About this guide:
This is the fifth post in a series meant to get you up to speed. You’ll learn how to create public links to files and folders.
All posts on Getting started:
1. How to personalize your account
2. How to use the Web App
3. How to use the Desktop App
4. How to use the Mobile App
4a. Special features on iPhone and iPad
5. How to create Public Links
6. How to create Public Upload Folders
7. How to install the Appliance
8. Mail links instead of attachments
Congratulations! Your organization is now using ownCloud to sync and share files – and do so much more.
You might want to make some files or folders available for public use, that is, for unregistered users. Think, e.g., of a price list or a course syllabus. Unlike in emails, there is no size limit.
In the Web App, click on the share button next to the file or folder you want to share. A sidebar opens to the right. In there, choose ‘Public Links’ and then ‘Create public link’. You can assign a more descriptive name and set a password or expiration date or both. That way, you limit the exposure of your file to people you directly or indirectly sent the password to and prevent outdated files to remain in the public eye after they have been deprecated.
In the mobile app, click on the three-dot menu icon to the right of the file or folder you want to share and select ‘Links’, then ‘Create Public Link’. In this interface too, you can set a password or expiration date or both.
To create a public link using the sync client, open your default file manager, e.g. the Explorer in Windows or the Finder in macOS. Select the file or folder you want to share and open the context menu by right-clicking in Windows or control-clicking in macOS, then selecting the ownCloud-Submenu and choosing ‘Copy public link to clipboard’. To get a public link that is protected by password or expiration date or both, choose ‘Share…’ and then click ‘Pubklic Links’ and then ‘create new’. Fill the relevant form fields and click ‘create’. Then, copy the link by selecting the three-dots menu on the right of your new public links’ title.
