Add files and download them

You add files to the portal by putting them in the Dropbox folder: the portal only reads Dropbox, so there is no upload button on the site. Visitors open folders and download files from the portal page; every download passes through your site, never through a public Dropbox link.

Add or update files

1. Put the files in the Dropbox folder linked to the rule, in any way you like: the Dropbox desktop app, the mobile app or dropbox.com. Subfolders are shown too.
2. Wait for Dropbox to finish syncing.
3. The files appear in the portal within a few minutes.

To remove a file from the portal, delete it or move it out of the folder in Dropbox. The plugin itself never writes to Dropbox, and visitors cannot upload or delete anything.

Why new files take a few minutes

To keep the site fast, the plugin remembers the folder contents for a while (the "cache") instead of asking Dropbox on every click. By default this lasts 5 minutes. To see new files sooner:

• In the portal, click the Refresh button (the circular arrow at the top right). It reloads the current folder straight from Dropbox. To protect the site, each user can force a refresh at most once every 15 seconds.
• In the admin, go to Dropbox Documents > Dropbox connection and click Clear cache. The next visit reads everything from Dropbox again.
• With Pro, change Cache duration in Dropbox Documents > Settings (box Advanced). 0 disables the cache.

What visitors see

• A list of files and folders with Name, Size and Modified date. Click a folder to open it.
• A breadcrumb (the path above the list) to go back to any parent folder.
• If they have several folders, a drop-down at the top to switch between them.
• With Pro: a search box that searches by file name inside the current folder and its subfolders (at least two characters), and buttons to switch between list and grid view.

Downloading

Each file has a Download button. The file is streamed from Dropbox through your site to the visitor, so the Dropbox address is never revealed and the link does not work for anyone who is not logged in with the right role.

Because the file passes through your server, it uses your hosting bandwidth. The Maximum download size setting (512 MB by default) blocks larger files with a message; 0 removes the limit. Raise it if you share large videos and your hosting allows it.

Downloads can be switched off:

• for everyone, with the Downloads switch in Dropbox Documents > Settings (all versions);
• for a single rule, with the switch in the Downloads column of the rules, in Folders and access (Pro). See Give roles access to folders.

Preview (Pro)

With Pro and the Previews and thumbnails option on, images show a small thumbnail and images and PDF files have a Preview button. The preview opens in a window over the page, with Open in a new tab and Download buttons.

• Preview works for JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, BMP, TIFF and PDF files.
• Other files (Word, Excel, video, SVG, HTML and so on) can only be downloaded. SVG and HTML files are never shown in the page for security reasons.
• When downloads are off for a rule, images are previewed as reduced versions and PDF files show a message instead of the preview.