Is it possible to hide a folder entirely from users who don't have a permission to open the folder? At the moment, users who are not member of certain groups or are not invited to open a folder are not able to open the folder and see its contents. But there are some folders, most users (except our management) shouldn't even know about their existance so I would like to hide the folders in the directory view.

Hey agin, msmasta, and thanks for getting back to me. Unfortunately, hiding folders in our new team space structure is not an option. All folders that are in this space will be visible (not necessarily accessible) to all team members. Currently, if you want to share out a folder, and keep it away from some users’ eyes, you can put the folder into your team member folder (the purple one), and share it from there. This would give users you share it with access to this folder only, and they would not see anything else in your member folder, as it is private. Have a look at this article discussing this new team space and member folders here. Cheers

Hide folders from users who don't have permission

12 Replies

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Sanchez
Dropbox Community Moderator
8 years ago
Hey msmasta,

The short answer is hmm… :thinking:, and I want to see if maybe there’s a way that we can do something similar for you. Can you tell me what kind of Dropbox subscription you’re on, and when it was purchased/created?

Thanks in advance!
msmasta
Helpful | Level 6
8 years ago
Hi,

thanks four your response. I use Dropbox Business Advanced (trial version) since 14/3/18.
Sanchez
Dropbox Community Moderator
8 years ago
Hey agin, msmasta, and thanks for getting back to me.

Unfortunately, hiding folders in our new team space structure is not an option. All folders that are in this space will be visible (not necessarily accessible) to all team members. Currently, if you want to share out a folder, and keep it away from some users’ eyes, you can put the folder into your team member folder (the purple one), and share it from there. This would give users you share it with access to this folder only, and they would not see anything else in your member folder, as it is private.

Have a look at this article discussing this new team space and member folders here.

Cheers
Flavours
New member | Level 2
8 years ago
I think this would be a really useful tool and applicable to our business as well.
If you user doesnt have any permissions on a folder do they really need to know its their?

The difference between having it in the team space and having it in your team member folder is that if it is in your team member folder the user you are sharing with has to accept the share, whereas if its in the team space this is not the case.

Maybe its something dropbox could consider for a future update?
dbuser1987
Helpful | Level 5
8 years ago
Exactly. In my opinion, in a company there might be some folders which most of the employees don't even should see, e.g. some folders for the top management. Using the team member folder is not a good solution for me, because I want to have a clean and consistent folder structure which includes that a common folder (whether a huge group of people should have access to it or a small one) is always located in the team space and not in a team member space (also due to the fact that people in a company change).
Ult
New member | Level 2
8 years ago
If the owner wishes to share 1 specific folder with 1 person, the person receiving the link can access all other files and folders in the Owners menu as if they were the owner. Although 1 folder appears on the dashboard when the link is clicked, if the receiver clicks on "My Files" all other files and folders are displayed with full access to edit etc. -Is this supposed to be the way Dropbox works?
Jane
Dropbox Staff
8 years ago
Hey Flavours & dbuser1987, thanks for posting your comments & thoughts here!

That’s some really productive feedback & I’ve made sure to make our product specialists aware of your concerns; we're always looking for ways to improve & we value your opinion, so as to improve the way you interact with Dropbox.

Once again, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts & please don’t hesitate to get back in touch at any time in case you need assistance or have more questions. Wishing you a great weekend ahead!

When it comes to your inquiry Ult, I’m under the impression that you are referring to the folder structure inside a shared folder (which should be fully accessible to all members having access to the top-level folder). Alternatively, if you’ve received (or sent) a read-only link, this should also grant you (or the recipients) access to all content under the parental folder & this behavior is expected within Dropbox.

However, if you’d need more clarifications on any of the above, I’d happily explain in more detail, so please include all additional questions in this discussion. Thanks & happy Friday!
Accademia del Suono
Explorer | Level 4
6 years ago
Unfortunately this issue has yet to be addressed...

I concurr with Flavours and dbuser1987: also in my company there are folders which most of the employees do not need to see (e.g. admin forlder). Using the team member folder does not allow us to have a clean and consistent folder structure.
Dutch51
New member | Level 2
6 years ago
My business also needs this functionality. This seems like such a simple feature to add to the admin console. Why can't we hide folders from the rest of the team?
tomkaeslin63
Explorer | Level 4
6 years ago
I need this too - it is impractical to show folders from the top level to members who dont get access to those folders. Why should they even see those folders?
This is clearly a handicap of Dropbox feature - because if I can assign groups to certain top level folders only I would expect them to see only those folders they have access to. It looks very strange and I am sure they will ask questions on why they see the folder but cant have access to those.

Please DROPBOX developers do something about this !

Thanks