How to change sharing settings for a Paper doc or folder

Updated Jan 02, 2024

This article is for Dropbox users on an old release of Dropbox Paper.
 

To find out if you’re using the old release of Dropbox Paper:

  1. Log in to dropbox.com.
  2. Click Create.
  3. Hover over Document.


If you don’t see Dropbox Paper in the list of document types, then you’re using the old release.
 

If you do see Dropbox Paper in the list of document types, then you’re using the new 2020 release of Dropbox Paper.
 

If you’re using the 2020 release of Dropbox Paper, your Paper docs act like regular Dropbox files, and you can change privacy settings for your Paper docs the same way you would change privacy settings on regular files in Dropbox. 

Learn how to change privacy setting on Dropbox files and folders.

If you create a private doc that’s not inside of a folder, you’re the only person that will be able to search for and edit it. Once you share the doc with others, you can choose who can open your doc and whether they can comment or edit.  If you create a doc within a folder, all members of that folder can open, search for, and edit your doc.

When using Dropbox Paper, there are a few different privacy settings that you might want to change. How to do this will vary depending on which version of Dropbox you’re using.

Not using Dropbox yet? See how Dropbox makes managing file permissions easy.

How to change sharing settings with the new release of Dropbox Paper

If you’re using the 2020 release of Dropbox Paper, your Paper docs act like regular Dropbox files, and you can change sharing permissions for your Paper docs the same way you would change sharing permissions on regular files in Dropbox.

How to change sharing permissions on a Paper doc

  1. Open the Paper doc you want to share. 
  2. Click the blue Invite button.
  3. Click Settings at the bottom right.
  4. Choose a sharing option under both Who can open this doc? and What can they do?.
  5. Click Done.

How to change sharing permissions on a doc for an individual

  1. Open the Paper doc.
  2. Click the blue Invite button.
  3. Next to their name, choose Can edit, Can view, or Remove.
  • You can't remove yourself from a doc, but you can unfollow it
  • If you’re on a team and link access is enabled, the only way to remove a user from a doc is to set the doc’s permissions to Invite-only

How to change sharing permissions on a Paper folder

  1. Open the folder you want to share. 
  2. Click the blue Share button.
  3. Type the email or member name next to To.
  4. Click their name.
  5. Click Invite.
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Notes:

  • All subfolders within a shared Paper folder are automatically shared when you share the parent folder
  • If you're on a Dropbox team, your Paper folders will be visible to everyone in your team by default

How to remove a user from a doc

To remove someone from the doc, you must either have created the doc or have edit access. 

  1. Click the blue Invite or Share button.
  2. Click Who can access.
  3. Click Can edit (or Can view) next to the relevant user. 
  4. Click Remove from the dropdown menu that appears.

 

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Notes: 

  • You can't remove yourself from a doc, but you can unfollow it
  • If you’re on a team and link access is enabled, the only way to remove a user from a doc is to set the doc’s permissions to Invite-only

How to see who your Paper folder is shared with

  1. Open the folder.
  2. Click the blue Share button.

You’ll see a list of people you’re sharing the folder with.

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