Sharing on iCloud Drive

As others have mentioned, there is NO way to share iCloud files or folders as is done with Dropbox. To share a file or folder with iCloud, the recipient must also have an iCloud account. That is so not cool. With Dropbox, you can send a file or folder to ANYONE, whether or not they have a Dropbox account.

Here is a free and painless way to work around this iCloud deficiency:

1. Create a free 2GB Dropbox account if you don't already have one. It is very easy to do this.

2. Copy the file or folder you have in iCloud to your Dropbox folder. The easiest way to do that is to hold down the option key on your Mac while dragging the file or folder into Dropbox. This leaves the original file or folder in iCloud and makes a copy in your Dropbox folder.

3. Right-click (control-click or two-finger click on your trackpad) on your file or folder in Dropbox. This will expose the option menu. Click on "Copy Dropbox Link."

4. Send your recipient a text message, email, etc., pasting in that Dropbox Link.

5. Once your recipient has gained access to the file or folder delete it from your Dropbox folder to keep as much of your free 2GB of storage as possible.

6. Done. Give yourself a pat on the back.

Bottom line...the sharing functionality in Dropbox is vastly superior to what is offered in iCloud. Bad Apple. Bad, bad Apple. Doing the above allows you to continue to use iCloud while having all the enhanced sharing features of Dropbox...and at no cost.

No, it really doesn't help at all. The poster was asking how to share a link in icloud. Your first method does not work. There is no copy link on the modern mac OS. Your second option tells us to copy a link with dropbox... We know how to use dropbox, we want to share a link to a doc we have stored on icloud. If it can't be done someone should just say so.

Short answer is no... I just confirmed this with a test file and a business client. I then doubled checked with apple care... You can share files with a link, but the recipient will need an iCloud account as well to download the file. Dropbox by comparison does NOT require the recipient to have a dropbox account.

If running High Sierra ---- in your iCould documents folder you can right click a file - go down to share - then click "add people" Several share options appear. If you select the "Copy link" option you can then send it to an email address to phone number. That recipient will need their own iCould account to then download the shared file... a big issue in my opinion. I do not want to inconvenience business clients by forcing them to signup for a iCould account (if they dont already have one) just to download a file.

Hi Bruce,

Happy Holidays! You can share files from your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch or from iCloud.com on your PC, as long as they are under 200 MB in size. Click on the links below for complete details.

iWork: Sharing links to documents in iCloud - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203856

If your document is in iCloud, you can share a link to it with others.

1. Tap or click Share in the toolbar on iPad or Mac, or from the Tools menu on iPhone or iPod touch.
2. Choose "Share Link via iCloud." Then, choose a sharing option: Mail, Message, Twitter, Facebook, AirDrop, or Copy (depending on what your Mac or device supports).
3. Provide the necessary information for the sharing option (such as an email address). If you aren’t signed in to your account, you'll be asked to sign in before continuing.

If you're having trouble sharing a link, follow the steps below.

1. Be sure your Mac or iOS device is connected to the Internet.
2. Confirm that iCloud is set up. To set up iCloud, follow the instructions in the iCloud setup guide.
3. Check the size of the document. If it's larger than 200 MB, you won't be able to share it. Reduce the document’s size, and then try sharing it again.
4. Turn off change tracking. To turn off change tracking, first accept or reject all tracked changes.

If you want to share a a document larger than 200 MB or a Pages document with change tracking, send a copy of the document as an attachment instead of sharing a link to it.

To send a copy:

1. Tap or click Share in the toolbar on iPad or Mac, or from the Tools menu on iPhone or iPod touch.
2. Choose "Send a Copy." Then, choose a sending method: Message, Mail, iTunes, WebDav, or AirDrop (depending on what your Mac or device supports).
3. If you haven’t saved the document on your Mac yet, a Save dialog appears. Choose the format and settings for the document. Some file types offer choices for image quality, format options, or passwords.
4. Click Next.
5. Provide the necessary information for the sending method (such as an email address). If you aren’t signed in to a Messages or Mail account, you'll be asked to sign in before continuing.

Note: For AirDrop, the recipient must accept the file before the document is transferred to them.

Last Modified: Nov 8, 2014

iCloud Drive FAQ - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201104

iCloud Drive FAQ

With iCloud Drive, you can safely store all your presentations, spreadsheets, PDFs, images, and any other kind of document in iCloud. Documents you store in iCloud Drive will be kept up to date across all of your devices, and you can access them from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or PC.

Here's what you can do with iCloud Drive:

• Store and access all of your documents in one place from any of your devices
• Keep files and folders up to date across all your devices
• Create new files and folders from iCloud-enabled apps
• Work on the same file across multiple apps

What do I need to use iCloud Drive?

