Files have a brown box on their icon and dont open in Windows 11

Anonymous
2022-02-12T17:29:29+00:00

What is going on here? There is no information anywhere so it obviously isnt a problem for everyone.

Most of my files stored on Dropbox now have a small brown file box icon on the lower left corner of the main icon for all MS Office files. They open perfectly well on the phone and a laptop running Windows 10 but not on my laptop running Windows 11.

I get an error message saying the program cant open it because the file is unsupported or may be corrupt.

Why the **** do they release an OS that doesn't work with their own programs??

Please help,

Thanks

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Files, folders, and storage

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-03-31T23:56:45+00:00

    These are files on my computer that are saved on One Drive.

    When right-clicking on the FILE itself, I do not have these options. Here is a screenshot of what I get when I right-click on the file.

    I am able to open the files IF I go to the One Drive. live. com and open them there, but no file with the brown box opens on my computer.

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  2. Diane Poremsky MVP 17,526 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2022-03-31T23:35:10+00:00

    If using Dropbox, its in the dropbox group when you have a folder or file that is in dropbox selected.

    For those with it in OneDrive - also on the right click menu when a file or folder in OneDrive is selected. iCloud drive uses an identical menu.

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  3. Diane Poremsky MVP 17,526 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2022-03-29T16:47:44+00:00

    It's specific to the cloud storage provider on windows 11- they changed how the custom overlays are managed or applied - they also changed the default icon that indicates offline. (It was a black clock in older versions).

    If you use the 'save space' or 'online only' option, you are only syncing a shortcut to the file - you'll either see the offline overlay icon provided by the service (a cloud for OneDrive) or the ugly brown windows offline icon. You may only see the ugly icon if you are signed out of the service, have it paused, or are disconnected from the internet.

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  4. Anonymous
    2022-03-31T23:04:38+00:00

    When I right-click> "Show more options", I don't get a "smart sync" option.

    I don't see an option to sync it anywhere.

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  5. Diane Poremsky MVP 17,526 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2022-03-23T01:59:58+00:00

    If you have multiple sync apps installed, you may always have the ugly brown icon, even when signed in.

    What is the Brown File Box Icon on Files in Windows 11? | @Poremsky.com

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