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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.
- 1) A shared folder takes NO storage capacity. (folders are not files)
This is a matter of semantics, really. Also, folders on a filesystem do indeed take up space, albeit only a few kilobytes.
- 2) Files that are in your account take storage capacity.
3) Files in a shared folder are in your account (see 2)
This is precisely the concept that is not explained to the user up-front, and that is the complaint: I should not have to search the help center or ask a question on the forums about how the use of one main, advertised feature of the service (joining a shared folder) seems to gimp another main, advertised feature of the service (storage capacity).
- If you are sold a bookcase that fits 2000 books, and with that bookcase you are given the ability to share books with others and have those books available to you and the original owner, and you are invited to share in a section of books that are in someones 5,000,000 book bookcase,
This failed analogy seems to be a rehashing of your "amount of data accessible" argument.
- That does not make your bookcase capable of holding 5,002,000 Books! EOL.
Of course not. It means you have access to your own bookcase that holds 2,000 books, and you also can walk over to your friends' bookcase and read one of his 5,000,000 books. If the books exist in both cases, they take up twice as much space in the library. To suggest otherwise belies a basic understanding of the physical world.
