Common Dropbox sharing errors and how to solve them

Sometimes you may receive an error message when you try to share a Dropbox file or folder. If this is the case, read on to learn why this may have happened and how to fix the issue.

If you sent or received a shared link that isn’t working or is returning a 404 error message, learn how to troubleshoot shared links.

Error: "There are too many files."

What happened

You tried to share or unshare a folder that contains a very large number of files. 

How to fix it

If you’re trying to share a folder, follow these steps:

1. Log in to dropbox.com.
2. Locate the folder with too many files and rename it.
3. Click Create.
4. Click Shared folder from the menu that appears.
5. Choose I’d like to create and share a new folder.
6. Click Next.
7. Add a name for your folder, then add the email addresses of the people you want to share with in the To: box.
8. Click Share folder.
9. In the Dropbox desktop app, open the old folder you wanted to share. 
10. Copy all files in this folder.
11. Open your new shared folder.
12. Paste files from the old folder into the new shared folder. Now, these files will sync with shared folder members.
     

This error only affects the creation of a shared folder and won't affect future invitations to the folder.

If you’re trying to unshare a folder, follow these steps:

1. On your computer, move the contents of the shared folder into a non-shared folder.
2. Let Dropbox sync this move.
3. Unshare the now empty shared folder.
4. Move the contents back into the now unshared folder, or delete the now unshared folder and use the new folder.

Error: "You sent too many invitations."

What happened

You sent a lot of invitations in a short period of time. To prevent abuse, there is a limit on how many shared folder invitations you can send every 24 hours.

How to fix it

If you hit the limit, wait 24 hours before trying to send another invitation.

Error: "Sharing was unsuccessful." or "Can’t share with user."

What happened

You tried to share with someone who couldn’t be shared with. We’ll let you know how many users you successfully shared with and how many couldn’t be invited. This can be because:

• The invitees are on a Dropbox team that doesn’t allow their members to receive invites from outside of the team
• You’re on a Dropbox team that doesn’t allow you to invite members that aren’t on your team

How to fix it:

If you’re on a Dropbox team plan, contact your admin and ask if they can change your team settings.

If the user you’re trying to share with is on a Dropbox team plan, ask them to contact their admin to change these settings.

Error: "You don’t have permission to perform this action."

What happened

• The owner of the folder you were trying to share doesn’t allow editors to share with other members.
• You have view-only access to the file or folder. In these cases you can’t invite other members to this file or folder.

How to fix it

Contact the owner of the file or folder to make you an editor. If you’re already an editor, ask them to change the setting that allows editors to invite people.

Error: "The file specified was not found."

What happened

The file you tried to share isn’t in your Dropbox account anymore. This can happen if the file was deleted or removed from Dropbox, by you or by another member of the folder.

How to fix it

You can restore a file or folder that has been deleted or removed from your Dropbox account. Learn how to recover or restore Dropbox files and folders.