Visiting A Share Link

When you visit a share link, you may be prompted to fill out a form or agree to a policy. Not every share link includes these items, and the contact who is sharing with you decides what to include on the registration form.

The contact who created the share link decided what actions visitors to the link (you) can take. Here are the possible options:

You might only have access to preview items in the share link. When you visit a preview only share link, clicking on a file will display a preview of the file rather than downloading it. Some types of files cannot be previewed. Most video, image, Microsoft Office document and PDFs can be previewed.

You might be able to download items, but not make any other changes. When you visit a share link which permits only downloads, clicking on a file will download the file. You can also click the button for Download All or check the boxes next to specific folders or files to select only some items for downloading. Once those items are selected, a new button labeled Download will download only those selected items. You can also display a preview for videos, images, Microsoft Office documents and PDFs by clicking the "..." button on each item.

You might be able to upload to the share link, but not see any items for download, even if you visited the link before to upload items. When you visit a share link that permits only uploads, you will see an empty folder to upload files. Begin uploading by dragging files from your computer's folder explorer onto the section that reads Drag files here.... You can also use the Upload files and Upload folder buttons to pick the files you can upload. Once your upload starts, you'll see the status of each item that is being uploaded in a small sub-window of the main screen.

Some share links permit you to both upload and download. A share link that allows you to upload and download will display buttons for Download all along with the New folder button, Upload files button, and Upload folder button. You can click on a file name to download that file. You can also click the button for Download All or check the boxes next to specific folders or files to select only some items for downloading. Once those items are selected, a new button labeled Download will download only those selected items. To upload, drag files from your computer's folder explorer onto the section that reads Drag files here... . You can also use the Upload files and Upload folder buttons to pick the files you can upload. Once your upload starts, you'll see the status of each item that is being uploaded in a small sub-window of the main screen.

You might have full access to a share link. When you visit a share link that grants you full access, you can download files and folders, upload files and folders, create new folders, delete items, rename items, and move or copy items. You can click on a file name to download that file. You can also click the button for Download All or check the boxes next to specific folders or files to select only some items for downloading. Once those items are selected, a new button labeled Download will download only those selected items. To upload, drag files from your computer's folder explorer onto the section that reads Drag files here.... You can also use the Upload files and Upload folder buttons to pick the files you can upload. Once your upload starts, you'll see the status of each item that is being uploaded in a small sub-window of the main screen. To delete, move or copy items, check the boxes next to the files or folders you want to affect, then click the button for your action (which will appear above the listing of files).

For a share link that allows you to preview or download files, the file and folder listing will be displayed in alphabetical order. You can sort the listing of the files by clicking on the different column headers (name, last modified or size). Clicking on a header that is already the sort reverses the sort order.

When you receive an emailed invitation to a share link, the message will include a large button labeled Open Shared Files. By clicking that button, your web browser will open a personalized URL for your share link. This link is specific to your email address, and you should not forward it to other people.

If you receive an unexpected email from any contact urging you to click on a link, it's always good practice to follow up through another channel (such as a phone call) with the person who sent you the message to verify its authenticity. You can verify that the link target of the Open Shared Files button goes to the correct address by right-clicking on the button text and choosing Copy Link Address to copy the URL to your system clipboard. You can then paste the address into a text editor (such as Notepad) to view the address and verify it isn't sending you to an unsafe site.

The person who sends you an email invitation to a share link may choose to enable extra security for the link. As a result, when you click on an emailed share link, a session is created and saved in the web browser's local storage, which is tied to that specific web browser and the email address that received the link. If the link is then visited in a different browser (either on the same computer or another computer), the share link will display an error that the invitation has already been used. If the system detects that this has happened, it will automatically generate a new email with a new link and re-send it to the original email address.

It's possible that your contact will send you a URL for a share link through a different system, such as slack or their own email account. Usually the link will take you to your contact's subdomain at files.com such as https://example.files.com/f/823942 . Follow up with the contact who provided the link if you're unsure it's safe.

You may be directed to a web page that contains an embedded interface to access a share link. In this case, you can interact directly with the parts of the share link without visiting any other pages. Any file transfers will be encrypted and carried out with Files.com's platform.