Recent update breaks sharing workflow

Development
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I allowed the ownCloud desktop client to update itself this week. I'm on OS X El Capitan.

I've been using ownCloud for a year now, I think, self-hosted on Digital Ocean. I haven't upgraded my server yet—that's on my to do list.

The recent desktop client update broke what was a painless workflow. I LOVED that sharing on the desktop was as easy as Dropbox. I'd 'right-click' on a file, choose ownCloud > Share, and immediately get a screen where I could set an expiration date, password, and copy a link to share. EASY.

Now when I click "Share..." I first encounter a lag, even after the file's icon has flipped to a green checkmark. This didn't happen before. I get a message: "The file can not be shared because it was shared without sharing permission." I don't know what that means, and I have to wait it out, wondering when it'll be safe to click.

When I finally get a successful click, I have to click from Users and Groups to Public Links and then click "Create public link share." Only after I click that button can I choose to set a password or expiration date, and I have to click the "..." button only to review multiple options to copy the link to the clipboard. I don't need to manage multiple public link shares. I need a quick path to create one and copy the link.

I get that you added more powerful options here, but you complicated what was a very straightforward and productive workflow. I'd save a file I needed to send someone somewhere in my ownCloud folder, wait for the checkmark to flip green, right-click to share, and then copy a link. Boom. Done. Now I'm waiting for an obtuse error message to resolve itself, and wading through levels of options for that simple function.

This is not an improvement.

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I liked in 2.4 a lot that private links are now very easy to do ... readying your post it indeed seems we added options and made public links somewhat more difficult ... I am sure the devs will chime in and appreciate a great discussion about this!
(Full disclosure I am Chief Product Officer at ownCloud)

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Thanks for the reply! To expand on my use case, here's how I'm using ownCloud:

  1. I'm not managing users or doing any team collaboration. This is my private, cloud-based backup solution for files in my ownCloud folder.

  2. I don't do private sharing at all—I'm not sharing files with others who can log in. If I'm concerned about a file getting out into the wild, I set an expiration date. I might've set a file password once or twice, but no need for overhead.

  3. I hate attaching files to emails. If I send a client a proposal (PDF), or need to share a document with someone, I quickly share a public ownCloud link. I also share public links to folders of images as galleries.

So for me, the public link options were everything. ownCloud gives me a secure repository/backup for my important files and an easy way to share files with others by email.