Child Item

shared links and view only

Is there a way to send someone a shared link and to make that file view only? I want to send some examples of my work to potential employers, but I would prefer that the contents of the file not be editable.

It appears that this option is available when sending a file to be shared with someone who is on Dropbox. But the dialogue box does not provide that option when you send someone a shared link.

Find more posts tagged with

View

OffTopic

Developer

Accepted answers

Mark

It is: just send them a shared link.

If you are 'testing' the link it will allow editing as Dropbox will realise you are actually opening your own file

Mark

No. All it does is stops them editing it.

They are free to download it, take images off it etc. They just cannot edit YOUR version.

310EI

@dmbguy wrote:
Would the shared link also prevent the recipient from, say, copying and pasting the contents of the file? Or does it just prevent them from editing the actual material in my file on Dropbox?

Hello...

Mark has answered your question, however, if you're curious... you can view my example folder so that you'll have a better understanding of what your recipients will see after clicking on your shared links.

HELP CENTER ARTICLES:

All comments

Mark

It is: just send them a shared link.

If you are 'testing' the link it will allow editing as Dropbox will realise you are actually opening your own file

dmbguy

ah, terrific. Thank you. Would the shared link also prevent the recipient from, say, copying and pasting the contents of the file? Or does it just prevent them from editing the actual material in my file on Dropbox?

Mark

No. All it does is stops them editing it.

They are free to download it, take images off it etc. They just cannot edit YOUR version.

310EI

@dmbguy wrote:
Would the shared link also prevent the recipient from, say, copying and pasting the contents of the file? Or does it just prevent them from editing the actual material in my file on Dropbox?

Hello...

HELP CENTER ARTICLES:

supurfr

Brilliant, thank you for your help.

ntwhite02

Im confused. As I read that shared link they can still download. I want to know how to share the link and disable downloading. is suggestions?

310EI

@ntwhite02 wrote:
Im confused. As I read that shared link they can still download. I want to know how to share the link and disable downloading. is suggestions?

Hello, @ntwhite02...

Correct, files can be downloaded and there's no way to disable it via Dropbox.

KaChing

Is there a way to disable the dowload option with a view-only shared link?

Rich

KaChing wrote:
Is there a way to disable the dowload option with a view-only shared link?

No, there isn't.

KaChing

Thanks! Do you have any suggestions on what I could do or use alternatively?

Mark

Anything you send on the internet can be downloaded on to another persons machine - regardless of what sort of protection sites claim to do.

If its really that critical it isnt downloaded then dont send it via the web.

FRIIS & partner

Hi. I realised that sharing a folder/file as view only, still makes it possible for customers to actually download the files.

I see that we are more dropbox customers, that are looking for a true view only option - meaning that files can't be downloaded by the recipients - only searched for and viewed.

Is this a feature you have in the near pipeline?

Thank you.

Regards Tine

Rich

FRIIS & partner wrote:
Is this a feature you have in the near pipeline?

Dropbox doesn't reveal what features they may be planning for the future. If they were to release such a feature, we wouldn't know of it until it was announced.

It's highly unlikely that they'll change the way this works. It's a feature that has been requested for years with no change, likely because it's nearly impossible to prevent downloading. If something can be viewed on the Internet, it can be downloaded.

Jay

Sometimes features are revealed on the day, and we see it at that moment here. We can’t see any potential releases, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll never happen.

As Rich said, the moment something is on the web and can be viewed with a URL, it can be copied:

- Right click and view the URL to save it using a third party app
- If right click is disable, the temporary internet files/cache should have a local copy
- Screenshot of the page
- Even a photo of the monitor showing the page

These are just a small amount of ways to download or copy files from the web. Even if Dropbox were to block users from downloading the files, it isn’t 100% guaranteed, unless they build in extra protection that would prevent all methods I know of.

For the time being, there isn't the ability to prevent files in shared links to be downloaded to your machine. I've passed your feedback to the dev team on this matter.

[This thread is now closed. If you have a similar or new question, you can ask here.]