We Want to Hear From You! What Do You Want to See on the Community? Tell us here!

Forum Discussion

MADaines's avatar
MADaines
New member | Level 1
8 months ago
Solved

Sharing with view-only permissions requires the mobile app, and can't be opened on iOS browser

I have been trying to share a folder and sub folder via a view only share email and or link and neither work.
I want the share to open in a web browser as most recipients do not want to register an account or download the app.
Trying to open shared view only email or pasted links results in requests to download the app and if I test a link with an incognito tab on an iPhone I get the message that Safari wont open as the address is invalid.
I've checked through similar posts history without success and any help or suggestions would be appreciated.  

  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    8 months ago

    Thanks for the image. When you invite people, that means they need a Dropbox account to view the link, meaning it has become a shared file, and not a shared link. 

     

    This does mean that anyone with the shared link can access that content, as with all other shared links that are created. 

     

    Could you delete the invited users and instead follow these steps to create a shared link to the file?

7 Replies

  • Mark's avatar
    Mark
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
    8 months ago

    They just need to tap the X or click on the 'close (or exit)' texts to get past this screen. Then it will be downloadable.  

  • MADaines's avatar
    MADaines
    New member | Level 1
    8 months ago

     

    Thanks for your reply Mark but the screen shot below is all that appears after clicking the link, no X, close or exit options show, unless I'm missing the obvious?

     

  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    8 months ago

    Hi MADaines, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

     

    Are you certain that this is a shared link to a folder, and not a shared folder?

     

    Are you able to open that link in another browser on your phone?

     

    Any other info or screenshots would be helpful!

  • MADaines's avatar
    MADaines
    New member | Level 1
    8 months ago


    Hi Jay,

    I’m trying to give view access only to invited people (screenshot below) and not to share a folder with edit permissions.  

    I then copy the link and paste it into an email.

    As I understand it invites with view only access can view a folder without having to open a Dropbox account and are also unable to edit  

    Some have successfully acquired access but agreed to open an account but others have refused.

    One other thing even once an individual has used the link I then again have to agree access. Maybe this is where I’m going wrong  

    Many thanks.

     

  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    8 months ago

    Thanks for the image. When you invite people, that means they need a Dropbox account to view the link, meaning it has become a shared file, and not a shared link. 

     

    This does mean that anyone with the shared link can access that content, as with all other shared links that are created. 

     

    Could you delete the invited users and instead follow these steps to create a shared link to the file?

  • MADaines's avatar
    MADaines
    New member | Level 1
    8 months ago

    Hi Jay

    Many thanks and this has solved my confusion. The answer was choosing "Anyone with the link can view.

    Appreciated!

  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    8 months ago

    No worries, glad to have helped out. Enjoy your week!

About Create, upload, and share

Find help to solve issues with creating, uploading, and sharing files and folders in Dropbox. Get support and advice from the Dropbox Community.

Need More Support

The Dropbox Community team is active from Monday to Friday. We try to respond to you as soon as we can, usually within 2 hours.

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X or Facebook.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!