How to share a Dropbox file or folder
When you share a file or folder using Dropbox, the recipient receives an email with a link to the file or folder. The recipient must have a Dropbox account and be logged into that account to view or edit the file or folder. If the recipient doesn’t have a Dropbox account, or doesn’t want to log in to view it, you can share it with a view-only link instead.
You can control whether people can edit or can only view your files and folders when you share them and even after you share them. Edits and comments made to a shared file or folder are updated live for everyone they’ve been shared with.
Notes:
- If you’re on a Dropbox team account and you share a folder with your teammates, they'll automatically join the shared folder.
- If you share a folder with an individual Dropbox user, the user needs to manually join the folder.
- Anyone who is invited to collaborate in a file or folder can create their own link to share with others.
- If you’re an admin on a Dropbox team, you can control the access settings for folders. Learn how to manage shared link settings for your team.
- If you’re a member of a Dropbox team account, you can still choose who you want to share the link with even if the team admin changes default link sharing settings.
Dropbox is moving to an updated shared link architecture where links are based on content rather than on users. This will affect how links are created and shared. The new links can be identified by the presence of an ‘rlkey’ parameter in the URL. For these links, the above behavior will perform differently:
- Users with view-only access can only create view-only links, but users with edit access can create both edit or view-only links if links have not been created already.
- Only one edit link and one view-only link can exist per file or folder.
Share a Dropbox file or folder
- Log in to dropbox.com.
- Hover over the file or folder you’d like to share and click the share icon (rectangle with an up arrow).
- Type the Email, name, or group of the person (or people) you’d like to share with, and click to select them from the results.
- Note: You can invite as many people as you’d like.
- Select Can edit or Can view.
- Add a note if you’d like, and check the checkbox if you’d like to Post this note as a comment.
- Click Share file or Share folder.
The person or group will receive an email with a link to the file or folder.
- Open the Dropbox folder in File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac).
- Right-click or command-click the file or folder you’d like to share.
- Click Share….
- Type the Email, name, or group of the person (or people) you’d like to share with, and click to select them from the results.
- Note: You can invite as many people as you’d like.
- Select Can edit or Can view.
- Add a message if you’d like.
- Click Share file.
The person or group will receive an email with a link to the file or folder.
- Open the Dropbox mobile app.
- Tap the “⁝” (vertical ellipsis on Android) or “…” (ellipsis on iPhone/iPad) next to the file or folder you’d like to share.
- Tap Share.
- Tap Invite to file.
- Tap under Send to and type the Email, name, or group of the person (or people) you’d like to share with.
- Tap to select them from the results.
- Note: You can invite as many people as you’d like.
- Tap to select Can edit (view, comment, and edit), Can view (view and comment but not edit), or View-only (view only — they can’t see comments).
- Tap Message (optional) to add a message if you’d like.
- Tap Share.
Watch this video for more information about sharing files and folders with Dropbox.
Community answers
-
Posted by: wardenclyffe 2 days ago
218
1
0
-
Posted by: Robbie1 1 day ago
806
14
1
-
Posted by: mettaworldwill 2 days ago
186
5
0
