Dropbox File Sharing

Name: Dropbox File Sharing
Author: Christina Loffredo

Dive into Dropbox file sharing, including how to request and receive files from others and how to collaborate on shared documents.

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Course: On-Demand

Hello, my name is Christina Loffredo, and in these lessons, you will learn about Dropbox file sharing, including how to share files using a computer, tablet, or mobile device, how to request and receive files from others, and how to collaborate and comment in the files you're working on with others. In this lesson, I will show you how to easily share a file in Dropbox using your desktop or laptop computer, and how you can set permission settings for those files. In order to share a file from your desktop computer, you must ensure that you are working from the desktop application. Again, if you're working in a Windows computer like I am, File Explorer will pop up when you click on the desktop application. Here is the File Explorer window, and I can see that I am in Dropbox on my desktop. There are several ways to share files and folders in your Dropbox account. Before doing so, it's important to decide if you want people to have editing access or just view-only access. Then you can create and share a link to your folder or file, or send an invitation to view or edit your file via email from your Dropbox account. Let's look at this Holiday Recipes folder here, and say I want to share this with myself through email. You right-click, and you see the option here to share. There are also other options here, but for the purpose of today, we're only going to focus on share and view on dropbox.com. If I click on share, I see this popup window here with the Holiday Recipes folder that shows I am the owner of the folder, and I can determine who I wanna send to, and whether I want that person or people to be able to edit or just view the folder. Additionally, I can do the same thing by creating a link and determining the permission settings there as well. And I can do that by clicking on link settings. I'm going to send this folder to myself. And let's say for this example that I only want to view this, and I don't want to edit it. I click on share, and in my inbox, I receive an email that says that the Holiday Recipes folder is shared with me, and I can go to that folder. Now, when I click on this folder link, I'm taken to the website, the Dropbox website. And I'm automatically in the Holiday Recipes folder. Because I'm logged in under my name and it's my file, I can do a little bit more in this folder, but if I shared it with you or somebody else, all you would be able to do is view the contents of the folder you would not be able to add anything to the folder, or edit anything within the folder in any way. Now, the second option for the Holiday Recipes folder was to view on dropbox.com. And as you can imagine, if I clicked on this instead of share, it would bring me back to the Holiday Recipes folder in Dropbox Online. Now, if I wanted to share this folder this way, from the website, I would navigate to the right side of my screen and click share. And I can do two things. I can share with Dropbox, which is doing exactly what we did from the desktop application, except I'm doing it from a web browser, or I can send a copy. Now, what's the difference between sharing and sending a copy? People typically use Dropbox for collaborative sharing, but sometimes, you might be looking for a send it and forget its solution. And in that case, you would click on send a copy. Send a copy, sends a copy of your folder or document through Dropbox Transfer, and it's meant for times when you need to turn over large collections of files maybe to a client, and you're not looking to collaborate on the files or documents. With the Dropbox Basic account, you can send files up to 100 megabytes so if I click on send a copy here, you'll see I have some options that are a little bit different than if I shared the file with Dropbox. First, I can generate a link. That's the same, or I can type in a name or email. Here at the bottom, I can set an expiration time for when access to the folder or file expires, and I can even add a password to create a level of protection if I'm sending this to different people. If I click on download notifications, I would get notified every time this is downloaded, and then I would click done. As you can see here, there is not the option to change permission settings. The person is getting a copy of whatever it is that you are sending to them, and they can download it and change it on their computer. So if I click Done and Create Transfer, this will be sending a copy, and I can either send an email or copy the link. If I copy the link, this is what someone would receive if I emailed this to them. They see what the file name is, when it expires, and that they have the option to download it or save it to their Dropbox. Hopefully, you have a better idea of how you can share folders and files in dropbox.com, as well as in the desktop application. Both of those ways alert the recipient that they have a file or folder to view, or a file or a folder to edit. Thanks for watching, and stay tuned for the next lesson on sharing Dropbox files using a mobile device.

Beginner Provider : Christina Loffredo 5 Lessons · 19m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

In these lessons, you’ll learn several different ways Dropbox lets you share files with others through your account. We’ll cover how to set permission levels for the documents you share so that others can view or even edit them, how to generate direct links to your files, and how to invite others to view a folder.

You’ll also learn how to use Dropbox alerts so you never miss when someone shares something with you, as well as the Dropbox File Request feature, which lets you quickly receive files from almost anyone—even if they don’t have a Dropbox account. Finally, you’ll discover how Dropbox streamlines collaboration so that you and the people you work with can get things done more efficiently by commenting throughout a document, tagging others for help, and soliciting feedback with the click of a button.

What You'll Learn

Share files and adjust permission settings in Dropbox using a desktop or laptop computer
Share files from Dropbox using a mobile device
Receive folders and files from others in Dropbox
Request files from almost anyone using the Dropbox File Request feature, even if they don't have a Dropbox account
Generate direct links to your files and invite others to view a folder
Collaborate and comment within files by tagging others and soliciting feedback

Key Takeaways

Dropbox offers several different ways to share files with others through your account.
Permission levels can be set for shared documents so others can either view or edit them.
The Dropbox File Request feature lets you quickly receive files from almost anyone, even people who don't have a Dropbox account.
Dropbox alerts notify you whenever someone shares something with you.
Dropbox streamlines collaboration by letting you comment throughout a document, tag others for help, and solicit feedback with the click of a button.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I learn in the Dropbox File Sharing course?

You'll learn several ways Dropbox lets you share files, how to set permission levels so others can view or edit documents, how to generate direct links, how to invite others to view a folder, how to use Dropbox alerts, how to use the File Request feature, and how Dropbox streamlines collaboration through commenting, tagging, and soliciting feedback.

Can I share files from Dropbox on a mobile device?

Yes. The course includes a lesson on Sharing Files Using a Mobile Device, in addition to sharing using a desktop or laptop.

Can I receive files from someone who doesn't have a Dropbox account?

Yes. The Dropbox File Request feature lets you quickly receive files from almost anyone, even if they don't have a Dropbox account.

How does this course cover collaboration in Dropbox?

It covers how Dropbox streamlines collaboration so you and the people you work with can get things done more efficiently by commenting throughout a document, tagging others for help, and soliciting feedback with the click of a button.

What lessons are included in this course?

The lessons are Sharing Files Using a Desktop or Laptop, Sharing Files Using a Mobile Device, Receiving Files from Others, Requesting Files, and Collaborating and Commenting in Files.