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Forum Discussion
Folder showing a Share Icon
Why do some folders in Dropbox.com show a sharing icon when the folder is not shared? I am refering to the sharing icon visible on dropbox.com not on the computer version. See the screenshot. ...
I'm stumped also. I have many folders like this in my dropbox account. I have never shared them. I am not sharing them now. These appear on dropbox.com so I can't assume this is a problem with Apple or Windows.
I'm not a programmer for a billion dollar tech company but I think the icon should read 'blank' when I folder is not shared- whether I was the original owner of the folder or not.
Daphne
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffHey JOfE!
Could you just check for me, if you select one of these folders and choose the "Share" option, and then click the gear icon in the top right corner, do you see an option to "Unshare folder" in the bottom left of the window?
Could you just check for me, if you select one of these folders and choose the "Share" option, and then click the gear icon in the top right corner, do you see an option to "Unshare folder" in the bottom left of the window?
I do. So strange. There was an "unshare folder" option on the bottom left. It unshared the folder (from no one) and the icon returned to blank.
Daphneyou just saved me a LOT of time! Thank you!!
- DaphneI'm happy to hear that helped JOfE!
Since you mentioned never sharing the folders, if you created them via the website, is it possible you chose to create a new shared folder rather than a normal folder?
Otherwise, I'm quite stumped as to why they appear as a shared folder if you never chose to share them with others.I actually think these folders were originally created in a TEAM folder and then at later date moved out to a private folder.
This 'bug' creates a few problems for a business team moving shared files in this way.
We are literally going through thousands of folders and finding hundreds of 'shared' folders like this in our account. We are able to find these problem folders only by syncing the entire business account to a drive. We can pinpoint the problem folders only by their larger than normal file size. Some are buried deep in video file bundles.
A few months ago we notice that some of our dropbox files were not showing ZERO file numbers. We created a ticket with Dropbox tech support to address this issue. It has been 2 months of back and forth and no solution.
Your insight Daphne that the folders are somehow 'shared' and showing a shared icon, I believe, is the key to that problem. We notice that 'unsharing' an unshared folder resulted in the file size being to reset to zero. So good for you @Daphne. You solved a problem the techs could not.
I also noticed you can "unshare" any individual file in Dropbox in the way you described (Share, top-right gear icon, bottom left "unshare") ad Infinitum.
None of us here are impressed by this bug in dropbox and the work it has created for us.
We are also finding files that show a 'shared icon' but are apparently shared with no one.
Happily, your fix Daphne works on these stranded folders also.
I have the same problem and I did not find any unshare folder option
- Hannah
Hey danielpassos, have you checked the steps to unshare a folder here?
Yes, I did. My folder is not shared and I have no other folder inside. I don't see the Unshare folder option
