Dropbox created a "(conflicted copy)" of your document, or a file saved in Dropbox now opens corrupted / won't open at all in Word or Excel

What's actually wrong

A "conflicted copy" is not corruption — Dropbox makes one when the same file was edited on two devices, and BOTH files are normally intact, complete versions (one just has the other device's edits). Real corruption happens when Dropbox syncs a document mid-save: Office writes files in a rename-and-replace dance, and a badly timed upload can capture a half-written file. Because Dropbox keeps 30 days of version history (180 on paid plans), nearly every sync-corruption case is recoverable by rolling back.

Free fixes — try these first

1. Open the conflicted copy. It's a full document, not a broken one — often it holds your newest edits. Compare both versions and merge manually.
2. Version history. On dropbox.com, hover over the file → "..." → Version history → restore the most recent version that opens cleanly. This is the highest-percentage fix for a Dropbox file that suddenly won't open.
3. Pause syncing and copy the file OUT of the Dropbox folder (e.g., to Desktop), then open the copy. This rules out online-only/streaming placeholder issues and stops Dropbox re-syncing while you work.
4. Open and Repair. In Word/Excel: File → Open → Browse → select file → arrow next to Open → Open and Repair.
5. Check deleted files. dropbox.com → Deleted files — save-and-replace glitches sometimes leave the healthy original there.

If the free fixes fail

If every version in Dropbox's history already shows the damage and Open and Repair gives up, the file structure itself needs reconstruction — our analyzer parses what's left and gives you an honest percentage of recoverable content before you do anything else.