Why can some view the contents of a shared folder they haven't added?

[AMCASonoma]

Hi,

I have shared a folder with a user.  The user can see the folder in the Shared view in his (some recent version of IE/Edge) browser. The user has not added the folder to his dropbox account. Under the elipsis, the user has the option to remove the folder, but not to "View folder". 

For another user using Safari, who also has not added the folder to his Dropbox account, the view folder option is available and allows that user to navigate down into the folder and see all of its content.

Is there a dropbox user setting that governs this behavior, browser compatibility issues, or something else that explains this; and a solution.

Thanks,

AMCASonoma

[Lusil]

Hi there @AMCASonoma, I'd be happy to help look into this with you. 

Could you ask the user who can't preview the contents to see if they have enough space to add the shared folder in the first place?

They can check that by going to their Plan tab. 

Looking forward to hearing back from you!

[AMCASonoma]

Hi,

I am pretty certain that the user does NOT have space to add the folder, and the user does not want to add it. He wants to be able to navigate into and access individual files in the folder. Perhaps that is not allowed without the capacity to add?

If that is true and if the user has the capacity to add,  then I assume that a user can look into a shared folder and see all of its contents without adding it and without, therefore, having the size of the folder count against his data limit?

Thanks,

[Lusil]

You're right, in order to navigate through a shared folder, they have to have enough space to add it. 

You can find more information about this, here. 

However, if all they need to do is preview its contents, you can send them a shared link, which doesn't take up any of their account's storage.

Could you have a look and let me know if that does the trick for you?

[AMCASonoma]

Hi,

Will the recipient of the link be able to navigate the folder's structure, see file thumbnails and upload to their desktop the files they want. I understand that changes the user makes to the files will not be synced.

thank you.

[Walter]

If you meant download instead of upload, then yes, the recipients of your shared links will be able to preview and download them to their devices if needed @AMCASonoma.

Let us know if you have any more questions!