You might see that the Dropbox Community team have been busy working on some major updates to the Community itself! So, here is some info on what’s changed, what’s staying the same and what you can expect from the Dropbox Community overall.
Forum Discussion
How can I know when someone accesses a shared folder?
I used to be able to share a folder with someone, send them a link, and then be able to hover over their little icon to see if they had accessed the folder. This is very important when I am trying to meet a deadline and want to be sure the link has been received and used. I checked "recents", but it didn't have any lines about people opening shared folders. I also checked "sharing", but according to that page, I haven't created any links since last year sometime, and I know that isn't true. Has dropbox removed the ability to check to see if the link has been used or the folder been joined? Is there some other way to see if someone has accessed a shared folder or used a link that was sent to them? Thanks!
It doesn't work that way anymore. When you invite someone, they have access, period. They have the ability to leave* and join the share at will, until they remove it from their Dropbox or you remove them from the share. You can see that they're a member, but you can't see when they leave or join in (until they remove it from their Dropbox).
* Leaving a share does not remove it from their account. It simply takes the share out of their Dropbox. They can no longer access it, but they can rejoin it at anytime. When a user removes a share it is removed from their account completely and it can no longer be rejoined.
Matt, refer to my reply above. It no longer works that way. As soon as you invite someone to a shared folder, they have access. There is no longer a need to accept the invitation.
No. Just open your folder. Take a look at the picture attached. The files of the folder are listed on the left, and the names of the people on the right. MB is me. The other person I shared the folder with "c" hasn't accessed it yet. I know this by placing my cursor on top of the "c" and the message in grey (I covered her email address to protect her privacy) appears.
- Mark
Super User II
You can see if a shared folder has been joined at www.dropbox.com/share but you could never actually track shared links (https://help.dropbox.com/files-folders/view-only-access) as Dropbox doesnt track that information.
Thanks for the reply, Mark. I know there used to be a way to know if someone had joined the folder because I relied on that for knowing if my ads were being received by the agency in time. Perhaps I am not remembering exactly the way it worked, but I do know that it was accessible from the page where the folders are listed with the little round icons on the right. I'm quite sure it said something like "So and So has joined the folder"... Now all I see is "So and So can edit", but that doesn't tell me if they have actually opened the folder or not. Seems like that would be an important thing to know! :-)
So, just curious, how do I know if a shared folder has been joined on the page you point out? When I go to my Shared page, I see: On the Folders page, a list of folders with only the ... beside them to share or folder settings | Files is completely empty | Links has a few individual files listed, but it only says Delete Link or Link Settings. I hate to waste your time, but this is driving me crazy and I appreciate your help.
- Rich
It doesn't work that way anymore. When you invite someone, they have access, period. They have the ability to leave* and join the share at will, until they remove it from their Dropbox or you remove them from the share. You can see that they're a member, but you can't see when they leave or join in (until they remove it from their Dropbox).
* Leaving a share does not remove it from their account. It simply takes the share out of their Dropbox. They can no longer access it, but they can rejoin it at anytime. When a user removes a share it is removed from their account completely and it can no longer be rejoined.
You say I can see who joined a shared foleder, but how can I see this? There is no column or other indication at dropbox.com/share that indicates if someone has joined. It appears to me that once I add an email, the system assumes the recipent has joined. Does "Join" mean sync, or access through a browser using a password?
- Rich
Matt, refer to my reply above. It no longer works that way. As soon as you invite someone to a shared folder, they have access. There is no longer a need to accept the invitation.
- Hi - this change in functionality has really been a huge hassle for me as well. You cannot even see or sort files when they were last opened - as opposed to being 'modified' - there is a few significant functions such as this that have been paired back. I hope more people will enquire - otherwise I struggle to see all the benefits over other options available.
When you place your mouse on top of the name of the person you shared the folder with and her/his name appears normal and says for example "XXX can edit" (if you granted that person editing privileges). Otherwise, a message pops out saying: "xxx@xxx hasn't added this to their Dropbox yet".
mbrandt wrote:
When you place your mouse on top of the name of the person you shared the folder with and her/his name appears normal and says for example "XXX can edit" (if you granted that person editing privileges). Otherwise, a message pops out saying: "xxx@xxx hasn't added this to their Dropbox yet".
Thanks mbrandt but that isn't working for me. When you say "on top of the name", I assume you refer to names in the list of people appearing when you click on the "Share" button to the right of the shared folder, right? I am not getting any kind of popup or indication about the user. The dropdown at the right only shows the setting I applied (edit/view/owner) and never shows that a user hasn't added the folder to their Dropbox - even wher I know they haven't.
No. Just open your folder. Take a look at the picture attached. The files of the folder are listed on the left, and the names of the people on the right. MB is me. The other person I shared the folder with "c" hasn't accessed it yet. I know this by placing my cursor on top of the "c" and the message in grey (I covered her email address to protect her privacy) appears.
