Monday, April 23, 2012

Dropbox adds simple sharing by link - great feature




Dropbox, one of my favorite cloud file storage/sync/share services, has an update that makes it very simple to share files and folders with others. In the past, the person you wanted to share with would need a Dropbox account for you to share files or folders. Now, you can share read-only folders with anyone using a link without needing to have a Dropbox account.


You simply right click on the file or folder and select "Get Link" on the menu. This makes that file or folder public to anyone using that link. They links don't expire so you will have to manually make the file or folder private again. They are only able to view, not edit.

This is a nice feature, especially for teachers who may want to share a file or folder with students without the students needing a Dropbox account. If you need people to edit files, you'll want to share a folder with them (they need a Dropbox account), not a link, as links are read-only.



desktop
mobile


If you don't have a file sync/share/backup service yet, you should really look into getting one. It makes it easy to access your files anywhere, including on mobile devices, and saves you when a device crashes.


Source: Dropbox Blog


Related:

Dropbox - file sync, share, backup services. Free accounts available.

World Backup Day - make sure your data and files are backed up! - lots of great, free, file sync/share/backup services.