3 ms·

In that case they should implement instant shared link creation, not via opening a web browser.

by Cancel 14y ago

atarian 14y ago
You can get still get a link via right-click menu (at least on Mac OSX) for any file in your Dropbox folder (including the ones outside of the Dropbox > Public folder).
- bane 14y ago
  The problem is that you could share a link and it'd be seamlessly downloaded by a receiver of the link....you could even use them to handle images in web pages for example. Now? The person who is receiving the link has to go to a web page, then click download. It's an unnecessary extra step and a downgrade in the user experience. Even worse, it's now harder to keep track of what you have shared and what you don't. From DB's perspective this is most likely to force additional eyeballs onto their product by forcing them to hit a webpage before download, but it's a lousy user experience for all involved. To the receiver of the link DB just looks like an old fashioned file-sharing site a la megaupload and not something special.
  - CrazedGeek 14y ago
    "To the receiver of the link DB just looks like an old fashioned file-sharing site a la megaupload and not something special." How do the direct links help DB look "special"? To me, they scream "generic CDN".
    - Centigonal 14y ago
      Direct links are convenient for me, the end user. That's why I use dropbox -- to have an easy way to put files up onto the internet to show others.
      - CrazedGeek 14y ago
        Not my point. To the person who's receiving your link: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/9910153/20111022_131203.jpg https://dl.dropbox.com/u/9910153/20111022_131203.jpg looks more or less identical to: http://i1.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/000/720/180px-Gmodlogo.svg.png http://i1.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/000/720/180... Both are direct links, and neither tell you much about the site that you're downloading the pictures from. The indirect link actually tells people that Dropbox exists as a service. Whether that's better for the end user or not isn't relevant to what I said.
  - aw3c2 14y ago
    Dropbox is much different from Megaupload. On Dropbox you get a direct link and you know whose directory you download from. On Megaupload the uploader is anonymous (to the downloader) and you do not get a direct link.
- mparlane 14y ago
  https://dl.dropbox.com/u/9910153/20111022_131203.jpg https://dl.dropbox.com/u/9910153/20111022_131203.jpg https://www.dropbox.com/s/s3wlvb7h36o5uvb/20111022_131203.jpg https://www.dropbox.com/s/s3wlvb7h36o5uvb/20111022_131203.jp... There are your two links. One is a public folder the other is not. One takes you to a web browser before you can even get the link. One does not. Guess which one I would rather have. And now guess which one they are removing :(
  - runn1ng 14y ago
    Add "?dl=1" to the second one it is a simple link again https://www.dropbox.com/s/s3wlvb7h36o5uvb/20111022_131203.jpg?dl=1 https://www.dropbox.com/s/s3wlvb7h36o5uvb/20111022_131203.jp... Magic!
    - mparlane 14y ago
      To get it I have to have my browser open. An extra completely unneeded step IMO.
    - FreeFull 14y ago
      Except now Firefox actually wants to download it instead of just displaying it.
      - derefr 14y ago
        On the other hand, it seems that if you stick that ?dl=1 link into an <img> src, it still downloads and displays.
        BHSPitMonkey 14y ago
        But that isn't good enough. I show people screenshots by tossing the public URL into an IM or IRC chat all the time. It's good for that because it requires no effort from me to upload the file, and viewing the image is seamless for the recipient (click the link, see the picture). Under the new system, clicking the link would (at best) initiate a file download, which is far more annoying.

In that case they should implement instant shared link creation, not via opening a web browser.

by Cancel 14y ago

In that case they should implement instant shared link creation, not via opening a web browser.

You can get still get a link via right-click menu (at least on Mac OSX) for any file in your Dropbox folder (including the ones outside of the Dropbox > Public folder).

bane 14y ago
The problem is that you could share a link and it'd be seamlessly downloaded by a receiver of the link....you could even use them to handle images in web pages for example. Now? The person who is receiving the link has to go to a web page, then click download. It's an unnecessary extra step and a downgrade in the user experience. Even worse, it's now harder to keep track of what you have shared and what you don't. From DB's perspective this is most likely to force additional eyeballs onto their product by forcing them to hit a webpage before download, but it's a lousy user experience for all involved. To the receiver of the link DB just looks like an old fashioned file-sharing site a la megaupload and not something special.
- CrazedGeek 14y ago
  "To the receiver of the link DB just looks like an old fashioned file-sharing site a la megaupload and not something special." How do the direct links help DB look "special"? To me, they scream "generic CDN".
  - Centigonal 14y ago
    Direct links are convenient for me, the end user. That's why I use dropbox -- to have an easy way to put files up onto the internet to show others.
    - CrazedGeek 14y ago
      Not my point. To the person who's receiving your link: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/9910153/20111022_131203.jpg https://dl.dropbox.com/u/9910153/20111022_131203.jpg looks more or less identical to: http://i1.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/000/720/180px-Gmodlogo.svg.png http://i1.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/000/720/180... Both are direct links, and neither tell you much about the site that you're downloading the pictures from. The indirect link actually tells people that Dropbox exists as a service. Whether that's better for the end user or not isn't relevant to what I said.
- aw3c2 14y ago
  Dropbox is much different from Megaupload. On Dropbox you get a direct link and you know whose directory you download from. On Megaupload the uploader is anonymous (to the downloader) and you do not get a direct link.
mparlane 14y ago
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/9910153/20111022_131203.jpg https://dl.dropbox.com/u/9910153/20111022_131203.jpg https://www.dropbox.com/s/s3wlvb7h36o5uvb/20111022_131203.jpg https://www.dropbox.com/s/s3wlvb7h36o5uvb/20111022_131203.jp... There are your two links. One is a public folder the other is not. One takes you to a web browser before you can even get the link. One does not. Guess which one I would rather have. And now guess which one they are removing :(
- runn1ng 14y ago
  Add "?dl=1" to the second one it is a simple link again https://www.dropbox.com/s/s3wlvb7h36o5uvb/20111022_131203.jpg?dl=1 https://www.dropbox.com/s/s3wlvb7h36o5uvb/20111022_131203.jp... Magic!
  - mparlane 14y ago
    To get it I have to have my browser open. An extra completely unneeded step IMO.
  - FreeFull 14y ago
    Except now Firefox actually wants to download it instead of just displaying it.
    - derefr 14y ago
      On the other hand, it seems that if you stick that ?dl=1 link into an <img> src, it still downloads and displays.
      - BHSPitMonkey 14y ago
        But that isn't good enough. I show people screenshots by tossing the public URL into an IM or IRC chat all the time. It's good for that because it requires no effort from me to upload the file, and viewing the image is seamless for the recipient (click the link, see the picture). Under the new system, clicking the link would (at best) initiate a file download, which is far more annoying.