I cannot add a shared folder to my Dropbox account via a shared link

Question

Hi,

I've been trying to figure this out for the better part of an afternoon and I am not getting anywhere.

The situation is as follows: I am creating a shared folder that has viewing rights with updating assets for an event. Since the participants of this event will increase over time, and people can join in last minute, I just want to send them a link to the folder with viewing rights. So far, this works fine.

Some of the updating assets are updating text files that are used in local programs. This is a simple integration with Dropbox Desktop, where the local program just references C:/Users/%UserProfile%/Dropbox, and no one needs to tinker around.

However, when I test share the link to another account, I can open the link, but it does not add it to my shared folders. There is an option to "Copy to Dropbox", but that makes a copy that is no longer updated on the main branch. I have gone into the Shared tab itself and tried to find ways to add folders via link, but there does not seem to be an option there. It's kinda strange that I have this shared folder that my account can access, but I cannot find it anywhere nor add it to dropbox in a simple way. Whereas in Drive any folder I click on just shows up in my Shared tab.

Does anyone know how I would do this, because this is getting rather frustrating?

Hannah · Accepted Answer

Hey @TSE_Michel, thanks for joining our Community.

If I understand correctly, you've created a folder and then created a "view-only" link for the folder, but you're not able to add the folder to your shared folders, is that right?

So, if you've created the folder and then just a view-only link, that means that the folder doesn't have any other members with edit permissions, correct?

If a folder doesn't have any other members, it's not considered a shared folder, even if you've shared it through a link.

Consequently, it won't appear in your shared folders (in the Shared tab), but it should still show up in your local Dropbox folder and your "all files" page online.

Let me know if that's not the case for you or if I misunderstood the situation!