Can you make a PDF shareable link? How?

PDF files are one of the most popular ways to store various types of content and share them without losing the format and compromising security. However, if you are planning to share your PDF over email such as Gmail but you cannot because of its large size, as most platforms have a set size limit. In such a situation, the best way to share a PDF file is via creating a link for it and sharing the link with the intended recipient. 

Also, creating a shareable link for your PDF file will solve many issues such as – you can restrict who should view it. Moreover, once a link is generated, all you have to do is to share the link instead of the file. And anyone with that link can get access to that PDF file through that link whenever they like.

In this article, we will discuss how to make a PDF shareable link for easy sharing across platforms.

Methods to create a shareable link for a PDF file 

Let us now take a look at some methods you can opt for to create an URL link that will give others access to your PDF file without any hassle: 

Method 1: Using Google Drive

Google Drive lets you generate a shareable link for your PDF document easily with only a few steps: 

1. First, launch Google Drive and log into your Google account.

2. Find and select the PDF file that you want to share with a recipient. 

3. After that, click on the ‘Share’ button. This will display a pop-up window. 

4. From the ‘Get link’ section, change the option selected by default as ‘Restricted’ to ‘Anyone.’ 

5. Once done, click on ‘Copy Link’ and then click on the blue ‘Done’ button. 

6. Following the above steps will generate a shareable link for your PDF. Anyone with the link can now freely access your PDF document and download it across their devices. 

Method 2: Using OneDrive 

If you want to make a URL link out of your PDF document, you can also consider using OneDrive. By following the below steps you can achieve that: 

1. First, open your web browser and log into your OneDrive account. 

2. After logging in, locate the PDF file you wish to share. 

3. Next, select that file by clicking on it once. This will show three dots beside the name of the selected file. 

4. Click on the three-dot icon to open a dropdown menu. From that menu, click on the ‘Share’ menu. Also, you can click on the ‘Share’ icon that you can find on the top of your screen instead. Both will do the same thing. 

5. Now, you will see a pop-up. Click on the ‘Copy link’ option. 

6. Once you have copied the PDF link, you can share it with your friends, co-workers, or someone else within seconds.

Method 3: Using Dropbox

As was the case with other cloud storage platforms like Google Drive and OneDrive, Dropbox also lets users share their pdf files easily using link sharing. Here’s how:

• Open Dropbox on a platform of your choice.
• Login to your account.
• Next, upload the PDF to your Dropbox storage.

• Right-click on the document to explore the menu options.
• Select the ‘copy link’ option to copy the shareable link. You may also change the settings at your convenience.

What is link sharing?

Link sharing is the practice of sharing a particular file by sending a link to the recipient. When the person who receives the link clicks on it, they get redirected to where the file is stored, that is, the cloud. Therefore, before creating a URL link for your document and sending it to people, you must first store it on an online document storage platform like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. 

Besides sharing individual files, this type of file sharing can come in handy when sending folders or multiple files collected as a group. Naturally, link sharing cuts the consumed time and hassle of attaching each file to a message before sharing them. Because of its convenience, link sharing is quickly becoming the favorite form of file sharing among those who strive for an easy and fast way of sharing files over the internet.  

Things to remember to share links securely

While sharing links is a hassle-free, efficient way of sending files to another person, you should keep in mind a couple of things when creating links out of PDF documents and sharing them. Remembering these things will help you maintain your security while sharing files over the internet: 

• Always research a bit the authenticity and reputation of the link-sharing app you intend to use before creating an account.
• Before creating a link out of your files, make sure you check whether the right privacy and security options are selected. If not, change the settings yourself so that your privacy and safety are not compromised. 
• Once the link is ready, only share it with people you trust. Don’t share it around with everyone. As the link gives direct access to your file to anyone who possesses it, it can be disastrous if someone with bad intentions gets a hold of it.   

Why is a link sharing the best way to share your PDF files?

Shareable links are an awesome way to share files between two or more parties. Because of their numerous benefits. Below are some of those amazing benefits: 

1. Most file-sharing platforms have limitations when it comes to the size of the files. Therefore, users often face trouble while trying to share large files. Also, it sometimes occurs that large files don’t seem to open on the recipient’s device. Sending an URL link to the file can help you mitigate such issues, no matter the file type or size. 
2. Sometimes we have to send a file to multiple recipients. In such cases, shareable links can come in handy. Creating an URL link for that file and sending it to the recipients is both time-saving and convenient. Instead of sending the same file again and again to different individuals, you can quickly share its link, and they will be able to access it. 
3. Shareable links are also a boon to those teams that work remotely. Remote workers that have to collaborate with other team members over the internet can make use of such links. Sharing URL links for files with co-workers helps them to collaborate virtually on projects, files, etc. Nowadays, many file-sharing platforms have introduced the feature to collaborate in real time. This enables teammates to work on the same file together in unison. 
4. Browsing through your computer or smartphone to find a specific file takes time. While it is not much of a problem when you have no work in hand, it becomes annoying when you are busy doing something else. By generating a shareable link for your files, you can just copy that link and paste it to share it on multiple platforms in seconds.

Conclusion

As you can see, sharing and giving others access to your files regardless of their type and size becomes way easier if you opt for shareable links.

In this tutorial, we talked about the process of link sharing in detail and gave you some methods to make a PDF shareable link. From bypassing size restrictions to sending the same file to multiple recipients easier to enabling remote collaboration among teammates – link sharing has multiple superb advantages. So, what are you waiting for? Shift to link sharing from traditional file sharing and see the magic happen right in front of your eyes.