dropbox
I have some big folders on Dropbox that other people shared with me. They are a place for sharing files, and they constantly grow bigger and bigger. I'd like to avoid keeping them in my own Dropbox (I don't care about offline access and auto-sync, and I do care about free space in my Dropbox), but still have access to them when I need something.
How do I do it? 🙂
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.
Best Answer
Request that your contacts share their content to you via a link. This can be done by logging into the web app, at dropbox.com, like so:
This will allow you to access their content via a browser, while keeping your Dropbox storage unused.