How to make a download link for a PDF
A download link for a PDF is a web address that serves the file itself, so the person who opens it can save the document rather than being sent to a folder or a sign-in screen. On Snapy, uploading a PDF and verifying an email address once produces that link. The PDF opens in the reader's browser. A new PDF link starts view-only, so switch downloads on and the viewer then carries a download control that saves the original file.
- Drop the PDF into the box above.
- Verify an email address. The link goes live as soon as that address is confirmed.
- In the dashboard, open the link's menu and turn on Allow download. A new PDF link starts view-only, with no download control. To skip this step for every future document, turn on Allow downloads on documents in the default link settings.
- Send the link.
Opening and downloading are two different things
Most people asking for a download link want one of two outcomes, and they are not the same.
Reading: the recipient should see the document immediately, in the browser, without saving anything. A proposal, a menu, a report or a price list is usually read once and never kept.
Keeping: the recipient needs the file on their device. An invoice, a form to fill in, a ticket or a manual is meant to be saved.
A Snapy link can do both from one address. The PDF opens in the browser first, which is the better default, and once downloads are switched on the reader saves it from the viewer when they want a copy. Downloads start off for documents, so a link meant for keeping needs Allow download turned on before it is sent.
Turning downloading off
View-only is where a new PDF link starts, and it can be switched back on for any link that had downloads allowed. It removes the download control from the viewer. The PDF can still be read in the browser, page by page, but the page offers no way to save it.
View-only suits a document that is meant to be read rather than circulated further. A draft under discussion, a set of figures shared with one client, or a document sent before a meeting. It is not a copy-protection system: anyone who can read a document on screen can photograph it, and view-only makes casual saving harder rather than impossible.
What gets counted
Opens and downloads are counted separately on every link, so a link that was opened forty times and downloaded twice is easy to tell apart from one downloaded forty times. Both figures appear on the link's own analytics page, along with the countries readers came from, where the visit came from, and total reading time.
Knowing which reader downloaded the file, and how long each reader spent on each page, is part of Snapy Pro.
Size, and why a link beats an attachment
A single file can be up to 150MB. Email providers commonly reject attachments over about 25MB, and that rejection usually happens after the message is sent rather than while it is being written, so the sender finds out last. A link carries no weight in the message and does not bounce.
Where to go next
- Turn a PDF into a link: the main PDF link generator.
- Share a document securely: add a password or an expiry date.
- Document tracking: what the analytics page shows once a link is opened.