Sharing a file with people without Dropbox accounts

[novalin]

I have a PDF I want to share with people so they can download it, but I don't want them to have to create a Dropbox account (or sign in) to download it.

Is there a way to do this with Dropbox? One help article says yes, another says no. I tested and it made the recipient log in.

If this isn't possible, what services do you recommend? I can't share a large PDF with hundreds of people and expect them to all log in.

[jkarp1010]

couple of questions:

do people i send video or photos to have to have an account?

do the video or photos i send affect my earthlink mail storage capacity?

[Megan]

Hi @jkarp1010, how are you today?

It depends how you're choosing to share them. Do you use shared links, or shared folders? 

In any case, the pictures should first be uploaded to your Dropbox account, therefore count against your Dropbox storage, not your email storage. 

If you have any questions, let me know.

[jkarp1010]

I don't know the difference between shared links and shared folders. If I have multiple photos and videos for each person, I'm guessing shared folder? Recipient can just drag videos & photos onto desktop. No editing involved. These are just to share.

[Jay]

Hi @jkarp1010, if the other users can upload into your folders, then it could be a shared folder which would take up quota on your account and theirs.

Let me know if you need any more info.

[jkarp1010]

Does everybody in the recipient group have to be a Dropbox subscriber?

[Rich]

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@jkarp1010 wrote:

Does everybody in the recipient group have to be a Dropbox subscriber?

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Just create a shared link for the folder, and they'll be able to access everything within it without having an account.

• https://help.dropbox.com/files-folders/share/view-only-access

[MadDog357]

I started using Dropbox again after some time not having used it.  Now I can't figure out how to simply share a file (multi-media) with friends who do not have Dropbox.  Everyone I send a link to gets this error "You don't have access".  I read several help articles sent by other members but they've been no help.  I'm ready to pull my hair out and cancel my subscription to Dropbox.  Something this simple should NEVER be this DIFFICULT.  I will appreciate any competent help with this problem.  Thanks.

[Megan]

Hey @MadDog357, welcome to our Community! 

Is it possible that you're sharing the URL of the file, instead of creating a shared link? That could be the culprit of the error you mentioned. 

Can you confirm that these are the steps you've been following on your end?

Let me know, and we'll take it from there! 

[NaserA]

how to make all my shared link(files) viewable and downloadable to who dont have dropbox account! 

did i missed an update or something? i remember my shared links was viewable to other who dont need to login or has dropbox account

[Hannah]

Hey @NaserA, thanks for reaching out to the Dropbox Community.

Is it possible that you're creating 'can edit' links instead of 'can view' ones?

The 'can view' links are the ones that can be accessed by people without Dropbox accounts.

I hope this helps!