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Forum Discussion
Shared Link / "scl" to "s"
Hello. My question concerns my recent issue with file sharing. Usually, my links were generated in this way: 'https://www.dropbox.com/s/'. However, lately, every file is being generated in this way: 'https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/'. Do you know a way to restore the old way of generating links? I just need old way of links, because game can't read new links
Greet 😛
Direct Download on new link architecture is Solved
What is the DL parameter?
- Default link. This will render the content in the Dropbox file viewer.
- Downloads the content of the link (if the user has access to the content based on link settings). This query parameter takes precedence even if raw=1 is also added.
- Directly renders the content in the browser (if the link has a public audience and no other restrictions). Note that this link has an HTTP 302 redirect, so the application or browser must be able to follow the redirect.
What are the dl.dropbox... modifications?
These are link transformations from the early days of Dropbox. While we don't "officially" list these anymore in our Help Center, we are continuing to support them for now.- Replacing www with dl works exactly like a ?raw=1 link: this will directly render content for public links in the browser. It requires following an HTTP 302 redirect.
- Works like a ?raw=1 link, but the application or browser will not need to follow an HTTP 302 redirect to access the content.
Hi. I don't understand why up to last week a link to a file was created in this way: https://www.dropbox.com/s/abcxyz/filename.mp3?dl=0 and now is created in this way:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/abcxyz/filename.mp3?rlkey=(values)&dl=0
Thanks for your help!First some sad honest truth: Your New Link API partial rollout was nothing less than a disaster. So many complaints and hundreds of integrations which stopped working. For a company your size I don't understand how such an unthoughtful rollout could happen.
Now to some concrete feature request WITHIN that new landscape:
As a Dropbox user I want my URL to be- as short as possible
- as beautiful and transparent as possible (as few arguments as possible, if then with short variable names and short values)
- if you insist on the rlkey then put it after the identifier token, but not as an argument, which are always at the end of a URL!
- To be a psychologically trustworthy link the "…-file-name-end.suffix" should still be visible for abbreviated URLs (in some device/usage contexts users only see an abbreviated URL! If that's "cryptic stuff" only, and no "…fileend.suffix" in sight anymore, it becomes distrustful.)
- provide a possibility for URLs without a rlkey, like in elder versions everything in ~/Dropbox/Public/ defaults to read:everybody, then no need for a key
- no redirects (or as few as possible) for reliable embedding
- browser caching working reliable
URL pattern general
https://dropbox.com/scl/<options>/<identifier>/<content-key>/file-anywhere.pngFor a file within ~/Dropbox/Public/ which gets a "totally easygoing treatment":
https://dropbox.com/scl/<options>/<identifier>/file-within-dropbox-public.pngoptions: n | dl | raw
- n as in normal (or a similar short/intuitive flag, e.g. "p" as in preview)
- dl as in dl=1
- raw as in raw=1
As these are binary toggles and anyhow mutually exclusive only one of them will be at its token position. Totally intuitive.
Options could also be the last part before the filename.
You have to do usability and best practise research yourself, how URLs are abbreviated in most software/device contexts. To my knowledge:
- Start… — Not too common I think.
- Start…End — Common — Options at the beginning plus filename at the end are readable. That's the abbreviation which is least prone to URL hacks, but ofc there are still tricks like legit-sounding-subdomain.com.malicious.domain/badvirus.exe?f=bogus-but-innocent-sounding-filename-towards-the-end.jpg . But overally this is the most balanced/common one AFAIK.
- …End — Also Common — Then options and filepath as the last tokens would be ideal.
I am able to render my images on my website using the dropboxusercontent format (link to the thread). The images work fine on mobile browsers like safari, chrome. However, I noticed that if I open the site in a mobile app using in-app browser, such as Facebook Messenger, Line, the images were not able to be retrieved. Does anyone have the same issue?
