Can't seem to properly share a folder of photos

[wa4ywm]

I am new to Dropbox and am having problems with folder sharing.

I have read the Dropbox help on sharing and I have looked at several questions in the forum. They all seem to say the same thing which I tried repeatedly. (The definition of insanity - trying the same thing over and over expecting a different result).

I have created a folder and uploaded photos to it. I have shared the folder with an invitation set as "can view". The person I shared with can see the folders but can also edit them (e.g. Delete and rename are available). Why do they have the ability to edit when I specified "can view"?

Also, when I hover over the icon to the right of the "Share" dropdown it says the user "..hasn't added to their dropbox yet" and the icon is grayed out. Why do they need to create a dropbox if all I want to do is share the folder? And why would they need to add anything to a dropbox? I want this to be as simple to use as possible.

Thinking that maybe sharing with an invitation is overkill I wondered if I could share just by sending them a link. However when they attempt to link to the folder they are told they do not have access.

What am I doing wrong? I feel like I'm beating my head against a wall.

[wa4ywm]

@Nancy   Here is the screen shot you requested.

[Megan]

Hey @wa4ywm, let's try the process from scratch, shall we? 

The first thing I would like for you to do is follow the steps here, in order to remove said member from the folder or unshare the folder entirely. 

Alternatively, you can create a new test folder, and check the behavior there. Now, once we have our unshared folder, or our newly created older, please hover over it and click the share icon (rectangle with an up arrow).

From the dropdown, select can view. If a link hasn't been created, click Create. If a link has been created, then click Copy link.

Once that's done, try accessing it through an incognito tab on your browser, just to see how it'll look like for the other person. If you get any errors such as the one you sent above, let me know. 

[wa4ywm]

Hi @Megan

I removed everyone but me (of course) from the access list. I created a new link. Checked the link in a new tab - good. Sent the link in an email to the person of interest. The link worked. BUT - I have been here before. I suspect that I am missing something here.

I am under the impression that when I send a link as I have done here, it means that anyone can use that link to access the folder. I have no way of restricting access. True?

If true, how do I restrict access?

[Hannah]

Happy to see that you were able to resolve this, @wa4ywm.

Indeed, when it comes to shared links, anyone with access to the link, can access the content.

There are ways to change the permissions on links, like adding a password or an expiration date, but that would require a Dropbox Professional or Business account.

In your case, what you could do, is keep the link alive for as long as you need to, and then you can delete it from this page, to stop people from accessing the content.

[wa4ywm]

@Hannah 

So the only way I can control access to the folder is to invite the users to share the folder and they would then need to create an account. Is this true?

[Megan]

Hey @wa4ywm, if you're on a paid Professional, or paid plan you can choose for people not to download content, or add a password to your links as Hannah suggested.

If you invite a user to your shared folder directly, instead of a shared link they would need a Dropbox account, and they can either have "can edit" or "can view" permissions. 

[wa4ywm · Accepted solution]

@Megan and @Hannah

Thank you for your direct comments and answers. I realize that I was trying to do something that cannot be done with my account - restrict access with a link.

Thus, I am going to have my users create accounts so that I can restrict access.

Thanks again.

[joceedee]

I know this isn't my post but as a paid member (drop box one) I'm struggling with a similar issue.

I'd like to be able to share a view link to a folder and I am having the same error issue as @wa4ywm.

I'm assuming someone can't be added to the view permission list unless the folder has been shared with them which requires a dropbox account (if I understand correctly). I can't work out how to add an email to the permissions without also having to hit the share folder button.

I want to be able to share a link to view to invited people only (which I have access to) without those people needing a dropbox account.

Is this even possible? Or is the only way drop box can manage viewing restrictions is through dropbox to dropbox accounts?

Thanks.

[Hannah]

Hey @joceedee, thanks for your comment here!

If you'd like to share a folder with 'view only' permissions to people who don't have a Dropbox account, you won't be able to invite them using their email addresses, but you can create a 'view only' link, that will allow them to access the folder.

You can then copy and paste this link wherever they can access it.

I hope this helps!

[joceedee]

Thanks for getting back to me.

It's clear the kinds of permissions and restrictions I'm looking for are only available drop box to drop box.

Cheers.