Information Services

QUB Dropbox

Service Overview:

The QUB Dropbox is a tool for transferring large files rather than sending them by email. There is a limit of one gigabyte per transfer and all files sent must conform to the University Regulations and Guidelines on computer usage, with regard to copyright infringement and other issues. Users are reminded not to open unexpected files, as they could contain viruses or other malicious content. The QUB Dropbox is a web-based service that is more user-friendly than existing solutions such as FTP and overcomes the quota limits and attachment size limits in email systems, as the files are not stored in the email system.

The service operates at the following web address:

https://dropbox.qub.ac.uk

Users can drop-off (upload) files at the address above. An email message will be sent to the recipient with download instructions. The recipient clicks the link in the email message and is presented with a web page containing a link to download the dropped-off files.

Usage scenarios:

The QUB Digital Dropbox has been used in the following scenarios but will have many other uses:

  • External colleagues can send large files to QUB users
  • QUB users can send large files to other QUB users
  • Conferences can use the service to receive large poster presentations
  • The Dropbox forms can be integrated to existing websites

Recommended Requirements:

  • Web Browser such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari or Opera
    The QUB Digital Dropbox has been tested in a wide variety of web browsers on Windows, Mac OS and Linux.

  • Internet Connection
    The speed of your internet connection will directly affect the upload/download duration so broadband users should be patient especially when uploading.

Limitations:

  • Uploads are limited to 1 gigabyte (1024 Mb)
  • Files are not scanned for viruses, you and the recipient must do this independently
  • This is a temporary file service. All files are automatically removed after 15 days
  • Be patient when uploading and WAIT for the successful confirmation message
  • Non-QUB users can only send files to QUB email addresses
  • QUB users can log in to the Dropbox using their QOL login credentials to send files to any email address

How External Users Can Send a File Using the QUB Digital Dropbox

  1. Open a web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer or Firefox) and enter https://dropbox.qub.ac.uk in the address bar.
  2. Click the 'Drop-off' button on the Dropbox homepage
  3. In Section 1 type your name, your organisation's name and your own email address.
  4. In Section 2 type the name of the person in QUB to whom you will be sending the file. Add the email prefix for the QUB recipient e.g. if you are sending a file to j.bloggs@qub.ac.uk you only need to type j.bloggs
    Ignore the 'Upload a CSV' section unless you are sending files to hundreds of users
  5. In Section 3 click the 'Browse' button to locate a file on your computer that you wish to send to the recipient. After clicking on the file you may need to click the 'OK' button in the dialog box.
    Type a few words in the 'Description' box to explain to the recipient what the file contains
  6. Click the 'Drop-off the File' button in Section 3 to begin uploading the file
  7. Be patient and wait until the page changes to show a summary of the file you uploaded
  8. The recipient will automatically be sent an email with details of how to download the file

To Delete Files Uploaded to the QUB Digital Dropbox

The recipient can delete files after downloading.

  1. Click on the download link in the email message which notified the recipient about the drop-off
  2. In the web page showing the download link for the files, click the 'delete' button in the Drop-Off Summary

Logging in for Advanced Functionality

Logging in to the Dropbox offers the following extra features unavailable to to non-QUB users:

  • Send files to any email address (including non-QUB users)
  • View all your drop-offs for the past 15 days
  • Delete drop-offs no longer required

To log in to the QUB Dropbox:

  1. Open a web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer or Firefox) and enter https://dropbox.qub.ac.uk in the address bar.
  2. Click the 'Login' button on the Dropbox homepage.
  3. Enter your QOL credentials i.e. your staff number in the 'Username' space and your QOL password in the 'Password' space.
  4. Click the 'Login' button.

Using Web Forms to Send Large Files

Dropobox Referral Service (or DRS) allows you to point a web form containing file upload controls to Dropbox, rather than to the usual email-based delivery CGIs  you may be using. The uploaded files are augmented by one more file (XML, text, or HTML content) containing the additional form data from your page. The usual notification mechanisms in Dropbox allow the recipient(s) of the form to be notified by email with pickup information and the sender to be emailed when the dropoff is picked-up.

On your web page you need to specify the following form fields and form action in the HTML:


< html >
< body >
< form   method = "post"   action = "https://dropbox.qub.ac.uk/referral.php"
   enctype = "multipart/form-data" >
 
   <!-- The "Action" field is needed by the dropoff-processing code;
       do not modify this field's definition in any way and expect
       the dropoff to actually happen.
    -->
   < input   type = "hidden"   name = "Action"   value = "dropoff" />
 
   <!-- Provide the prefix used in naming any fields you add to this form that should
       be added to the dropoff as an additional file in the payload.
    -->
   < input   type = "hidden"   name = "affPrefix"   value = "che_" />
 
   <!-- What kind of file should be generated to contain the additional form field
       data:  "text", "xml", and "html" are allowed ("text" is the default).
    -->
   < input   type = "hidden"   name = "affFormat"   value = "text" />
 
   <!-- Direct to a specific URL based on success or failure of the dropoff: -->
   < input   type = "hidden"   name = "affSuccessURL"
     value = "http://dropbox.qub.ac.uk/form-success.php" />
   < input   type = "hidden"   name = "affFailureURL"
     value = "http://dropbox.qub.ac.uk/form-failure.php" />
 
   <!-- Recipients of the dropoff; should be ONLY @qub.ac.uk email
       addresses.  Of course, these fields should absolutely be
       hidden!
       Additional recipients are added by duplicating the two
       fields shown below and incrementing the trailing integer
       (a'la "recipient_2").
    -->
   < input   type = "hidden"   name = "recipient_1"   value = "1" />
   < input   type = "hidden"   name = "recipName_1"   value = "Change Me" />
   < input   type = "hidden"   name = "recipEmail_1"   value = "change_me@qub.ac.uk" />
  Sender name: < input   type = "text"   name = "senderName" /> < br />
  Sender organization: < input   type = "text"   name = "senderOrganization" /> < br />
  Sender email: < input   type = "text"   name = "senderEmail" />
   < hr />
   <!-- The file(s) being dropped-off with accompanying textual
       description(s).
 
       Additional files are added by duplicating the two
       fields shown below and incrementing the trailing integer
       (a'la "file_2").
    -->
  File: < input   type = "text"   name = "desc_1" />
   < input   type = "file"   name = "file_1" />
  Confirm delivery of this file:
   < input   type = "checkbox"   name = "confirmDelivery"   checked />
   <!-- Any additional form fields we want to accompany this dropoff: -->
  Project description: < textarea   name = "che_projectDescription" > </ textarea > < br />
  Project code: < input   type = "text"   name = "che_projectCode"   size = "8"   maxlen = "8" />
   < button   type = "submit" > Submit! </ button >
</ form >
</ body >
</ html >


Troubleshooting:

My colleague is having trouble sending me a file?

Ensure that the correct web address is being used: https://dropbox.qub.ac.uk

I received an email with download instructions but the download no longer exists?

Files are only kept for 15 days. If you do not download the file within 15 days it will have to be dropped-off (uploaded) again.

Are my files secure?

If your files contain sensitive information then you should at the very least encrypt the files before uploading them and send the decryption details separately to the recipient. The file transfers operate over https and so this communication is encrypted. However, the email containing the download link is sent as a normal email and is not encrypted so theoretically this email could be intercepted.