Dropbox

Understanding the Dropbox Client

Latest Release Notes can be found at dropbox.com/release_notes

Commonly Asked Questions

Dropbox Support Help What do these icons mean?

The following can stop a network connection to Dropbox by any of the following:

1. Firewalls
2. Proxies
3. ISP or IT Policies
4. Antivirus Applications

Installing the client

Windows

1. Meta Installer pulls another executable to auto start installation
2. Enterprise Installer
   1. Manual Installation (Requires local admin permissions)
   2. Remote Deployment (SCCM/GPO) Maybe PSTools?

Windows Enterprise CLI Installer

/s:
Silent Installation.
Dropbox login prompt will launch upon successful installation.

/nolaunch:
Silent Installation.
No Dropbox login prompt.
Dropbox icon added to Start Menu.

More information about deploying with CLI can be found here The enterprise installer: deploy Dropbox Business for your entire team

macOS

1. Contents are extracted from DMG and manually copied to the Applications folder
2. Manual Installation (Requires local admin permissions)
3. Remote Deployment (Casper Suite, Apple Remote Desktop)

macOS Installer Options

1. Dropbox does not have a .pkg installer for macOS
2. There are several options for creating .pkg files
   1. AutoPkgr (Familiarity of commandline)
   2. Composer (Included with jamf's Casper Suite)
   3. Packages or Iceberg (s.sudre/free/fr)
3. Using .pkg files requires admin rights for installation

macOS Installation Option

1. End User Full Install - Users admins their own Mac
   1. Downloads Dropbox installer to machine
   2. Use Remote Management software to copy to end user machines
   3. User starts setup and enters admin credentials

1. End User Partial Install - No Remote Management Software installed, and users are not admins of the machine
   1. User downloads Dropbox from web or Network Share
   2. IT enters in admin credentials

Linux

1. Manual installation (Requires local admin permissions)
2. Standard Installer Package
3. Download and install from Source Code

Client Download

The latest stable build can be downloaded from:

dropbox.com/download
dropbox.com/downloading
dropbox.com/install

Things to note:

• Beta builds are odd-numbered
• The Dropbox website auto-detects the OS and downloads the correct installer

Client Update

Windows - dropboxupdate
Two Windows scheduled tasks make calls to DropboxUpdate.exe.
 DropboxUpdateTaskMachineCore - Picks up core engine (Latest client)
 DropboxUpdateTaskMachineUA - Picks up remaining changes (Any changes to files/folders)
macOS - DropboxMacUpdate

• Checks for new versions every hour
• Requires an internet connection and will prompt for a manual upgrade if there hasn't been an update within 7 days

Managing Sharing

Folders

1. Each team member has their own private work space in Dropbox
2. Everything stored in Dropbox is private by default
3. When work is ready, members can invite collaborators to shared files/folders, or send links to their work

Shared Permissions

1. Anyone can create a share file/folder
   1. These are created by sending invitations
   2. Once a user accepts the invitation, the shared file/folder appears inside their Dropbox folder and it's contents automatically sync.
2. Admins (Any member of a Dropbox Business Team), can only access files/folders to which they've been invited to.

1. Owner: Can change view/edit permissions, Invite additional people, Transfer ownership to someone else. This is the default role for whoever initially shares a folder.
2. Editor: Add/Edit/Delete files in the folder just like an owner. If the owner allows it, editors can also invite people to the folder, remove other members from the folder, and change the roles of other members. Editor is the default setting for the people you invite.
3. Viewer (Lock Icon): Can’t Add/Edit/Delete files in the folder.

More information can be found here: Shared folders: Give people edit access to your files

Shared Links

1. Shared links let you send files to others even though they don't have a Dropbox account
2. You can share files/folders of any size with shared links
3. You can limit who can access a shared link by setting a password/expiration date
4. Admins can set team-wide default access settings for newly shared links
5. Admins can remove links shared by team members

In a nutshell:

1. Dynamic links - Always points to the most current version. No need for re-linking an edited file.
2. No file-size limit
3. Password/Expiration Dates
4. Access Control - Can be limited to only team members

File Requests

1. Get files from anyone with a Dropbox account or not
   1. Submitters can send files up to 2GB (Basic account) or 10GB (on Pro or Business accounts)
   2. Uploads via web browser are limited to 20GB
   3. Uploaded files must fit within the size of your Dropbox account's storage quota
2. Organize everything in one place
3. Keeps files private - Dedicate an upload folder for uploads

Dropbox Admins (Manage File Requests):

1. View team's file request activity in Activity section of the Admin Console
2. Turn off file requests for the team in the Settings section of the Admin Console
   1. File Requests are on by default for the team. If turned off, any preexisting file requests will be deactivated.