When I go to "Save a Copy" of my Word or Excel documents that I opened in Box... there are no options to save as a PDF... just gives a couple of basic options. See the screenshot below. I can go and browse and find the location again and through that method I can get the right options, but just the basic... save a copy... it doesn't exist. This works on my Mac as expected and works if I am using OneDrive... but for some reason I can't get it to work on Windows using Box.
👋 Hi
The behavior you are experiencing is due to a fundamental difference in how Microsoft Office integrates with cloud storage providers on Windows versus macOS.
When you open a file from Box on Windows, Microsoft Office treats it as a locally cached file. In the Windows version of Microsoft 365 desktop applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), the “Save a Copy” menu is designed primarily for Microsoft’s native cloud services (OneDrive and SharePoint).
When working with third-party storage providers like Box, Windows Office applications restrict the “Save a Copy” Backstage view to basic options and do not display the full range of file formats (such as PDF) directly in that simplified menu.
On macOS, Microsoft Office utilizes different system-level file-handling APIs that allow Box Drive to integrate more seamlessly with the native save dialogs, which is why you see the PDF option there as expected.
To save your Box-opened Word or Excel documents as a PDF on Windows, you can use either of the following standard methods:
Use the “Export” Menu (Fastest Method):
Use the Traditional “Save As” Dialog:
Use "Print to PDF":
Ctrl + P).
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