14 DAY TRIAL // Dropbox is introducing a very, very interesting feature, one that should signal the end of the cyberlockers of the world, the sooner the better, the ability to share a link to any of your files or folders with anyone, even people who are not using Dropbox.
It's the easiest thing to do, just right-click on the file or folder you want to share and select "Get Link" from the Dropbox menu. You can do the same on the website and even in the mobile app.
You'll get a shortlink that you can share with anyone anywhere you want. Anyone that clicks on the link will be able to download the file to their computer or sync it to their Dropbox folder if they're logged in.
It's all free and anyone can view or download your files as long as they have the links, they don't have to have a Dropbox account.
"Sharing with friends and family is easy! Once you’ve saved that video of your niece’s birthday party to Dropbox, just make a link to send to grandma and she can simply watch online — no download required!," Dropbox announced.
"Anyone with the link gets access to a snazzy page where they can view (but not edit) your stuff. Our gallery pages give your photos, videos, and even docs the gorgeous, full-browser view they deserve," it explained.
"This means that people who follow your link can see pictures, look at presentations, and watch home videos without having to download and open them separately," it added.
Some ardent Dropbox users may be a bit perplexed by the feature, or rather by the announcement, for the simple fact that they've had it for months now.
It's no big mystery though, Dropbox has been beta-testing the feature for a long time and anyone that had used a beta or experimental had the feature enabled for them, even if they may not have noticed it.
