A Share Link provides access to specific files or folders for people outside your site. You can configure a Share Link to allow downloads, uploads to a folder, or full access, including uploading, downloading, renaming, and deleting files.

When a visitor accesses a Share Link, the Share Link page limits access to the permissions configured for that link. The page uses the language preferred by the visitor's browser by default. Visitors can choose another language from the language selector in the page header.

While many business-critical file exchanges rely on systems automatically transferring files between other systems, sometimes you need to exchange files without a regular schedule. This is known as ad hoc sharing.

Onboarding and off-boarding users for one-time or short-term file exchange isn't always feasible because it requires too much time, and a limited number of staff have the necessary administration privileges.

Share Links provide human-centric, web-based, ad hoc methods of exchanging files with people who are not users in your account. In the world of MFT (Managed File Transfer) this capability is often referred to as Ad Hoc File Transfer.

Administrators enforce security requirements to protect your organization from shadow IT solutions and risky personal file sharing practices while still meeting your users' requirements for ease of use.

File Exchange Choices

The link's contents, visitor permissions, and access controls determine the exchange. Choose them for what the recipient needs to do and how long that access should last.

Fixed Deliveries and Current Files

A Snapshot Share Link sends a fixed copy, including files uploaded directly from your device. It fits a completed report or package that recipients should receive unchanged. Set an expiration date to end recipient access; the snapshot's retention rules determine whether its stored copy is removed.

A live Share Link presents the current contents of its selected folders. Use it when recipients need updated documents or a place to contribute files. Download-and-upload access lets visitors add files without replacing existing ones. Full access also allows replacement, renaming, moving, and deletion, and enables online document editing when the site's editor settings permit it. Choose that authority only for collaborators trusted to manage the shared contents.

Preview Access

Previews-only access removes the normal download action. A watermark can identify the registered visitor in an image or PDF preview, but cannot prevent saving or capturing content delivered to the browser. Combine the link's access controls with an appropriate audience and clickwrap when agreement to terms is part of the exchange.

Submissions and Responses

An upload-only live link lets people submit files without seeing other submissions. For a submission deadline, set the link's expiration date. Registration fields can capture a project or reference number and supply the values for upload subfolders; upload receipts confirm arrival to submitters.

To distribute a template while collecting completed copies in a separate folder, associate an Inbox with a download link. For a room involving accounts, Partner Users, or separate submission folders, Designing a Virtual Data Room explains how to assemble those capabilities.

Invitations to a Defined Audience

For a project specification sent to a list of contractors, Share Groups can supply the invitation list. Require invitation-based access when the link should be limited to those recipients, and registration when you need to review which invitees accessed it. Invitation and registration records show access to the link, rather than completion of a bid or other business response.

The Desktop App creates Share Links from Windows Explorer, macOS Finder, or its own transfer window. Right-clicking a file or folder you have sharing permission for offers a Create Share Link option, and the link it builds is an ordinary Share Link you manage in the web app like any other.

If you use Classic Outlook for Windows, the Outlook Add-In lets you create and send share links without leaving Outlook. Instead of attaching a file to your email, the add-in uploads it to Files.com, generates a Snapshot Share Link automatically, and inserts it into your email body. All site-level Share Link settings apply automatically, including password protection, expiration, and recipient restrictions.

Share Links are designed for ad hoc, human-centric file exchange, but they aren't the right fit for every situation. If your aim is to allow remote scripts to access your files via the web, use Public Hosting instead. The sections below cover when to reach for an Inbox or a User Account instead.

The most important difference between Share Links and Inboxes is that Inboxes are permanent, and never expire. Share Links are designed for temporary use. If you want to make a public upload webpage available for a long period of time use an Inbox for that upload instead.

Inboxes are intended only for collecting files, but Share Links allow access to multiple folders and files, allowing visitors to download or upload or both.

Site Administrators and users with admin rights for a folder create and manage Inboxes. If you want other users to create their own upload links, use Share Links. To ensure that uploads from web visitors only occur in specific folders in your site, use Inboxes to define where those uploads will go.

Inboxes allow people to submit files through email. Share Links only work with web submissions. If you'd like to enable email uploads, use an Inbox configured to accept emails.

Share Links support full access for web visitors, providing an experience much like the Files section of the web interface, but with less work than onboarding your contacts as users of your Files.com site. However, certain features of user accounts are not supported by Share Links, and creating user accounts makes more sense for certain cases.

Users receive automatic email notifications. If you are sharing files with an external party on a regular, recurring basis, it's often desirable to automatically send notifications when there are new files for them to download. Email notifications are only sent to users and user groups; to take advantage of automated notifications, your counterparty must have a user account for your site.

User accounts support advanced authentication and two-factor authentication methods, while Share Links only support password authentication. If your organization requires two-factor authentication for all file exchange, you'll need to create Users rather than using Share Links.

User accounts connect in multiple ways (web, API, SDK, CLI, protocol-based file transfer, desktop apps, and mobile apps), while Share Links only allow file transfers through a web page. If your contacts need any other supported methods, create a User account for them.