I have a Dropbox Plus account going pretty far back--I have a \Public folder off the root. I'm not sure what's happened with the Public folder, but I can no longer do what I have in the past. That is, I regularly upload photos to a sub-folder of Public and I used to be able to generate a dropbox link for a photo similar to the following: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xchd31aqqbfizn8/HEIModuleBracket2.JPG?dl=0
I would then create a post on my favorite website (an old PHP-Nuke board) where I am a member (with no control over what happens there), and I could enter that link in a post. To be sure, I needed to modify the link slightly to get it to work. The modified link was: https://dl.dropbox.com/s/xchd31aqqbfizn8/HEIModuleBracket2.JPG
When that link was surrounded by [img]...[/img] tags, the photo would show up in the post for any viewer with or without a dropbox account.
Now, when I upload a photo to dropbox and get a link for it, the link looks like this: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/crv0udpyha55r26fvjsnk/PistonWear.png?rlkey=j9dgg2fgpiiwqy5v2ck4awn4s&dl=0
and I cannot figure out how to edit this link so that it displays in a post on the website.
I am also finding that some of my previously posted photos still generate the simpler URL (without the rlkey parameter), but some of them generate the URL with the rlkey parameter, and I can't predict which I'll get until I try it.
So can someone please explain what is happening here? And, how do I either a) reliably generate an older style URL, or b) modify the newer style URL to work with my website's [img]...[/img] techology?
This feels like a security or permissions issue, but I'm not sure. If this post belongs in another section, would someone please redirect me.
Many thanks,
Peter
Thank you, Jay, for the merge. This thread does indeed report similar symptoms, and I did see some tantalizing leads. I can't say I fully understand the "accepted solution", but I have tried every permutation of dl= and raw= along with the www.dropbox.com and the two alternate URLs (dl.dropbox.com and dl.dropboxusercontent.com) and none of them work.
I have also tried the suggestions of deleting and re-creating links and these did not help either.
The closest I can come is with these three variations all without specifying the rlkey:
[img]https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/crv0udpyha55r26fvjsnk/PistonWear.png[/img]
[img]https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/crv0udpyha55r26fvjsnk/PistonWear.png[/img]
[img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/scl/fi/crv0udpyha55r26fvjsnk/PistonWear.png[/img]-All three display a generic image icon on my website. None produce the image.
-However, in my browser (Microsoft Edge) I can right click on the first icon and choose Open image in new tab. That will indeed open the file in a new tab, but only if I am logged in to Dropbox elsewhere in the browser. If I am not logged in then I am invited to sign in to view the file.
-Attempting to open the file from the other two icons give me a 403 error suggesting I don't belong there and should head back home.
Clearly these are not useful.
So, despite several reports to the contrary in this thread, for me, the issue is not fixed.
I hope that will change.
Peter
Hello we imbed image URLs into google sheets often by grabbing the URL via "copy link"
Then we paste that URL into a formula in google sheets such as the link below and we edit the edit to use ?raw=1
=IMAGE("https://www.dropbox.com/s/bpuzejnnmhe65vp/SLOANE_DE01-0492-ETBNN_DETAIL_0001.jpg?raw=1",1)
This method has worked well for years but now some URLs have the /scl/fi/ instead of /s/ and those links do not work for this.
Example link is:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/q7o6g7yff9kfl49fb79zv/BELLA-II_DE01-0171-TABGP_ANGLE.jpg?rlkey=4qsw23daxwmryl25rs4qu4wzw&dl=0
If I edit think link into the formula like this it doesn't work
=IMAGE("https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/q7o6g7yff9kfl49fb79zv/BELLA-II_DE01-0171-TABGP_ANGLE.jpg?raw=1",1)
How can we use this new /scl/fi/ link for image imbedding in shared company files?
diffeyewear wrote:... but now some URLs have the /scl/fi/ instead of /s/ and those links do not work for this.
Example link is:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/q7o6g7yff9kfl49fb79zv/BELLA-II_DE01-0171-TABGP_ANGLE.jpg?rlkey=4qsw23daxwmryl25rs4qu4wzw&dl=0
...Hi diffeyewear,
Did you try an entry like:
=IMAGE("https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/q7o6g7yff9kfl49fb79zv/BELLA-II_DE01-0171-TABGP_ANGLE.jpg?rlkey=4qsw23daxwmryl25rs4qu4wzw", 1)🤔Copy and paste it. 😉
Hope this helps.
- That worked perfectly! Thank you very much.
- Jay
Dropbox Staff
Hi diffeyewear, I've merged you to this thread, could you check the suggestions listed here to see if they help?
