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Forum Discussion
Dropbox full because of shared folder
Hi, i have a dropbox account and the free space that i have is full because of the files inside the shared folder that i have with some friends.
Is there a way to avoid that the shared folder that ...
Your English is very good Michele - well done!
And no, if you need read write access to that folder if will use your quota. If you just need read only access leave the share and ask the other person sends you a read only Shared link.
You can LEAVE and REJOIN a shared folder when ever you like.
So one method of getting space is to LEAVE the shared folder. And REJOIN it when you need it.
If you ONLY need some files from the shared folder and ONLY at some times, I would additionally ask the owner of the shared folder for a LINK to it, in that way you can use the link to it and download via web the files you need when you need them.
Although I don't agree with Dropbox, and this is the primary reason I won't spring for Pro, I understand why they did this.
It's simple, really. Say, someone creates 10 free accounts. 10 x 2GB = 20GB. Now, that person, from each account shares a folder with his main account. That person just got more, free, space.
"But that's not what you're doing. You're uploading the files to a folder in your account, which happens to be shared with another account. The data you upload is still in your account."
I think the semantics of "my account" here are what bug me. The way I see it, a shared folder should be just that. If what you imply is true and Dropbox literally has 100 copies of the same data on their server if I share a folder to 100 people, then they have a fundamental flaw in their backend. This is not a flaw I'm willing to foot the bill on.
"Then ask them to send you a file request (for upload) or a share link (for download)."
I'll admit I've never heard of the file requests. But correct me if I'm wrong don't both of these only work with single files at a time? They just shared to me a folder with 1200 DPX frames in it. I'd hate them to have to zip everything they want to send (thus adding another copy of the data against their quota). Even if this isn't the case this is still a miserable way to handle a shared folder. And the fact that it's possible shows that non-duplicated sharing is possible on Dropbox's end and they just don't allow us to use it with any ease.
Shared folders have always counted against your quota.
I have no proof the contrary, but I'm certain this is not the case. I used to use Dropbox extensively about 6 years ago and I never ran into a quota limit even with large folders shared to me, and this was back when the free accounts had way less space. I recall noticing when it changed, and being just as annoyed then as now. I remember this was slightly before business accounts were a thing. But recall being flawed as it is I'll concede that I don't know for sure.
"The more data you transfer, the more it costs Dropbox, and you, as a Basic user, pay nothing towards that usage."
I agreed on this point. But with the double dipping on costs for storage I see no reason Dropbox can't handle this the way their competitors do. Google Drive has never charged for folder storage space shared to you, and you can sync that however you want. This is precisely the reason I choose to pay Google for my cloud storage and stay a Free user on Dropbox. I'd not be a user of dropbox at all if I had the choice, but sadly editors still frequently send me footage from them.
The bandwidth issue is the only logical reason I can see, apart from a flawed backend maybe, to charge in multiples for storage already paid for. And if that's their reason then I'd prefer transparency on that. I'd be willing to pay a "Sync fee" or something, as silly as that is.