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wb7c's avatar
wb7c
Explorer | Level 4
8 years ago
Solved

Allow others to View and Download from A Folder in my Dropbox folder? How to do this?

Hi,

I am having trouble reading the Dropbox Help Center with its low-contrast theme, so I am asking here.

 

I am running Linux Mint 17.3 64-bit and using MATE Desktop.  I am running the very latest Firefox browser, 60.0.1, 64-bit.  My Dropbox installation is designed for the Gnome desktop.  Therefore I don't see all the integration I am used to back when I ran Windoze.

 

I can edit on dropbox.com and see changes in my Dropbox. I can drop something in my Dropbox and see it on the website.   Using the website tools, I can send someone an invitation from the website to share a file to be viewed and downloaded.  (Or edited too if I want.) I saw today where I could copy links to my clipboard and paste them to my own email instead of using the canned invitation.  Not sure where I saw that.

 

I write a column for a club newsletter and it includes big photo files not suitable to be attached and emailed.

 

My question is, is it possible to link a folder and if so, how do I go about it?

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  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    8 years ago
    Welcome to the Dropbox Community wb7c & thanks a lot for reaching out here on this inquiry! 
     
    It’s my understanding that you’re asking about how could go about sharing a link from your account online, hence I’ll send you the relevant steps, as outlined here: 
     
    • Go to your filestructure on your account on the web & hover your cursor over the file or folder you'd like to share and click Share when it appears. 
    • If a link hasn't been created, click Create a link. (On the other hand, if a link was already created, click Copy link.)
    • The link will be copied to your clipboard (Tip: You’ll also receive a notification on the bottom of your screen confirming that). You can then paste it to an email, message, or wherever people can access it.

    Additionally, if you're on a Dropbox Professional or Dropbox Business account, you could also modify your shared link permissions. 

     

    Please note that the steps above will grant recipients View-only access (which is best for when you need to share a file with a large audience) & everyone with the link will be able to access your content. 
     
    I hope my advice is helpful to you & please do let me know if anything is unclear to you or I have misunderstood, as I remain at your entire disposal should you need further assistance. I’m wishing you a creative & fruitful rest of your day!
  • Mark's avatar
    Mark
    8 years ago
    No, they dont.

    It is simply an internet link that when clicked on takes them to a page on Dropbox.com. They may be asked to sign up or log in, but, they can just click on the X in the top right or tap escape to get past that.

7 Replies

  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    8 years ago
    Welcome to the Dropbox Community wb7c & thanks a lot for reaching out here on this inquiry! 
     
    It’s my understanding that you’re asking about how could go about sharing a link from your account online, hence I’ll send you the relevant steps, as outlined here: 
     
    • Go to your filestructure on your account on the web & hover your cursor over the file or folder you'd like to share and click Share when it appears. 
    • If a link hasn't been created, click Create a link. (On the other hand, if a link was already created, click Copy link.)
    • The link will be copied to your clipboard (Tip: You’ll also receive a notification on the bottom of your screen confirming that). You can then paste it to an email, message, or wherever people can access it.

    Additionally, if you're on a Dropbox Professional or Dropbox Business account, you could also modify your shared link permissions. 

     

    Please note that the steps above will grant recipients View-only access (which is best for when you need to share a file with a large audience) & everyone with the link will be able to access your content. 
     
    I hope my advice is helpful to you & please do let me know if anything is unclear to you or I have misunderstood, as I remain at your entire disposal should you need further assistance. I’m wishing you a creative & fruitful rest of your day!
  • wb7c's avatar
    wb7c
    Explorer | Level 4
    8 years ago

    Thank you, Jane!  Following your steps, I saw all of my Dropbox folders and who could see them, and that share button upon hover.  That popped up the email form I had ised to share files, and down bottom right was the "Copy link" link.

     

    I invited one person who is dubious about getting involved with having to create an account to see my stuff, so is there a way to remove an invitee?  Likewise I invited one whose Dropbox account is under a different email address, so I should revoke that invitation.

     

    I shall make a copy of your answer above for future reference!  Thank you.

  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    8 years ago
    Great, happy to hear that the steps above have worked for you wb7c, let me follow-up in a bit more detail below! 
     
    Following to your request, as per: 
     
    I invited one person who is dubious about getting involved with having to create an account to see my stuff, so is there a way to remove an invitee?
     
    You may keep in mind that you can un-invite someone from a share by going to the Share option again, where all folder members are listed. Once you find the invite you’d like to cancel, you can go next to your friend’s name, where their permission is listed & click there 🔽
     , where you’ll get a drop-down menu, as below: 
     
     
     
    From there, you’ll just have to Remove them from the shared folder & re-invite them on the correct email address or send them the shared link if they wish to avoid creating a Dropbox account. 
     
    Please do let me know how these steps work for you & I’ll do my best to check back with you in the best way I can. Cheers! 
  • wb7c's avatar
    wb7c
    Explorer | Level 4
    8 years ago

    Hey, thank you again Jane.  I now understyand that my view-only option is just a link to the invitee, whreas one of my invitees is already a Dropbox user.  This user invited me with full-edit privileges and both of us have this folder on our computers.  I posted a text message in this folder and saw it up online in the new folder.

     

    Quesrion for you:  The recipient of a view link, I assume has to become an account-holder to view anything?  I have a sneaking hunch the answer is yrs......

     

     

  • Mark's avatar
    Mark
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
    8 years ago
    No, they dont.

    It is simply an internet link that when clicked on takes them to a page on Dropbox.com. They may be asked to sign up or log in, but, they can just click on the X in the top right or tap escape to get past that.
  • wb7c's avatar
    wb7c
    Explorer | Level 4
    8 years ago

    Excellent comeback Mark!  I saw the answer when I read Jane's last line, but you gave me the full experience of a nonuser coming into contact with that link.  Thank you!  And Jane, too, for that matter, as you both had the right answer.

  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    8 years ago
    Ah, perfect, I’m so glad to hear that your inquiry was answered wb7c & thanks a lot for getting back in touch to confirm. 
     
    In any case, we’re always just a message away in case you have further questions or feedback in the future, so don't hesitate to reach back out at any time. Hope you have a wonderful week ahead! :slight_smile: :coffee:

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