FAQs about Dropbox shared folders

This article answers some common questions about Dropbox shared folders. If you would like to share a folder with someone, learn how to share a Dropbox folder, or learn how to join a shared folder that you’ve been invited to.

Not using Dropbox yet? See how Dropbox helps you effortlessly share folders.

Learn more about sharing files and folders with your team.

What are parent folders and subfolders?

• Parent folder: A folder that contains other folders. 
• Subfolder: A folder within another folder.

What's the difference between team folders and shared folders?

Team folders are designed for ongoing collaboration across a group or an organization, making it easier to manage content as the team grows. Members of Dropbox team accounts can use team folders to share content with their team.

Learn more about sharing content within a Dropbox team.

With team folders:

• Team admins can control access and manage permissions to create new team folders.
  • Note: By default, everyone can create team folders on Business and Business Plus teams.
• Members can be added or removed without resharing folders individually.
• Files in a team folder count against the team’s storage limit, not against each member’s personal storage space.

Use team folders if:

• You work with the same group regularly.
• You need consistent access for a team or company.
• You want easier ways to manage your content as your collaboration grows.

Shared folders are designed for simple or short-term collaboration. Users can choose specific people to share their folders with, and set permissions for each person. Learn how to share a folder.

With shared folders:

• Folder owners can add or remove access to their shared folders individually. Learn how to manage your Dropbox file and folder sharing permissions.
• Files in a shared folder count against each member’s personal storage space.

Use shared folders if:

• You collaborate with a small group of people.
• You work on temporary projects.
• You want to manage access on an individual basis.

If you’re collaborating in a shared folder with the same group, you may be prompted to create a team and move your work into team folders. This can help streamline access and keep your files organized in one place.

Learn more about team folders.

How does ownership of shared folders work?

If you’re the owner of a shared folder, you automatically own all subfolders contained within it. Even if someone else creates a new subfolder under your parent folder, you’ll automatically own the newly-created subfolder.

If you change the owner of the parent shared folder, the new owner will own the parent shared folder as well as all of its subfolders.

How do I transfer ownership of a shared folder?

Ownership of shared folders must be changed at the parent folder level. Learn how to transfer ownership of a shared folder.

Who has access to my shared content?

Learn how to find who has access to a shared folder and what type of access they have.

Can I move a shared folder into another shared folder?

To move a shared folder into another shared folder, you must own the file or folder you’re moving and have edit access to the destination folder.

Learn how to move shared folders.

Can I unshare a shared folder?

You can unshare a folder as long as:

• The folder doesn’t have any shared folders inside of it.
• The folder isn’t inside another shared folder.

Why can’t I create a shared folder?

If you’re unable to create a shared folder, it could be due to one of the following:

• You’ve reached the limit of shared folders you can create.
• You haven’t verified your email address.
• Your admin has turned off sharing outside the team.
• Your admin doesn’t allow team members to create and share folders at the top level of the team space.
• Your sharing activity has been suspended.
• Your app folders are incompatible with shared folders or team folders. When you connect a third-party app to your Dropbox account, it creates a dedicated app folder. These app folders are named after the app and have a puzzle piece on them. You’ll get an error message if you try to:
  • Share an app folder.
  • Add an app folder to a shared folder. 
  • Add a shared folder to an app folder.

Is there a limit to the number of shared folders I can create?

Within a single parent folder, you can create up to 1,500 shared subfolders. This number includes the parent folder itself.

Within your Dropbox account, you can create up to 30,000 shared folders. This number includes parent folders and subfolders.

For large teams, you may want to break off into sub-teams with separate team folders. You can then use groups to give people access to multiple team folders.

What can I do if I’ve reached the maximum number of shared subfolders?

If you’ve reached the limit for shared folders you can create in one folder, you can:

• Permanently delete some shared folders inside of it.
  • Note: After you permanently delete it, the folder is deleted for you and any other members who had access to it. A permanently deleted folder can't be recovered. Learn more about permanently deleting files or folders.
• Move some shared subfolders to a new parent folder.

Learn more about moving Dropbox files and folders.