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How can I share a simple Word file with read only access?

I'm struggling to do something that should be very simple. I have a Word doc that I want to be able to share with people. I don't want them to be able to edit MY copy, but I want them to have their OWN copy that they can edit in Word. How do I accomplish this in Dropbox?

I also have a .pdf file that I need to share with people, but that one, they just need to be able to read and save a copy.

Device
iPhone 12 or Samsung Windows Laptop

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Accepted answers

Jay

If you share a file with edit access, this means that everyone will be able to edit the same file at the same time, and would edit your copy each time. They would also need a Dropbox account in order to edit the file via the Dropbox site, using the Microsoft Word app.

With a read-only shared link, they can only view or download the file to their machines, and then they'll have to edit it using their local copy of Word on their computer or phone.

You can also force the shared link to download automatically when they click it by changing the dl=0 at the end of the link to dl=1.

All comments

Jay

Hi @agentil, thanks for messaging the Community!

You can create a shared link to a files by following these steps, and you can make it read-only.

This means that the user accessing the link would need to download the file to edit it on their local machine, and it won't affect your copy of the file.

If you need any further assistance, please let me know!

agentil

I did try that for a test and I was able to open the file, but I was not able to type info in it. How A lot of my clients are not very tech savvy. I'm not sure if they would know how to download it to their computer and edit it. I don't know if Word files are able to be edited from a phone? Seems like I'd have to send them some instructions or diagrams on how to retrieve the file or something?

Jay

With a read-only shared link, they can only view or download the file to their machines, and then they'll have to edit it using their local copy of Word on their computer or phone.

You can also force the shared link to download automatically when they click it by changing the dl=0 at the end of the link to dl=1.

agentil

Genius! That's exactly the fix I was looking for. Why do they make these things so obscure instead of a button - read or download??

But yes, that's exactly what I needed. Thanks a lot!

Jay

No worries, glad I could help out!

Enjoy your weekend!