Sharing a file with people without Dropbox accounts

[novalin]

I have a PDF I want to share with people so they can download it, but I don't want them to have to create a Dropbox account (or sign in) to download it.

Is there a way to do this with Dropbox? One help article says yes, another says no. I tested and it made the recipient log in.

If this isn't possible, what services do you recommend? I can't share a large PDF with hundreds of people and expect them to all log in.

[Megan]

Hi @novalin, I hope you're doing well!

You can achieve that by creating a shared link of the PDF you want to send to them. They won't need a Dropbox account to view, and download the content. 

If you have any other questions, let me know. 

[novalin]

Hi. That's what I had done with my original test and the person I tested with hit a log in page.

[Hannah]

Hey @novalin, sorry to jump in here. 

Shared links provide view-only access to the files you want to share, so the recipient is not required to have a Dropbox account.

Can you please describe the steps you followed to create and share a link to that file?

[novalin]

I also don't see the dropdown in step 3 from your help article. Does it have to be changed from View to Edit for this to work? I'd think View access would allow someone to download, just not edit the file in Drop Box, so I'd think that would work...

[novalin]

Thanks for jumping in. Here's what I did:

1. Logged into drop box
2. Navigated to a folder
3. Uploaded a PDF
4. Clicked on the share icon
5. Entered an email and clicked "share file"
6. Recipient received an email and clicked the link

[Megan · Accepted solution]

Hey @novalin, thanks for sending me the steps. 

It sounds as if you've shared the file directly, instead of using a shared link. Can you try following these steps and share the link to them via an email or any other means? 

They should be able to view the link without a Dropbox account too. 

[novalin]

Hi. Using the "copy link" option also results in the recipient hitting a log in screen. However, you can dismiss the log in screen and still download the file. While it does work it's just a bad user experience to hit people with a disruptive log in screen.

[Megan]

Hi @novalin! 

I'll forward your feedback to the appropriate areas so we can continue to improve.

I'll be one post away if you need anything.

[novalin]

Thank you Megan. Candidly, it appears Dropbox is prioritizing harvesting new accounts over a better UX, which is unfortunate.