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dmorrison's avatar
dmorrison
Explorer | Level 3
3 years ago

I don't have enough space to upload or download files from a folder that was shared with me

Someone shared some rough video files with me to edit into a video for them.

 

My company stopped using dropbox years ago in favor of Google Drive, so I have not added anything to DB for probably five years.

 

DB tells me that I cannot download the files that the customer shared with me unless I give them money. (But didn't the customer give them money to upload the files?

 

(Does DB REALLY think it is an honest biz model to charge people to upload and also to charge others to download the same file?)

 

I tried deleting all of the five-year-old files which I do not need anymore and I am still "over my limit." Many files that were shared with me five years ago are still clogging my space and I cannot remove them. DB says I can hide them, but that won't free up space.

 

Does anyone know how I can simply download the files that someone shared with me? or delete the existing old files so that I'll have enough space in my quota?

 

This is incredibly frustrating and reminds me of why I hate dropbox .

 

 

 

 

  • Hannah's avatar
    Hannah
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    Hey dmorrison, thanks for joining our Community and I'm sorry for any frustration caused.

    I'm afraid that shared folders take up space in the accounts of all the members that have edit permissions.

    If you don't have enough space, a workaround would be for the owner of the folder to send you a link, which doesn't affect your Dropbox quota.

    And if you'd like to upload files to their account, they can send you a file request.

    Would you mind letting me know, though, why you're not able to delete files? Are you getting any error messages?

    Keep me posted.
    • dmorrison's avatar
      dmorrison
      Explorer | Level 3

      Thanks, Hannah,

       

      So in order to free up space, I have to email everyone who has shared files with me and ask them to remove me from the edit list?

       

      The workaround, having someone send a link, is view-only, though, correct? Does that mean I cannot download the files?

       

       

      • Hannah's avatar
        Hannah
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
        No worries!

        To remove a shared folder from your account without affecting the rest of the members, you can actually remove your access to it yourself.

        That'll free up the space this shared folder is taking up.

        As for the the shared link, it allows view access, so you won't be able to edit or delete anything, but you can still download files from it.

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