How do I turn a file into a link?
Upload it somewhere that serves files on the web and gives you an address to share. There are three common ways. A cloud drive (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive) set to "anyone with the link" is free and fine for colleagues. A link page such as Droply gives the file a clean page and an address you choose, which reads better for clients and works for websites too. Your own website only makes sense if you already have one.
Option 1: Share it from Google Drive or Dropbox
If the file is already in a cloud drive, this is the quickest route.
- Google Drive: right-click the file, choose Share, change General access from Restricted to "Anyone with the link", then copy the link.
- Dropbox: click Share next to the file and copy the link.
The person who opens it sees the drive's own preview page. PDFs and images preview well. Very large files show a warning that Google Drive can't scan them for viruses, which makes some people hesitate to download.
Two things to watch. Drive files are Restricted by default, so if you forget to change the access, your client gets a "Request access" screen instead of the file. And the link is a long string of letters, so it is hard to read out or print.
Need to change the file later? Drive's Manage versions option lets you upload a new version under the same link.
Option 2: Upload it to Droply
- Go to droply.so and type the name you want for the link, for example
spring-menu. - Drop the file on the upload box. You can drop several files at once.
- Sign in with Google or with a code sent to your email. The link,
spring-menu.droply.page, works as soon as the upload finishes.
What people see depends on the file:
| You upload | People who open the link see |
|---|---|
| A PDF | A viewer with page thumbnails and a download button |
| An image (JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP, SVG) | The image |
| A video (MP4, WebM, MOV) | A video player |
| An HTML file, or a ZIP of a website | The website |
| Any other file | A page with a download button |
| Several files | One page listing them all, with "Download all" |
Nobody needs an account to open the link. The free plan holds one project up to 10 MB and does not expire; Starter takes 100 MB and Plus 1 GB.
To change the file later, open the project in your dashboard, click Update and replace the file. The link stays the same, so everyone who has it sees the new version.
Option 3: Your own website
If you already run a website, you can upload the file there. In WordPress, every file you add to the Media Library gets its own address, shown in the file's details. Developers can also use object storage such as Amazon S3 or Cloudflare R2, which gives a direct file address and charges for storage and traffic beyond a free allowance.
Which kind of link to use when
- A colleague who works in Google Workspace or Dropbox: share from the drive.
- A client, or a link you will print as a QR code: use a link page with a readable name.
- A website you made, including one from ChatGPT or Claude: you need a host that serves websites, not a drive. See How to share a page you made with ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.
- A file of several gigabytes: a cloud drive or a transfer service handles that better. Droply's free plan is for files up to 10 MB.
Make the link nicer to receive
- Pick a readable name.
acme-proposalis easier to trust than a string of random letters. Choose it before you send: renaming a Droply project later breaks the old link. - Add a QR code for print. Our free QR Code Generator works for any link.
- Keep private files private. See How to password-protect a file you share.
- Check the size first. The File Size Checker tells you whether a file fits email and upload limits.