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DropBox to drop support for Public folder (no more direct links)
Tuxman:
Hahaha, "Dropbox to drop". I see what you did there.
Anyway:
It seems they are trying to stop direct linking to files.
--- End quote ---
No. They added direct linking to all files a while ago, so the public folder has no real additional value anymore.
Renegade:
No. They added direct linking to all files a while ago, so the public folder has no real additional value anymore.
-Tuxman (June 16, 2012, 10:44 PM)
--- End quote ---
Tuxman is correct. Check here from the link:
We wanted to let our developers know about an upcoming change to the Public folder for all user accounts. In April, we launched the ability to share any file or folder in your Dropbox with a simple link. This new sharing mechanism is a more generalized, scalable way to support many of the same use cases as the Public folder.
After July 31, we will no longer create Public folders in any new Dropbox accounts. If your app depends on Public folders, we recommend switching to the /shares API call. Public folders in existing accounts, however, will continue to function as before.
--- End quote ---
This is for their public API, so it's not the same thing as what end users need to know.
They're not creating a specific folder. However, you can change the permissions on a file or folder, which as they say, is a more general case. They are EXPANDING the functionality. Not contracting it. You will be able to do exactly what you could before and MORE.
The problem here is for developers writing against the older API. If they didn't do any error checking for the existence of the Public folder, then they're in for trouble with new accounts. So end users have no worries. This is entirely an issue for developers with existing applications written against the older API and how it impacts future Dropbox users, not exising Dropbox users.
Tuxman:
No, Tuxman is correct. The link states that users can continue to link to files, they just won't have a dedicated folder for that anymore. So basically what I said.
Renegade:
No, Tuxman is correct. The link states that users can continue to link to files, they just won't have a dedicated folder for that anymore. So basically what I said.
-Tuxman (June 16, 2012, 11:37 PM)
--- End quote ---
I'm not sure where I went wrong there... From the link, it looks like they're talking about their API.
We wanted to let our developers know about an upcoming change to the Public folder for all user accounts.
--- End quote ---
And:
As indicated in the email, this is a decision that we're going with moving forward. All current users retain their Dropbox Public folder, and it's function continues. Many people have commented on the duplication of function between Public and shared files, and most people (the users of this forum aside) use Public fairly rarely. Since the Public folder won't be in new accounts, relying on it for App functions is a bad idea.
--- End quote ---
What that sounds like to me is that if you create a new account, download an old application that relies on the Public folder, then use the Public folder in some way in the application, and if there isn't any error checking, you'll end up with an error being thrown, and perhaps a crash.
justice:
If you actually tried to create a link from any file outside the public folder, you will find that yes you can create a link to the file, but it will load the dropbox webpage including a download button to the actual file.
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