Yes we have gone through this and many other knowledge base articles and none of the solutions work.
hi,
since rlkey parameter has come into place unable to force render an audio file using raw=1, the browser show the file but does not play..it shows time length..any help would be appreciated..old file link (where rlkey did not come still works effortlessley)
- Jay
Hi d-ver, thanks for bringing this to our attention.
The new version of the shared link should allow files to render as normal.
Could you try switching browsers to see if this helps? Otherwise, you can try using incognito/private browsing mode without any extensions running, clearing your cache and even resetting your browser entirely.
Keep me updated with any progress!
changing dropbox to dl.dropbox - worked. this is the only change i make. but, i feel there is a very slight time delay in forcing the render. earlier it was instant. that i can see with still working old link.
I think a standard solution would require this problem rather we trying to hit one or ther other way out. and a proper documentation of steps to solve it for a non-tech person as well.
thanks for the help everyone.
i sell digital products and share folder link to my customers. In the old /sh/ or /s/ format, everything is good. but in the new /scl/ format, new problems emerge. here are some:
1. When a user accidentally refresh, or move around the folder, the "rlkey" part could be erased from the URL, hence causing a user needing to request access, and having to sign in just to view/download the files. this can cause massive confusion
2. the user can now see who are the members of the folders
are there no tweaks around this? this impact us massively, please help. the old /sh/ and /s/ format is working just fine
Hello,
after dropbox changed the sharing link from /s/<link> to /scl/fi/link with key all the users report the following error (Error 400)
example below
[removed]
i have seen this being posted in the past but what is the solution?
I am starting to migrating to other online storage provides because it seems that i cannot use dropbox
Error (400)
Something went wrong. Don't worry, your files are still safe and the Dropbox team has been notified. Check out our Status Page to see if there is a known incident, our Help Center and forums for help, or head back to home.- Hannah
Thanks for letting us know, dimitrisramos.
The example link you included in your post, worked for me (removed it to prevent unnecessary traffic in your account).
How are your users accessing the links? Are you embedding them in a different website?
Have you checked out this solution by Jason for more info?
Hello,
The users are receiving the error which i mentioned. i send also a screenshot. this behavior start a couple of weeks ago and it only happens to the new links (https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/<token>/path.jpg?rlkey=<token>&dl=0) the old ones work just fine.
It is very frustrating because some users report that the link works fine but most of them get the error which i show you in the screenshot
I have used dropbox for many years to share my files with people from around the world.
However the files I have uploaded this week have a new style of link ending with an RLKey?
I need the same link to work multiple times and it seems they may now be one use, is this correct?
If so what setting has changed and how do i fix it?
- Hannah
Hey stebai, thanks for your post.
I've moved your post to a thread relevant to the change in the shared links, so I'd suggest taking a look at the info here as well.
As for the links, they're definitely not for only one use; can you let us know more about why they're not working?
What do you see on your end?
I need to upload 1000s of product pictures to my store using a DIRECT link.
Example for a direct link: https://asd.com/images/Product-1.jpg
The link Dropbox provides is something like this:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/c39fxitnzg7v04wmaib8o/Product-1.jpg?rlkey=fikgkc214414wp8uly&dl=0Dropbox gives random links for files. They also add a random “key” at the end of the url. I don’t want anything random added to the URL. Becase All links should be the same. I just need to change the Product number to get the next link.
If I use dropbox’s way to update my listings, It takes me 2 weeks to complete this simple task using excel files to upload. If I do it my way, it will take me 2 hours.
I need to get links like these:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/Product-1.jpghttps://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/Product-2.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/Product-3.jpg
…
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/Product-9999.jpg
Is this possible?
- Megan
Hi 99gigakkkgalwk, welcome to our Community!
We don't have that ability as of right now, but your feedback regarding this has been very valuable and I will endeavor to make sure your voice is heard.
What I could suggest as a workaround, is to maybe add all the files inside a folder, and share the folder itself, instead of all the file links individually.
However, even in that case, the link wouldn't be functional, in the way you described and wanted.
I hope this helps!
Dropbox got worse, when the ability to share links without the recipient having to log in was removed.
