Dropbox: Team Folder Sharing and MCommunity Membership

Environment

U-M Dropbox

Issue

There are differences in the file path and folder views when sharing a Team Folder or subfolder within it with MCommunity groups. The following affect what collaborators will see in Dropbox: How and at what level you share the Team Folder or subfolder within it and the MCommunity group roles.

Resolution

The folders and folder structures you see in a Dropbox Team Folder depend on your roles in an MCommunity group and on what folder level that MCommunity group is shared.

  • You are an owner but not a member of the root-level MCommunity group.

You will not see the Team Folder or its contents in Dropbox. You must be at least a member of the root-level MCommunity group to see the Team Folder structure.

  • You are a member but not an owner of the root-level MCommunity group.

You will see the entire Team Folder structure, including the root level and all subfolders (unless you’re restricted from viewing certain subfolders). These will appear automatically in your All files and Shared pages.

  • You are an owner and a member of the root-level MCommunity group.

You will see the entire Team Folder structure, including the root level and all subfolders (unless you’re restricted from viewing certain subfolders). These will appear automatically in your All files and Shared pages.

  • You are not an owner or member of the root-level MCommunity group, but you are shared on a subfolder inside the Team Folder via a different MCommunity group.
    • As an owner, not a member: You will not see the subfolder or receive notification that it has been shared with you.
    • As a member, not an owner:  You will see the subfolder and receive a notification via email that it has been shared with you. The email will ask if you would like to "Add to Dropbox." Once you click that, it will appear in your Shared and All files pages.
    • As a member and owner: You will see the subfolder and receive a notification via email that it has been shared with you. The email will give you the option to "Go to folder," which will take you to the folder. To see it on your All files page:
      1. Click Shared from the left sidebar in Dropbox.
      2. Hover over the subfolder that was shared with you and click the Join folder button.

Shared page in Dropbox, red boxes around "You haven't joined this folder" and the "Join folder" button

Note: The behaviors this article discusses are not associated with shared folders in an individual’s Dropbox account, only Team Folders. Additionally, these behaviors are only associated with sharing content with MCommunity groups. If you share Team Folder content with an individual, it will automatically appear on their All files page.

Additional Information

Note: External users and subgroups within an MCommunity group do not sync with U-M Dropbox.

Helpful infographic to visualize the above information:

Infographic that shows the differences between sharing with an MCommunity group at the root and subfolder levels of a Dropbox Team Folder, particularly around roles assigned in the MCommunity group itself. There are several icons to depict this, including people, files, and folders.

Need additional information or assistance? Contact the ITS Service Center.

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Related Articles (2)

Dropbox: MCommunity Members Not Appearing in Team Folder Membership
This article provides an explanation for why some MCommunity members are not appearing in the membership of a Dropbox Team Folder.
Dropbox: Team Folder and Subfolder Sharing Settings
This article provides additional information on the sharing settings of Team Folders and subfolders within them.