How to Share a DropBox Folder with Someone on IOS?

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.

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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.

All comments

While a user can open a share link on a mobile device and it will display in the Dropbox app (if installed), there's no where in the app to see a list of items that have been shared via a link. Share links have no tracking and nothing to associate them to a specific account (other than the creator of the link), so there's no way for the app to know what links a user should have.

A shared folder, which is added directly to the account of any member of the share, will display in the Dropbox app along with all the other files and folders that are in a user's account.

If you're sending a share link, they'll need to open it from their email which will open it in the app if it's installed. If you're inviting them to a shared folder, it will just appear in the app along with all their other folders.

Thanks for offering help!

I was asking about sharing the DropBox folder in the other direction. I want to create it in my Professional DropBox account, then allow someone on their iPhone to access just that folder via their iOS DropBox app.

Mark

As long as you add them to the share Matthew, and they accept, it will auto appear on their iOS devices

Mark,

Thank you again for trying to help!

I shared the folder, using the recipient's Apple ID. But when the recipients log into their devices and open the DropBox app, nothing shows up there. Do you know if there's a different way I am supposed to connect iOS users?

Mark

Dont use their Apple ID - you need to use the email address they've set up Dropbox with.

Thanks again for helping!

I must be seriously missing something. I'm trying to make it so people on iOS can access the shared folder via the iPhone DropBox app. If I enter their email address as the share, they get an email link. But it does not work inside the iOS app. That's why I thought hooking the Apple ID was the right way.

Is there a way to link the iOS app with the shared folder?

Thanks for trying to help. So people need to go in through an email link to the shared folder? That might be fine for a first view, but not great for team management.

Looks like there's no clean way to do this yet.

Mark

There is - if you do it as we've said.

Reading your last post you have sent a read only shared link ( https://www.dropbox.com/help/files-folders/shared-links ) rather than a shared folder ( https://www.dropbox.com/help/files-folders/shared-or-private-folder )

Let us know how you’re sharing the folders so we can provide the most accurate assistance to your query!

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?

Hi Rich,

I appreciate the time you have taken to help me out. But I wish that right up front I could have been told that DropBox does not support true sharing with iOS devices at this time. Only being able to access "shared" folders via a e-mail, and not being able to have multiple parties access the same folder... That essentially means DropBox sharing does not work with iOS devices.

I really like DropBox and use it all the time with my clients. I had assumed there was full iOS support. Maybe someday in the future?

Thanks,

Matthew

wrote:
I was able to "share" the folder by sending the link to others.

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Make sure you read through both help articles (linked above) to understand the differences between a Share Link and a Shared Folder.

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.

@Matthew S.22 wrote:
... I wish that right up front I could have been told that DropBox does not support true sharing with iOS devices at this time.

But it DOES support sharing on iOS. It seems that you're confusing share links with shared folders. Please read my latest reply, which seems to have crossed with yours, and then the help articles that I linked to in that reply.

If you still have any questions about the folder sharing, please let us know!

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!