Make sure you have iOS 8 or OS X Yosemite on all of your devices. Here are the requirements:

• iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 8
• Mac with OS X Yosemite
• PC with Windows 7 or later and iCloud for Windows
• Safari 6 or later, Firefox 22 or later, or Google Chrome 28 or later
• An active Internet connection

After you update to iOS 8 or OS X Yosemite, also update your iWork apps (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote) to the latest versions. Learn more about using iWork with iCloud Drive.

When should I upgrade to iCloud Drive?

You can upgrade to iCloud Drive after you update your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch to iOS 8, or your Mac to OS X Yosemite. If you use iWork apps (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote), find out what to expect when you upgrade.

How do I start using iCloud Drive?

If you currently use iCloud, update all of your devices to the required OS (see above). In iOS 8, go to Settings > iCloud > iCloud Drive > Upgrade to iCloud Drive. On your Mac, go to Apple menu > System Preferences > iCloud, sign in with your Apple ID, then select iCloud Drive.

Any documents that you've already stored in iCloud are automatically moved to iCloud Drive when you upgrade.

You can also upgrade at iCloud.com:

1. Sign in to iCloud.com.
2. Select Pages, Numbers, or Keynote. You'll be asked if you want to upgrade to iCloud Drive.
3. Click Upgrade to iCloud Drive.

After I upgrade to iCloud Drive, can I downgrade and go back to using Documents in the Cloud?

No, after you upgrade to iCloud Drive, you can't go back to using Documents in the Cloud. You can turn off iCloud Drive in iOS 8 by going to Settings > iCloud > iCloud Drive. You can turn off iCloud Drive on your Mac by going to Apple menu > System Preferences > iCloud and deselecting iCloud Drive. If you turn off iCloud Drive, your documents and data will no longer be kept up to date across all of your devices.

What if I already upgraded to iCloud Drive but still have devices with iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks?

You won't be able to use iCloud Drive on these devices until you update to iOS 8 or OS X Yosemite. If you already upgraded your account and need to use a device that doesn't support iCloud Drive, you can still work on your documents locally, but they won't be kept up to date with documents on your devices with iOS 8 or OS X Yosemite, or on iCloud.com.

What types of files can I store in iCloud Drive?

You can store any type of file in iCloud Drive, as long as it's less than 15 GB in size. There's no restriction on file type, so you keep all of your work documents, school projects, presentations, and more up to date across all of your devices. Learn more about managing your iCloud Drive files.

I have Apple apps and third-party apps that use Documents in the Cloud. Will they work with iCloud Drive?

All Apple apps that used Documents in the Cloud now use iCloud Drive, and your third-party apps will continue to work as usual after you upgrade. To keep documents and data from these apps up to date across devices, make sure you're using iCloud Drive on iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite. Learn more about using iWork with iCloud Drive.

How do I access all my files in iCloud Drive?

You can access your files in iCloud Drive any of these ways:

• Using any supported web browser, you can go to iCloud Drive or iWork for iCloud beta at iCloud.com. In iWork for iCloud beta, you can find your Pages, Numbers, and Keynote files.
• On your Mac with OS X Yosemite, you can go to iCloud Drive in Finder.
• On your PC with Windows 7 or later and iCloud for Windows, you can go to iCloud Drive in File Explorer.
• On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 8, you can access your files from Apple apps like Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, or any apps that support iCloud Drive.

How much storage do I have in iCloud Drive and how do I get more?

When you sign up for iCloud, you get 5 GB of free storage. Your iCloud storage is used for iCloud Backup, iCloud Drive, iCloud Photo Library beta, and iCloud Mail (your @icloud.com email account). Your purchased music, apps, books, TV shows, and My Photo Stream don't count against your 5 GB of free storage.

You can manage your iCloud storage or buy more storage using your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or PC.

I hope this information helps ....

- Judy

By going to your browser, go to iCloud.com. There insert your account details and choose the file what you want to share. Open it and then copy the link of your address bar of your browser. Then by email you can sent the link. If they have safari a window where you can watch the file, in chrome the browser will download the file immediately. Tried this with a 2 minute video.

Running Mac OS X El Capitan 10.11.4 and copied the link from Safari version 9.1

I agree with eddymike. I have iCloud Drive, and I want to share a link to a file with a PC-using friend of mine. These instructions do not answer the question.

works badly on everything than Safari in highsierra, but there it works really well, pity for the 200 mb limit, always this stingy Mac, hate it, always something wrong