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Forum Discussion
How to Share a DropBox Folder with Someone on IOS?
I have a DropBox Professional account, and want to share a folder so people can open it in on iPhone/iPad. They have installed the DropBox app on their devices. I have specified their addresses as sh...
wrote:
I was able to "share" the folder by sending the link to others.
And this is where we believe the problem is. Sending a link to a folder is not the same as a Shared Folder. A Share Link is a view-only method of sharing. Anyone that adds the content of a Share Link to their Dropbox will be creating their own copy of that content.
A Shard Folder allows you to give others edit access to your files. You need to add members to the folder first, specifying whether they have Edit or View access, and they'll receive an email or a notification within the Dropbox app on their phone.
When they open the Dropbox app and tap the notification, they'll be able to add the shared folder to their own Dropbox, if they have enough room in their account. This copy of the folder is synced with all other members of the share. Any changes they make within it will sync back to everyone else.
Make sure you read through both help articles (linked above) to understand the differences between a Share Link and a Shared Folder.
Hi Jay,
What I'm trying to do is share a folder from my professional DropBox account so people on iOS devices can open the same shared folder and add/remove photos inside that same folder. I created the folder and gave the invitees access/editing rights to the folder.
I was able to "share" the folder by sending the link to others. However, when they opened the link on their iPhones and linked it to their DropBox app, it ended up creating a new folder inside their separate DropBox accounts with the contents of my shared folder copied into it. This has created a temporary nightmare, as three different people began editing photos in what they thought was a shared folder, but wasn't!!!!
Is there any way to create a shared folder in my professional DropBox account, then give people on iOS devices access to that same shared folder in my professional account?
Rich
Super User II
Super User II
wrote:
I was able to "share" the folder by sending the link to others.
And this is where we believe the problem is. Sending a link to a folder is not the same as a Shared Folder. A Share Link is a view-only method of sharing. Anyone that adds the content of a Share Link to their Dropbox will be creating their own copy of that content.
A Shard Folder allows you to give others edit access to your files. You need to add members to the folder first, specifying whether they have Edit or View access, and they'll receive an email or a notification within the Dropbox app on their phone.
When they open the Dropbox app and tap the notification, they'll be able to add the shared folder to their own Dropbox, if they have enough room in their account. This copy of the folder is synced with all other members of the share. Any changes they make within it will sync back to everyone else.
Make sure you read through both help articles (linked above) to understand the differences between a Share Link and a Shared Folder.
- Jay
Dropbox Staff
As Rich said, a 'shared link to a folder' and a 'shared folder' are fundamentally different.
The first is read-only and can be accessed even without a Dropbox account. The second allows users to edit files in the folder, but they need a Dropbox account of their own. Rich,
Yes, that seems to be the answer! Thanks for your patience in helping resolve this.
I'm glad to have this capability, because I really like DropBox. The tricky thing here is, it's not so obvious why there would be a difference between sending a link to someone as well as sharing, versus simply sharing.
But it does work!
- Jay
Glad to hear it’s shared for you! Have a great evening.
[This thread is now closed. If you have a similar or new question, you can ask here.]
