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How do I share and collaborate with my team?
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How do I share and collaborate with my team?

A Dropbox team account can help you, your coworkers, and clients collaborate and stay on top of projects. All without stressing about file sizes, version mix-ups, and lost feedback. Collaboration just got a whole lot easier.

10 minute read

The new and improved way to work together

Working with your team members on projects big and small just got easier and more delightful.

Keep all your files and folders organized

No matter how you get work done, Dropbox helps you organize your files with different folder types and collaborative options.

Each method has its own distinct advantages, depending on what you want to do.

Watch this video to learn more about uploading and downloading files.

Private folders

A private folder is a plain, blue folder with no icon. A private folder works like any other folder: you can move it, rename it, add content to it, or delete it.

Note: Only you (and your team admins) can access what’s inside a private folder in your Dropbox team account. If you invite someone to that folder, then it’s no longer private.

Shared folders

Shared folders have an icon of people on the front of the folder.

Sharing folders allows others to review and edit your files. All collaborators need a Dropbox account to edit or review. Sharing folders means that the person sees every file or image in that folder.

You can also rename a shared folder, and it will only change for you. The new name won't be reflected in the Dropbox accounts of other shared folder members.
That way, if you receive a shared folder invite for “Sales”, but already have two other folders with that label, you can change it to “Midwestern Sales” without causing confusion for anyone else.

However, if you rename a subfolder, that folder’s name change will reflect for everyone else.

Watch this tutorial to learn how to share files and folders in Dropbox.

Team folders

Team folders are configured by IT admins and often hold company-managed content. Team folders are like shared folders, but the team admin manages who can access this folder.

How can you tell it’s a team folder? There’s a symbol of two buildings on the folder.

Team spaces

Team spaces are shared workspaces that everyone on the team has access to. The shared workspace functions like a shared drive for the whole team, meaning that it has the same folder structure for all team members.

But that doesn’t mean every team member can see everything within those folders—anyone on the team can add or remove anyone from any folder they can edit.

Groups

Team members can create user-managed groups if their admin allows it:

  1. Log in with your work account on dropbox.com.

  2. Click your avatar (profile picture or initials).

  3. Click View team and groups.

  4. Click Create group.

  5. Enter a name for your group.

  6. Click Create.

Learn more about how to add and remove members from a group.

With Dropbox, you can choose how you share your most important files and folders.

If you need your team to give feedback on your work, you can give them edit access to your shared folder. If you don’t want others to edit your work, you can share links instead, which will give them view-only access.

You never have to worry about the safety of your files. You can share files securely by giving only certain people access to your file. Only people you invite can access your files and folders. If someone who wasn’t invited receives the link, they can’t open it.

With all of these options available, you can share your own way, on your own terms.

Share a file or folder from dropbox.com

  1. Log in to dropbox.com.

  2. Hover over the file or folder you’d like to share and click Share.

    • Note: You can view pages in a document, scrub through a video, or flip through the contents of a folder without opening it. To do so, make sure you’re using grid layout, then move your cursor horizontally across the file or folder.

  3. Enter the Email, name, or group of the person (or people) you’d like to share it with, and click to select them from the results.

    • Note: You can invite as many people as you’d like.

  4. Select Can edit or Can view.

  5. Add a note if you’d like.

  6. Click Share file or Share folder.

The person or group will receive an email with a link to the file or folder.

Keep it (even more) secure

When dealing with confidential or sensitive materials, you have options to control how your content is accessed. You can set who can view your shared link, and you can add passwords and expiration dates to your link.

Another way to further control access to shared files is to enter the specific people you want to have access. To do this, click the Share button on dropbox.com, the desktop app, or the badge on any Microsoft Office files saved in your Dropbox. Then type in the email addresses of the people you want to have access.

Keep it (even more) secure - How do I share and collaborate with my team?

Sharing and collaboration tutorials

Have a look at these tutorials to learn more about how to share and collaborate.

Sharing is caring (and easy)

One of the first things you may want to do when you start collaborating with a team member is to share a folder. It’s a great way to make sure everyone has access to what they need and help keep everyone in sync.

Sharing folders and setting permissions

Giving others access to your folders through Dropbox is a great way to collaborate. Want to learn how?

Sharing links and setting permissions

If you only want your team members to view the file, you can share links instead of whole folders.

Sharing content inside team folders

When you put content in a team folder, it’s automatically shared with anyone who can access that folder. It’s easy to share that content with people outside of your team, too.

Sharing tips and tricks

Ever wonder how to rename or move a shared folder? Or the best way to structure your folders in a way that makes sense to you?

Common questions

Got a question about sharing or collaborating with your team? We’ve likely got an answer. If you have a question that’s not listed here, explore our help center for more answers.

Can I unshare a folder?

Yes, you can unshare a folder. When you unshare, you’ll be able to decide whether members can keep a copy of the folder.

Why isn’t my shared link working anymore?

There are a few reasons that might cause a link to not work. For example, the link might have expired, the owner might have changed the settings of the link, or you might not be logged in to Dropbox. Authenticated links require viewers to be signed in.

I added a folder I don’t want or need access to anymore. How do I get rid of it?

It’s easy. First, log in to dropbox.com and click Shared in the left sidebar. On the Folders page, scroll down to the folder in question and click the (…) ellipsis next to the folder. Then click Remove from Dropbox.

Note: Don’t delete the folder. Remember that any action you take on a shared folder will affect everyone in that folder, even deleting.