Documentation

Activity, Notifications, and Audit

After a Share Link is in use, three different mechanisms let you know what's happening with it. Per-link access logs record every visit and file action in detail. Share Link notifications email your users when significant events occur (invitations sent, registrations completed, files uploaded). The Share Link Audit Report exports a site-wide CSV of every Share Link for compliance or periodic review. Use each one for the question it answers, and use them together when the situation needs it.

Per-Link Access Logs

To manage your Share Links well, you need to know who accessed each link and what they did. Files.com provides detailed Access Logs for every Share Link.

Each time a visitor completes a registration or performs a file activity (download, upload, delete, move, or copy) within your Share Link, the activity is recorded in the access logs for the Share Link. Anyone who can manage the Share Link can review its logs.

The Share Link action logs capture the timestamp, the action performed, the affected file paths, and the registration information. This information is retained for one year, or until the Share Link is removed, whichever comes first.

All file activity for a Share Link is also captured in the history logs for the relevant folder, but those folder history logs do not include registration information.

Share Link Notifications notify your users of significant points in the sharing workflow: when recipients are invited to a Share Link, when the invitation is accepted by the recipient completing their registration, and when visitors upload to a Share Link that permits uploads.

Share Link Notification emails can only be sent to your account users, never to external contacts. If you have a use case that would require non-users to receive email notifications for a Share Link, contact us so we can learn more about your needs. To send confirmation emails to visitors rather than to your users, configure upload receipts instead.

Three site-wide sharing settings determine whether Share Link Notifications are generated. The Link invitation notifications setting determines whether the Share Link owner receives an email listing the recipients invited to a Share Link. The Link registration notifications setting controls whether email notifications can be generated for users when visitors access a Share Link. The Email notifications for uploads setting controls email notifications to users when visitors upload to a Share Link.

Notify Users When Recipients Are Invited

Link invitation notifications are emails listing all of the invited recipients for a Share Link and which paths were shared in the link. The notification is sent to the Share Link owner. Even after a Share Link has been removed from your site, the original email provides an audit trail proving that files were previously shared.

When the site-wide Link invitations notifications setting is enabled, the user who created each Share Link receives an email each time a recipient is invited to a Share Link. The setting applies to all Share Links in the site, and only the link owner is notified about invitations to that link.

When the site-wide Link invitations notifications setting is disabled, the email is not generated when recipients are invited.

Notify Users When Registration is Recorded

Link registration notifications are emails generated for a user when a web visitor accesses a Share Link's URL for the very first time. The notification email includes any registration information collected from the visit.

Link registration notifications are particularly helpful when you embed a Share Link on another web page, because visitors access embedded Share Links without receiving an email invitation. Unless you've enabled registrations, you won't know exactly who accessed the embedded link or how many different people are accessing it.

When the site-wide Link registration notifications setting is set to Never send notifications, users cannot enable registration notifications for any Share Links.

When the site-wide Link registration notifications setting is set to Always send notifications, the user who created each Share Link automatically has a notification created to alert them when a visitor registers for their link. Additional registration notifications can be added for other users within a Share Link's settings.

When the Link registration notifications setting is set to Can be set per Share Link, users decide whether to add registration notifications by changing a Share Link's settings.

Only folder admins and Site Administrators can use this feature in the web interface to create notifications for other users, because admin-level access is required to list the user IDs in your site.

Notify Users When Files are Uploaded

A Share Link notification triggered by uploads includes a list of the files uploaded by the visitor and any registration information collected from them. The email is generated after the visitor leaves the Share Link page, 5 minutes after their upload finishes, or 1 hour after the page is opened (if they did not upload), whichever comes first.

When the site-wide Email notifications for uploads setting is set to Never send notifications, users cannot enable upload notifications for any Share Links.

When the site-wide Email notifications for uploads setting is set to Always send notifications, a notification is created for the Share Link owner to alert them when a visitor uploads to their link. Additional upload notifications can be added for other users within a Share Link's settings.

When the Email notifications for uploads setting is set to Can be set per Share Link, users decide whether to enable upload notifications in each Share Link's settings.

Only folder admins and Site Administrators can use this feature in the web interface to create notifications for other users, because admin-level access is required to list the user IDs in your site.

The most important difference between Share Link Notifications and folder-based Email Notifications is their intended use. Email Notifications alert users to significant events taking place within specific folders. Share Link Notifications track the workflow of human-centric sharing.

Folder-based Email Notifications are triggered by file actions and are best employed for monitoring automated processes. Email Notifications have numerous settings available to target them narrowly for specific file actions, specific file names, or specific people performing those actions.

Share Link Notifications track how a Share Link visitor has interacted with the link. They are sent when a new contact is invited, when a visitor completes the registration, and when a visitor uploads to a Share Link. Only activity from a Share Link visitor triggers Share Link Notifications, so the registration information for each visitor is included in the notification email.

Expiration Bypasses

Site Administrators and Read-Only Administrators can list which Share Links currently have the Bypass Site-Wide Share Link Expiration Policy setting enabled.

The Share Link Audit Export provides a detailed CSV report of all Share Links created within your site, including who they were shared with, what kind of access was granted, and whether or not each link was accessed.

Site Administrators and Read-Only Site Administrators can run this report. It identifies which links are active or expired, shows what was shared and with whom, and surfaces the access level granted to each recipient. Use it to verify that your sharing practices match your security policies.

What's Included in the Report

The export is presented as a CSV file. Each row in the report corresponds to a specific Share Link on your site that has not been revoked. It includes sharing details and, if applicable, registration information, regardless of whether the link was ever accessed or used. If a Share Link was shared with or accessed by multiple users, it may appear in multiple rows.

Each column represents the following:

Column	Description
`code`	Unique identifier for the Share Link.
`url`	The full URL of the Share Link.
`description`	Optional description associated with the Share Link.
`permissions`	Access level granted by the link (e.g., read, full).
`password_protected?`	Indicates if the link is password-protected.
`registration_required?`	Whether registration was required to access the link.
`expired?`	Whether the Share Link has expired.
`expires_at`	Date when the link is set to expire (if applicable).
`shared_by`	Username of the person who created the Share Link.
`invitation_sent?`	Whether a direct invitation was sent to the recipient.
`public_registration?`	Indicates whether public registration was allowed.
`registered?`	Whether the recipient completed registration.
`email`	Email address of the recipient (if applicable).
`name`	Name provided by the recipient (if applicable).
`company`	Company name entered during registration (if applicable).
`ip_address`	IP address from which the link was accessed (if applicable).
`registration_date`	Date and time the recipient registered (if applicable).
`last_activity_date`	Date and time of the most recent link access (if applicable).

Activity, Notifications, and Audit

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