is a solution.
Philip, a Dropbox user, has posted a script on Dropbox forums that will allow you to add Dropbox in Office 2013. Once you run and configure it, you should get an option like this:
Add Dropbox to Office 2013
Here are the steps to set it up:
- Download and run this script: dropbox_service_add.bat (Note: Script is saved in my DB account to avoid unavailability in case original file gets deleted.)
- It will ask you to press any key to continue, press any key.
- Provide the path to your Dropbox folder. Make sure there’s no ‘/’ at the end of the path.
- Script will now add the necessary changes to your registry.
- Once it finishes, close the Command Prompt window.
- Now start Word (example I am using here) or any Office program and proceed to add your DropBox account as a Cloud Service:
That’s it! You’re good to go. You should now be able to save documents and open it from within Word just like you can from SkyDrive.
Remove Dropbox from Office 2013
You can click on the service within Word to remove it. This will allow you to reconnect it at later time if you want. Or, to completely uninstall, you can run this other script: dropbox_service_remove.bat
This trick works only on 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 8 and Windows 7. That’s no surprise as Office 2013 supports only those two operating systems. Also, it goes without saying you should have Dropbox installed on your computer for this to work. 🙂