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Why do shared files count against my space use???
Why are files shared with me counted against my space usage? Is this data counted twice? If someone who is sharing files with me is paying for this space, why should I have to pay as well just to access it? I am out of space, I have no intention of buying more space, and yet, when someone shares some files with me, I cannot access them and I am forced to buy space in order to access them. Why is this?
Thank you.
dualice wrote:
Why are files shared with me counted against my space usage?
Because the files exist in your account.
When you have access to a shared folder, you're not accessing someone else's folder. You're accessing your own COPY of the folder within your account, and you need to have enough space available to hold that folder.
If you just need to view or download files that someone else is sharing with you, ask them to send you a shared link instead. A shared link is a view-only method of sharing and you don't even need a Dropbox account to access it.
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Repugnant stuff
- Hannah
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey mwoo, thanks for reaching out to us.
When it comes to sharing folders with edit access, the folder needs to be added to each member's account, so it can be edited, thus it needs to take up space for that.
Someone can send you a "view only" link instead, for you to access the files, which won't affect your space.
And if you need to upload files to their account, they can send you a file request.
I hope this helps.
Hi, so I personally have a Google Business account and primarilly use Google Drive as storage and collaboration. IF I share a folder and make it so an external team I'm temporarily working with can edit/upload then anything they upload goes to my quota (I am the one granting permission to utilise my drive space temporarily) this is absolutley how you'd expect it to work..Google still get the money from me but I can share/lend others my space for collaboration as if it were a physical rented space until the project is over.
Dropbox doesn't seem to work like this? If client 'A' shares a project folder with me, I too have to have enough 'space' in my account to collaborate, even though I do not use Dropbox myself unless it's the clients platform.
So you are essentially forcing payment from someone to edit/collaborate on files that the host has already paid to use? I don't get it...Client 'A' has sent me a dropbox link I cannot even access because apparently I don't have enough space, even though I've got 0mb uploaded with a free account...
- Rich
Super User II
tpatel0 wrote:
I have paid account with 2 TB space but the shared folder (via link to edit) person despite being made owner of the folder states the capacity for the folder is 2 GB ...
You have 2TB of space available in your account. The other user does not. Since the shared folder exists in their account, it takes up space in their account, and they're still limited to the space available in their own account.
I have paid account with 2 TB space but the shared folder (via link to edit) person despite being made owner of the folder states the capacity for the folder is 2 GB and have used up all. Total space used out of 2 TB is less than 100 GB. I am confused. Guidance is appreciated,
- Rich
Great Lakes College wrote:
So is it possible that the notifications he's getting are some sort of scam?Possible, sure. Likely, I doubt it.
How, exactly, did you give them access? Did you invite them to a shared folder, or did you create and send them a shared link?
- I'm quite certain that this colleague does not have a DropBox account and has never set one up either deliberately or in response to a request from Dropbox. So is it possible that the notifications he's getting are some sort of scam?
- Rich
Great Lakes College wrote:
Why, when I pay for the account, and I am the admin, would a USER get a message indicating that storage space was used up?When someone is a member of a shared folder, that folder exists in their own account and takes up space in their account. They need to have enough available space for everything in the shared folder. They're not directly accessing a folder in your account.
https://help.dropbox.com/storage-space/storage-space
... the user has to up the storage capacity at HIS end which made no sense to me at all. He does not have a Dropbox account.A person can't be a member of a shared folder without a Dropbox account. You can use a shared link, which doesn't require an account and grants view-only access, but if you invite someone to a shared folder, a Dropbox account is required, along with enough space in that account to hold the data in the folder.
- I've been using Dropbox for years without issue. Recently I had occasion to grant access to a colleague for the purpose of sharing files. He has full permissions. A day ago he received a pop-up message indicating that the storage was full and needed to be increased. Why, when I pay for the account, and I am the admin, would a USER get a message indicating that storage space was used up?
In addition, when I turned to chat support for help, I was told by a very kind and polite young lady that the user has to up the storage capacity at HIS end which made no sense to me at all. He does not have a Dropbox account. So I am now horribly confused and desperately in need of a solution. I've reopened the support ticket but I'm trying to cover all the bases. - Rich
mjg88 wrote:
If I upload 100 images to a folder and share them with you, so you can grab a couple then I, the uploader and sharer, are the host.
That's not how it works. If you share a folder with 100 images in it, the person receives 100 images in their account. They don't get to grab just a couple of them.
If you want it to work that way, send them a shared link instead. They'll be able to browse all of the files, preview them, and download just the ones they want, without affecting their own account (unless they choose to save the files to their own account).
