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[Cloud storage] Dropbox Business concept of folder permissions [File server]

2020.12.17

table of contents

1 Dropbox folder types
2 Difference between "shared folder" and "team folder"
3 Roles and permissions in the Dropbox folder
4 Recommended security settings
5 Sharing: How to set up
6 Device authorization: How to set it up
7 How to limit browser sessions on devices
8 summary

This is Ohara from the technical sales department.

With the spread and expansion of remote work,
the introduction and use of cloud storage (cloud file servers) is also increasing.

However, since most of these cloud services are used by company operations and teams,
it is necessary to carefully design folder permissions and security before using the service.

This time, we will describe the roles and permissions of folders assuming the use of Dropbox Business

Dropbox folder types

kinds	Features	access rights	Purpose
● Personal folder	・Basics of Dropbox folders	・Individual only	・Replacement of user folder of file server
● Shared folder	・Users can optionally invite other users and use it as a shared folder ・Personal folders can be changed to shared folders	- Two types of permissions can be set: owner is user , and editable/viewable. - Unique access permissions cannot be set for subfolders within a shared folder.	・Use this when you want to share a project folder for a limited time.
● Team folder	・Only administrators can create ・Permissions such as sharing range can be set for each folder	- Two types of permissions can be set: the owner is an administrator , and editable/view only. - Users/groups can be added to subfolders and used as shared folders. - Access rights of the top-level team folder are inherited . It is also possible to reduce access rights	Use when you want to share information while managing access rights on a department-by-department basis. ・It is the main destination for migrating shared folders on file servers.

Difference between "shared folder" and "team folder"

■ Shared folder

- You cannot create a shared folder with different permissions under a shared folder.
・Top-level permissions are always inherited by subfolders.

■ Team folder

- You can create a shared folder with different permissions under the team folder.
・Superordinate permissions are inherited by subfolders.
- It is possible to add and delete access rights.

Roles and permissions in the Dropbox folder

role	authority
● Owner	・You can change viewing/editing permissions, invite members, and change the owner to another person. ・Initial role of the creator when creating a shared folder
● Editor (editable)	・You can add/edit/delete files in the folder just like the owner. ・If the owner allows it, you can invite/delete other users to the folder and change their roles. ・Initial value when an editor is invited to a folder
● Viewer (can view)	- Adding/editing/deleting files in the folder is prohibited. - Viewers can see that they can only view the folder by putting a lock mark on the folder icon.

Recommended security settings

item	[Phase 1] Initial introduction	[Phase ②] Expand usage	[Phase 3] Company-wide rollout
● Basic policy	・Folder sharing is limited to internal users only (external users cannot be invited) - Only links can be shared outside the company	・The administrator creates a shared folder and invites the target users based on a request from the user.	・Employees can create shared folders themselves ・Log collection and automatic checking using scripts
● Terminal authentication	・Use device authentication function	・Use device authentication function	・SSO cooperation using IDM (needs consideration)
● Information sharing within the company	- Collaborate within team folders or shared folders	- Collaborate within team folders or shared folders	- Collaborate within team folders or shared folders
● Information sharing with outside parties	・File provision: Send a shared link ・Feedback: Comment function ・File reception: File request function	-Basically supported by sending shared links and file request functions ・Create shared folders and collaborate with some collaboration partners on an application basis	-Basically supported by sending shared links and file request functions ・Users can create shared folders and collaborate with external partners as needed.

Sharing: How to set up

The administrator temporarily enables sharing and sends shared folder invitations to the users.
After completing the work, change the setting back to disable sharing. (Shared folders created during the period when sharing was temporarily enabled will continue to be available)

Setting items	Configuration choices
● Share files and folders with people outside your team Share with users who aren't part of your team's Dropbox account	・ON or OFF
● Editing folders outside the team Members can edit folders created by users who are not part of the team's Dropbox account.	・ON or OFF
● Share links with people outside your team Members can share links with users who aren't part of the team's Dropbox account	・ON or OFF
● Default shared link privacy Who can access members' shared links?	・Team only ・All
● File sharing using Dropbox Transfer You can share snapshots of multiple files at once over the Internet. * Difference from link: Changes are not reflected because the content is not in a specific folder. You can also send files outside of Dropbox.	・ON or OFF

Device authorization: How to set it up

Setting items	Implications of settings	Configuration choices
● Computer/mobile device How many PCs, smartphones, and tablets can each member use when connecting to Dropbox from the Dropbox desktop app?	・You can set the upper limit on the number of PCs/smartphones/tablets that can be connected.	・Unlimited ・0〜5
● Unlinked device What if a member unlinks their PC or mobile device?	・Restrictions on cancellation actions on the user side	・Delete device: The device is removed from the limit. - Retain device authorization: device is subject to limit until removed by administrator
● If the maximum number of devices is exceeded What about members who are already over the limit? (When joining a team, when an administrator lowers the upper limit, etc.)	・Behavior settings when the connection limit is exceeded	・Delete oldest device: Delete and disconnect the oldest device (last activity) to keep the number of devices within the limit. ・Delete all devices: Delete and disconnect all devices ・Add to exception list: Unlimited number of devices that can be connected
● Exception list Who can connect an unlimited number of devices to Dropbox?	-	・Register email addresses individually

How to limit browser sessions on devices

The Dropbox management console allows you to set the web session maintenance period and idle time, but
it is not possible to limit devices or IP addresses.
If you want to control browser login, you need one of the following methods.

Periodically run a script that displays a list of active web sessions and

② Check the IP address during single sign-on.

③ Use an SSO product that supports certificates, etc.

summary

This concludes the explanation of Dropbox folder types, permissions, and settings.

Also, if your company is currently using on-premises (physical) file servers/NAS and
is considering switching to cloud-based storage (cloud-based file server), please consider
Beyond 's [Dropbox Business Installation and Operation Support Service]. Please consider!

If you found this article helpful , please give it a like!

[2025.6.30 Amazon Linux 2 support ended] Amazon Linux server migration solution

The person who wrote this article

About the author

ohara

I started my career in the telecommunications industry as a salesperson in charge of introducing IT products such as NW services, OA equipment, and groupware for corporations.

After that, he worked as a pre-sales engineer for physical servers/hosting services and as a customer engineer for SaaS-type SFA/CRM/BtoB e-commerce at an SIer-based data center business company, before joining his current company, Beyond.

Currently, I am stationed in Shenzhen, China, the Silicon Valley of Asia, and my daily routine is to watch Chinese dramas and billbill.

Qualification: Second class bookkeeping

22nd year graduate virtual 1-day internship held! We will talk about the appeal of City Trial Japan 2020, a simulated experience of work through programming.