Prevent a File to be Downloaded

,

If you don't want any other user, collaborators or external, to be able to download or edit, you will need to put it somewhere where you can control permissions. Collaborators would need to be given Previewer access. Given that Box has waterfall permissions that means the folder would need to be outside any folder hierarchy that gives those users higher permissions. 

So the basic is that it must be in a folder where users do not have higher than Preview permissions. Given that, you can either invite users as Previewer or use a shared link with download disabled and not invite anyone to the folder.

HTH,

Bob

Thank you! As a follow up to that - Do you know if you can lock a file (disabling the download) with a password so no one can unlock the file from you?

The simple answer is no. You can password protect a shared link to the file. You can put an editing lock on a file, but that lock is designed for a different purpose. It's more of a don't shoot yourself in the foot lock/hurdle. Other editors can remove that.

The only way to ensure others can't mess with your file is to restrict their access (or permission) to the file or folder itself.

Bob

Do you know if there's a way in where I can prevent download, but only the ability to edit the file online?

How you setup only Preview permissions to the folder in BOX?

Hi ,

Welcome to the Box Community and thanks for your first post in the forum!

If you want your collaborators to only preview contents in a folder, you should be able to control this by assigning them as Previewer when you send them an invitation to collaborate. For more details check our To invite a collaborator into a folder.

Thanks for posting in the Box Community, and let me know if you have any questions!

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Hi ,

I have a similar question about Box permissions as they extend to Embed links hosted on an internal uxfabric webpage at my company. I have granted Previewer access to a group of individuals, but they (as well as others who have no access to the Folder/Audio Files) are still given the ability to "Download" the audio. I've also made sure that the  Allow users with the Shared Link to Download this item Box is Unchecked.

More simply put, is there a way to prevent folks from seeing "Download" as an option on Embed links to the audio files that live in a Box folder?

Thank you,

Lance

Hi ,

Welcome to the Box Community and thanks for your first post in the forum!

The native Embed widget respects all settings applied in shared link settings. This includes "Link Expiration", "Password Protection", and "Allow Download". To adjust the settings of an embed widget, you must adjust the settings in shared link settings.

Can you try to check/uncheck the Allow users with the Shared Link to download this item option or change the access type to Can View Only? Then test the link in a different browser and see if the download button is available.

Hope that helps!

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Hi  ,

I've made changes to the Box Folder, as well as to each individual Audio .wav file in the folder so that:

"People in your company" --> "Can view only"

However, the media player for the ember link still allows one to click on the little down arrow and "Download."  Any other thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! LanceExample of View Only Setting and subsequent result

Hi ,

Thanks for following up on this!

The behavior you encounter is not expected after making adjustment with the shared link setting to disable the Download option.

This would be something our Box Support team would like to investigate with you and will require specific account information. You can contact Box Support to help you directly.

Thanks for coming to Box Community!

 ,

Thank you for all the help! I went back through all of the steps and recommendations you provided, and re-tested to find that the Download option has now been removed for folks ?

So no need to unnecessarily bother the Box Support team!

All the best,

Lance

When I Share a Link, I am not seeing an option to Invite as Previewer nor am I seeing an option to disable Downloads.  Am I just missing something?  When I am looking at the option to Invite People to the shared link, I only see options to "Invite as Editor" and "Invite as Viewer."

Hi ,

Welcome to the Box Community and thanks for your first post in the forum!

First off, are you the owner of the folder where this file is located? If not, there may have been some restrictions applied to the folder settings if you are not able to send invitation to collaborate and you may have to reach out to the owner to resolve this issue.

Check out this article on Understanding Box Folder Settings for more information.

Also, to see the download option, you must set the access type to "People with the link" instead of "Invited people only" as this restricts access to the file only to the current collaborators.

If this did not help, Box Support team can further investigate with you and this may require specific account information to resolve. You can contact Box Support by submitting a ticket here to help you directly.

Thanks for your time and for using Box!

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