When I share a file with someone - and they follow the emailed link, they do not have a way of search that file. There is not search option like there is when I go to the files in my dropbox.
Am I missing something?
Ed, this isn't an issue, the feature Dennis is talking about straight up doesn't exist. Dropbox really needs to add a search bar/box to their shared folder links.
Agreed, this needs to be added!!
After googling this i ended up here and I totally agree. This feature absolutely needs to be implemented!
Any update on this Ed?
I think there are two different things being asked here:
1 - Ability to search within file from the preview (assuming you're clicking on the link and viewing a text file on web?)
You can use the browser search for that. Otherwise you can open the original file (not the preview) and do a search within its specified software (Adobe, Ms Word, etc).
2 - Ability to search for files within a folder. In this case, if you're using the desktop client (http://www.dropbox.com/downloading) you should be able to use your system Finder/Explorer to perform the search within that folder. This isn't native from Dropbox.
Let me know if I'm missing something here.
Thanks
Hi Ed,
thanks for your reply. I think it's better to explain this with an image! In my case we use Dropbox as an image bank for our customers, and would very much have them being able to search this directory.
Best,
Tom
Hi Tom
So you're sending them a link to multiple folders where they're opening up on web not being logged in and the desired outcome is for them to be able to search within these folders. Is that correct?
This is very specific and you're correct such functionality is not available as it is, but there are other ways to achieve that.
If you share these folders, they will be able to search within it once they're logged in. If they use the desktop client, they'll also be able to search from their folder structure in their device. If you just want them to download the folders, they'll be able to do the same, but then the files won't be updated automatically as they're saving copies of it.
yes, exactly. I believe that's what everyone here's requesting, but I could be wrong.
Actually, it does not help if you're logged in either, see image (I have removed most of the name, but I'm logged in on another account than the owner of the folder, and accessing it via a shared link).
Thanks,
My case is similar to Toms.
I have a folder in my dropbox which contains a long list of other folders container alot of images that are named with a specific number. I need my customers to be able to search for that number in the root of the shared folder but that isn't possible even if i send it to someone that is logged in so i am not sure that the info is correct ("If you share these folders, they will be able to search within it once they're logged in.")
This makes me a bit confused, I have already tested this with some colleagues of mine.
Would be nice with a solution for this.
/Christian
Hi all,
What Ed was trying to say is that the content has to be in your Dropbox account in order for you to be able to search it. It's not sufficient to be logged into your account. Here are two ways to achieve this:
1. Instead of sharing a link to these folders with your clients, simply invite them to become a member of the folder, thus creating a shared folder. (This is what Ed meant by "share these folders")
2. If you'd like to continue sharing links instead of folders, that's ok too. In that case, the recipient of the link would first have to add the contents of the link to their Dropbox account. They can do so by clicking on the "Download" button and selecting to "add to Dropbox". Once the data is in their Dropbox account, they will be able to search it.
To sum up, it's currently only possible to search data that is in your Dropbox account. It's not possible to search the contents of shared links. If this is something you'd like to see in addition to the current search functionality, I'd be happy to forward this to our development team.
Hi Sofia,
thanks for replying.
"2. If you'd like to continue sharing links instead of folders, that's ok too. In that case, the recipient of the link would first have to add the contents of the link to their Dropbox account. They can do so by clicking on the "Download" button and selecting to "add to Dropbox". Once the data is in their Dropbox account, they will be able to search it."
I see. Unfortunately that takes away much of the point, and they could as well just download the whole folder. As much as I love Dropbox myself, I'd like to make it as easy as possible for our customers and have them easily be able to find what they need and download just that!
"To sum up, it's currently only possible to search data that is in your Dropbox account. It's not possible to search the contents of shared links. If this is something you'd like to see in addition to the current search functionality, I'd be happy to forward this to our development team."
That would be very much appreciated!
Many thanks,
Hey Ed, yes exactly. When you share a folder with someone, and that person opens the shared folder in their browser (so it's going through Dropbox's site), currently there's no Search field for the user to utilize. There's no way for the user to search through the shared folder.
Sofia, that's exactly the feature I'm also in need of. Thank you Ed and Sofia for listening to your customers. Hope to see this feature soon
There's no way for the user to search through the shared folder.
Yes there is, if it's a shared folder.
If you've provided a share link to a folder, then no, the recipient cannot search it without adding the folder to their own Dropbox first.
Rich, that's true only if the user is also logged into Dropbox. If they don't have an account, they don't get any kind of search box:
That's a share link, not a shared folder. A shared folder requires that they have a Dropbox account, and the folder will exist in their account. That enables them to search it. A share link to a folder is not searchable. That's what Sofia was explaining above.
Okay, I'll make a new ticket for shared links instead of folders. Apologies for not knowing the correct nomenclature.
No need for a new post as Sofia already addressed it above. She'll pass the information on to the development team. I'm removing the other post so that we can keep this all in one location.
Rich, I eagerly await any changes but the purpose of making a new thread was for greater awareness. The original post was made over a year ago in April 2015 and so far there hasn't been any traction or even developer feedback on if this will be implemented (or why it won't be).
and so far there hasn't been any ... developer feedback on if this will be implemented (or why it won't be).
And there won't be. Dropbox does not comment on what features will become available or when. Sofia, a Dropbox employee, commented just this morning that she would pass this request on to the development team. That's the best you're going to get.
This is the best thread to continue the discussion. Additional threads will only fragment the discussion or, as it usually happens, have everyone making the same replies in two separate threads, which provides no benefit.
[This thread is now closed by moderators due to inactivity. If you're experiencing a similar behavior, feel free to start a new discussion in the Dropbox Community.]
