Send documents: PDFs, contracts and scans

A document transfer has to deliver the right version, in a format the other side can open. For a small PDF, an email attachment may be enough. For a folder of scans, a contract with its schedules or an archive, a transfer link lets you send the files together and choose how long they stay available.

Prepare PDFs, contracts, archives and scans

• PDFs: open the file before you send it and check the pages, the orientation and that it is legible. A PDF full of images can be much larger than one made of text.
• Contracts: pick the version that is going out, check the schedules, and take drafts and internal notes out of the delivery. Put the date or version in the file name so the recipient does not mix it up with another.
• Archives: a ZIP bundles documents and subfolders, but it does not guarantee much of a size reduction. Open the archive and check what is in it before you upload.
• Scans: check that every page is there, in the right order, with no cut-off edges or blurred text. If you shrink the images, check the figures and the important details again.

For a set with subfolders, see how to send a whole folder. On a phone, separate PDFs can be easier for the recipient than an archive they have to unzip.

When an email attachment is not the right fit

Choose another method when the documents together go over the message limit, when the recipient's mail server refuses archives, or when you want access through the link to end after a set time. The limit of the receiving mailbox counts too, not only yours. Check the email attachment size limits before you compress the set or split it across several emails.

You can still send the link by email, with a note about the documents and how long they stay available. If you need to edit the same document together or manage access by name, a shared Google Drive folder or your organisation's own platform can suit you better than delivering a copy. Stick to the document exchange method your organisation accepts.

How to send the documents by link

1. Open Transferify, add the documents and check the list of selected files.
2. Choose Hosted if the recipient will download later. Set the expiry and, if your plan allows it, a password for the transfer.
3. If you are not signed in yet, confirm your email address when the app asks for it. The recipient does not need an account to download.
4. Keep the tab open until the upload has finished. If it closes earlier, the upload pauses and you can continue it in the same browser.
5. Copy the full link and send it to the right person, with the list of documents and the expiry you chose. Send the password separately from the link.

Instant transfer suits the moment when you are both online: the files go straight between the browsers, and the sender's tab has to stay open until the recipient has finished downloading. The difference between the two methods is explained in the guide on how to send large files.

Password and expiry for documents

Password protection starts on the Basic plan. The transfer password is entered when the link is opened. It is not your account password, and it does not replace a password you have already put on the PDF or the archive. Share it over a separate channel. Whoever has both the link and the password can pass them on, so the password does not check who the recipient is.

Choose an expiry that gives the recipient time to download without leaving the documents available longer than needed. Expiry does not pull back copies already saved. The options available to your account are on the pricing page, which reads the same plan catalogue used at checkout. To extend a link or deal with an expired one, see how long a transfer link lasts.

What the recipient has to do

The recipient opens the link in a browser, enters the password if you set one, and downloads the files one by one or together as a ZIP. They do not need a Transferify account. Once downloaded, a PDF opens in any compatible program and an archive has to be unzipped; the transfer does not change the format of the documents.

If the link has expired, or has reached the maximum number of downloads you set for that transfer (a limit you can set from the Basic plan), the recipient asks you for a new link.

If you have used every download available to your account this month, you have run out of the account's monthly allowance, not just one transfer's limit. A new link does not reset that allowance. You can open access again by moving to a plan with more downloads, or by waiting for the allowance to reset next month, as long as the link has not expired by then.

If the password does not work, check the transfer password separately from any password on the document itself. Keep the originals until you have confirmation that the files open correctly.

What a download alert confirms

Download alerts are available from the Basic plan. You get an email when a download of the transfer is requested, up to ten emails a day for one transfer. That tells you someone started a download, not that it finished, not who made it, and not that anyone read the documents. Simply opening the link page does not count as a download.

For a contract with schedules or an important set of papers, ask for a separate reply: the recipient confirms they received every file and can open it. Sending a document does not mean its content has been accepted.

Send the documents once you have checked the files, the recipient and how long the link should stay open.