How do I share a file without others deleting it? Basically I shared a file with a client, she deleted it off her Dropbox which deleted it off of mine. How do I prevent them from having any power over the file save for safe download and still share?
Dropbox Sharing that is Safe from Delete
dropbox
Related Solutions
It appears that the files were not mine to delete after all.
Right clicking on the folder brings up the context menu - the first option of which is Shared Folder Options. Clicking on that option shows the following dialog:
In this case I'm the only member on the list so it's safe to delete the folder. In the other folder there were more names on the list - the person who shared the folder in the first place and others. In this case it would NOT be safe to delete the folder as it would delete it for everyone else as well.
The correct action here is to click on the "Leave folder" option. You get the option to keep the files on your computer and then on OK your usage is reduced by the size of the files that were in the folder.
The best option is to roll-your-own. There is an opensource option that takes a bit of set-up, but is fairly good and does respect permissions, however, it does require you to generate everything for your clients. In any case - worth checking into:
ownCloud
ownCloud gives you universal access to your files through a web interface or WebDAV. It also provides a platform to easily view & sync your contacts, calendars and bookmarks across all your devices and enables basic editing right on the web. Installation has minimal server requirements, doesn’t need special permissions and is quick. ownCloud is extendable via a simple but powerful API for applications and plugins.ownCloud started with a keynote by Frank Karlitschek at Camp KDE’10 where he talked about the need of a self-controlled free and open source cloud.
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Best Answer
Dropbox is a file syncing service, not a file sharing with ACL service. So there's no way to prevent them from deleting, especially if you're using the Dropbox client. It is however very easy to revert accidental file alterations (which includes deletion). This can most easily be done on the Dropbox online control-panel for your account.
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