It’s been roughly six months now since I first introduced my readers to the must-have online storage service “Dropbox“. In my initial post I looked at why you need an account, how you get one, and I touched on how easy it is to set up your account to enable simple file synching between your home and work computers.
As a continuation to that introduction entry, today I’d like to cover how you can easily share files like photos, movies and more with friends and family using this awesome service. It’s understandable that not everyone is going to have a Dropbox account with which to easily share files with you, so I’m going to cover how you can get files to non-account holders as well with just a few easy steps.
Sharing files with another Dropbox user
Say I want to share a selection of photos with my mate Ryan. I know he has a Dropbox account as well, so opening a folder that we can both have access to and share files within is dead easy. All I need to do is add a new folder to my Dropbox account and set the sharing permissions to allow Ryan access. Here’s how you do it.
1. Log into your Dropbox account
To begin with, go to your online account on the Dropbox website: http://www.dropbox.com. Once you have logged in, look for the “Sharing” tab. Click it.
2. Create a new Share folder
In the dialogue box that appears select the “I’d like to create and share a new folder” option. Give your folder an appropriate name in the field provided and hit the “Next” button.
On the next screen simply insert your friend’s email address in the field provided and if you like write them a quick message to let them know what the new shared folder is for.
3. Approving the new shared folder
Ryan will now receive an email letting him know that he has been invited to share my folder. Next time he logs into his online account, he should notice a small numerical indicator on his “Sharing” tab letting him know there’s a new sharing request he needs to approve. In doing so, your new shared folder is now set up.
4. Start sharing files
All you need to do now is start dragging files you wish to share into your shared folder and away you go.
Sharing files with users without a Dropbox account
What if you want to share a ZIP file, for example, with someone who doesn’t have a Dropbox account? Well it’s still ultra easy to do this using the “Public” folder that is allocated to you when your account is set up. Here’s what you do:
1. Add the file you want to share to your “Public” folder using your desktop Dropbox application.
2. Once the loading indicator disappears and a green tick appears indicating that the file is successfully in your account, right click on the file icon.
3. Select “Copy Public Link” from the Dropbox submenu list to add the URL you need to your clipboard.
4. Paste the URL into an email or whatever you are going to use to send the link to your contact.
And that’s about all there is to it. I hope that helps some of you out a little. If you have any questions at all, throw them in the comments section below and I’ll do my best to answer them for you.
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