What is the Dropbox badge?

The Dropbox badge appears to the right of your screen when you open Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, or Excel file saved in your Dropbox account.

The first time you open a supported Microsoft file, you'll see a greeting notification. To dismiss it, click Close. To change badge settings, click Manage Visibility to open the preference page.

By default, the Dropbox badge appears only when there's a file conflict, or if someone else is viewing the file.

Learn more about changing when you see the Dropbox badge.

What can you do with the Dropbox badge?

See who is viewing or editing a file

The badge shows the picture or initials of people on your team who are viewing or editing the file. This helps avoid creating multiple versions of the same file.

Update to the latest version of a file

If someone saves a newer version of a file while you're working on it, you'll see a ☑ (download) icon. Click anywhere on the file row, to open the latest version with their changes.

Instantly share the file you're working on

Click Copy Dropbox Link to copy a link to your clipboard. You can paste the link into an email, chat, or elsewhere to share the file securely.

Ask for feedback or contributions on a file

Click Comment to add a note on a file from the Dropbox website.

View version history

Click Version history to undo changes or restore an earlier version of the file.

Move the badge

Click and drag the badge to move it anywhere on your screen.

Work better on Microsoft Office files

The badge currently supports Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel on Mac and Windows devices. For Windows, the badge supports Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint versions 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Microsoft 365. For Mac, the badge supports 2011 and 2016 Office files.

If you don't see the Dropbox badge and want to use it, learn how to troubleshoot badge issues.

The timing and functionality of these features may change, and Dropbox doesn't provide warranties on the performance of these features.