How to manage team folders

Updated May 31, 2024
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This information in this article applies to certain types of admins on Dropbox Professional, Essentials, Standard, Business, Advanced, Business Plus, and Enterprise.

Team folders help admins manage team files and folders. You can share team folders with your entire Dropbox team, or with specific groups.

If you want to manage your team folders, or have issues with team folders, read on for specific instructions.

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

 

How to create a team folder

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Note: Depending on your team’s top-level content management setting, team members may be able to create team folders at the top level. Admins can manage this setting from the admin console. If you’re an admin, learn how to create team folders from the admin console.

To create a team folder as a team member: 

  1. Log in to dropbox.com.
  2. Click Create folder.
    • Note: You’ll only be able to create a team folder at the top level if your team’s top-level content management setting is set to Everyone. If the setting is set to Admins only, you can only create team folders within folders you have edit access to. 
    • If you’re a team member without permission to create team folders at the top level, you can reach out to your admin to ask them to either create a top-level team folder for you, or allow team members to create top-level team folders.
  3. In the box under Name, type a name for your new team folder.
  4. Select whether you’d like to share the new team folder with Everyone at [Team name], or only with Specific people
    • Uncheck the box next to Automatically sync this folder to members’ computers to prevent automatic syncing.
  5. Click Create.
  6. If you chose to share the folder with specific people, a pop-up window will appear. Enter the names of the groups or individuals you’d like to share the team folder with, then click the dropdown to select whether to give people edit or view-only access. 
  7. Click Add.
    • Note: The team folder is only shared with people after you enter their name(s) or email(s) and click Add. If you cancel out of this screen without adding anyone, the team folder won’t be shared with anyone else but you’ll still be able to access and manage the team folder in your Dropbox account.
       

How to rename a team folder

Admins can always rename team folders. Depending on your team’s top-level content management setting, team members may also be able to rename team folders they have edit access to. Admins can manage this setting from the admin console.


To rename a team folder:

  1. Log in to dropbox.com.
  2. Click “” on the right of the folder you’d like to change the name of.
  3. Click Rename
  4. Type the name you’d like and press enter on your keyboard.
  5. Click Rename.
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Note: When a team folder is renamed, the name is changed for all team members. 

How to move a team folder

Top-level team folders can't be moved out of the team space nor can they be "nested" within another folder. If you have edit access to a team folder, you can move a subfolder contained within it to either another team folder or another subfolder. Subfolders can’t be moved to the top level of the team space.

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Note: When moving files and subfolders out of the team folder, you’ll see a pop-up, warning you that existing users will lose access to the files and subfolders moved out of the team folder.

Learn how to share or copy a team folder. Only admins can copy top-level team folders to other locations or to the top level of the team space.

How to delete a team folder

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Note: Depending on your team’s top-level content management setting, team members may be able to delete team folders at the top level. Admins can manage this setting from the admin console. However, only admins can restore deleted team folders.

To delete a team folder: 

  1. Log in to dropbox.com.
  2. Navigate to the team folder you’d like to delete. 
  3. Click “...” (ellipsis) next to the team folder name.
  4. Click Delete.
  5. Click Delete again to confirm.

When a team folder is deleted, it gets removed from the team space. However, anyone who previously had access to it will retain access. To access a deleted team folder, navigate to Home in the far-left sidebar and click Show deleted files in the left sidebar.
 

How to add or remove people to or from a team folder

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Note: Removing a user's or group's access to a team folder essentially unshares that folder. 

Team members may be able to add or remove people from a team folder. Admins can change this setting in the Content tab of the admin console.


To manage access to a team folder:

  1. Hover over the folder you’d like to manage access to.
  2. Click Manage permissions.
    • Note: You’ll see a list of names and groups of everyone who can access this team folder.
  3. Click the name of the person or group you want to change access for. 
    • From here, you can:
      • Change permission to Can edit or Can view the team folder. 
      • Remove permission for a group or individual by clicking Remove. Click Remove again to confirm. 
      • Type the name of a person or group and click Add to add them to the folder.
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Important note: If you permanently delete a team folder, it cannot be recovered, even by Dropbox Support.

How to move a shared folder into a team folder

Team members and admins may move a shared folder into the team space as long as the following requirements are met:

  1. The folder is owned by someone on the same team as the user who is moving it into the team space.
  2. The user has edit access to the folder they are trying to move. To check this:
    • Click Share with Dropbox from the dropdown menu to the right of the folder.
    • See if the user has Can edit to the right of their name or group.
  3. The Manage access setting is set to Folder members. To check this:
    • Click Share with Dropbox from the dropdown menu to the right of the folder.
    • Click Folder settings.
    • See if Folder members is in the dropdown next to Manage access.

You can’t move a folder if you don’t have edit access to the folder you’re trying to move the folder into.
 

I'm trying to move a shared folder into another shared folder

You can't move a shared folder into another shared folder. This is referred to as "nesting," and will break shared folder functionality.

However, team members on a Dropbox team account plan can move a shared folder into a team folder.

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Note: Team members will see a pop-up, warning them that existing users will lose access to the files and subfolders moved out of the team folder.

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