Forcing a Dropbox Link to Auto-Download When Clicked

 

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If you're wanting to know how to do the exact same thing with a Google Drive file, you'll want this post.

Did you know that when you send someone a Dropbox link to a file that you want them to download that it takes them to Dropbox online and they have to take a few more steps to download it?

Well…it does.

So, when you provide a link like this:

No Title

No Description

which is the link you get when you ask to “copy dropbox link” within your dropbox account, it takes them to a screen that looks like this (obviously YOUR file will be in the place of where mine is right now).

They then have to click the link at the top to download it. So it's more work for them, which can be super annoying.

Another reason this is not so great is because there are some people who don't have a Dropbox account and/or hate it – so they'll get a notification that Dropbox wants them to create an account and they're not going to like that much (not that they HAVE to but it could be annoying).

So, there's a solution.

All you have to do is change the “0” at the VERY END of your Dropbox link to a “1”.

Yes, that's it.

So instead of this https://www.dropbox.com/s/khq6f4ju732la2p/Screenshot%202016-03-30%2014.22.39.png?dl=0

You'd have something like this https://www.dropbox.com/s/khq6f4ju732la2p/Screenshot%202016-03-30%2014.22.39.png?dl=1

“Then what happens?”, you ask.

Well, their computer will AUTO-download the file straight to their downloads folder (or wherever they have it set to go when they download things from the Internet) and they will never even see Dropbox. 

While we're on this subject, are you wanting to give your audience a freebie but you don't even know how to deliver it to them?