When you first log in to the U-M Dropbox domain, you may be asked to accept one of the agreements below:
- "U-M Agreement: U-M has an institutional agreement with Dropbox, this includes the U-M data protection addendum, and a business associate agreement which allows for its use with Protected Health Information regulated by HIPAA. The U-M agreement specifically states that U-M owns our data, and Dropbox will not share it in an unauthorized manner or use it to serve ads."
- Or "I agree to the Dropbox Business Agreement."
You can proceed with accepting these agreements.
When you log in to your Dropbox account through U-M Sign In at dropbox.umich.edu, click your icon in the lower left corner and select Settings from the drop-down menu. You should find University of Michigan account at the top of the page if you are in U-M Dropbox.
Refer to Migrate an existing account associated with your @umich.edu email address into U-M Dropbox for instructions.
There is no way for you to merge your personal Dropbox account with the U-M Dropbox instance if you are using an @med.umich.edu email address. To transfer ownership of your personal Dropbox account files/folders to your U-M Dropbox account, refer to Changing Data Ownership from a Personal / External Dropbox Account to U-M Dropbox.
Individual U-M Dropbox accounts have a 5TB storage limit. Team Folders currently have no storage limit.
You can find how much storage you're using in your account settings. Click your icon in the lower left corner, select Settings, and click the Plan tab. Refer to How to check how much Dropbox storage space is left for further instructions.
Yes, refer to Canvas: Dropbox LTI for more information.
If you and another user are editing a file simultaneously and you both have unsaved changes, you will see a red Dropbox badge with an exclamation mark in your file. You can create a conflicted copy of only your edits to keep your edits and merge them later. Refer to the Dropbox Help Center for more information.
Yes. In a U-M Dropbox account, there is a limit of five connected computers (e.g., Mac, Windows, Linux, etc.) and five mobile devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets, iOS, Android, etc.) These limits cannot be exceeded.
If you created your personal Dropbox account before September 2019, any existing Paper docs will no longer be located under paper.dropbox.com when you migrate to U-M Dropbox. After migration, you will need to search for the documents using the search function in Dropbox. We also recommend creating shortcut links to the files before the migration. Refer to the Dropbox Help Center for instructions for making shortcuts.
No, it is not possible to associate your @med.umich.edu email address with U-M Dropbox. If someone would like to share something with you via Dropbox, it will have to be via your @umich.edu email address.
No, Dropbox Sign is not available for U-M Dropbox.
You can open a sharing dialog on a file, enter the individual's name, and if they don’t appear, they likely don’t have an account.
Always wait about 30 to 60 seconds. Refer to Dropbox: Unable To Share Files or Folders via the Web for more information.
Michigan Medicine users on Core Imaged machines have the Dropbox desktop app already installed.
Yes, you can store personal or private information in Dropbox. While the university cannot guarantee the privacy of faculty-owned scholarly or personal records, employees should take reasonable measures to safeguard against inappropriate or inadvertent access to their records. Employees should create a folder and indicate as “private” or “personal” all personal records or as “scholarship” or “research” all faculty-owned scholarly records maintained on University-controlled premises or property. Employees should maintain this information in an identifiable separate location (e.g., folder or file) from their business records.
Also, as stated in the U-M Standard Practice Guide 601.07: Responsible Use of Information Resources, "Do not use information resources for personal commercial purposes or for personal financial or other gain, except as permitted by Conflicts of Interest and Conflict of Commitment (SPG 201.65-1)."
Yes, you can upload new versions of the same file to Dropbox on the web. Ensure the updated file name matches the existing file name in Dropbox exactly. You also need to ensure you upload the new version to the same location as the existing file.
Any shared links or additional collaborators will still be able to access the file as before.
The owner of the files or folders can either drag and drop the content into the Team Folder from their individual account, or they can use the Move functionality located in the three-dot icon drop-down menu of the folder.
Dropbox has removed the ability to create, edit, and store Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides in Dropbox. Learn more about the change.
As of January 12, 2024:
- You can no longer create Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides in Dropbox.
- You can no longer use the Google editor to open/edit non-Google files in Dropbox.
As of January 22, 2024, all existing Google files (.gdoc, .gsheet, .gslides) have been converted to their Microsoft equivalents (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx).
No, this is not an appropriate use of your U-M Dropbox account (SPG 601.07). Additionally, Dropbox Backup is unavailable in U-M Dropbox.
If you need to back up your computer or store institutional data for archival purposes, refer to the U-M Data Storage Finder for an overview of storage services available to you.
Refer to Dropbox: Accounts for People Who Leave U-M for more information.
Note: If you lost access to Dropbox content because someone left the university, you have 90 days to contact the ITS Service Center to request that they recover the shared data (if possible).
No, you cannot create and edit Google files within Dropbox.
As of January 12, 2024:
- You can no longer create Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides in Dropbox.
- You can no longer use the Google editor to open/edit non-Google files in Dropbox.
As of January 22, 2024, all existing Google files (.gdoc, .gsheet, .gslides) have been converted to their Microsoft equivalents (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx).
Yes, you can create and edit Microsoft 365 Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations directly in U-M Dropbox.
Owners of MCommunity groups are the only individuals who can request to create a Dropbox Team Folder. Members of an MCommunity group cannot.
Also, owners must be faculty or regular staff. Students, temporary staff, and sponsored affiliates are not eligible to request a Dropbox Team Folder.
Yes. Once you have installed the Dropbox desktop app, any changes you make to the Dropbox application are automatically synced to your account at dropbox.umich.edu.
Automatic, local desktop syncing for Team Folders is turned off by default. You will have to use selective sync in the desktop app to add it to your desktop sync.
U-M's agreement with Dropbox includes a Business Associate Agreement (BAA), which means you may use it to maintain Protected Health Information (PHI) regulated by HIPAA. HIPAA compliance is a shared responsibility. You are expected to comply with HIPAA requirements in your use of Dropbox at U-M. For details and a list of sensitive data types permitted for use with Dropbox, refer to Sensitive Data Guide: Dropbox at U-M.
Create a subfolder in the Team Folder and add the external users individually at the level.
It depends. If you invited the user via Dropbox sharing to view the file/folder, they will be asked to create a Dropbox account before viewing. If you do not explicitly invite the user via Dropbox sharing and only share the link, they will not needa Dropbox account to view it. Refer to Dropbox: Share Files/Folders Using Shared Linksfor more information.
Yes. Anyone who has access to the folder can view who it is shared with and their permission levels.