How to Share PDFs

There are many benefits to the PDF format. Information is printed exactly as it appears in the document, switching to PDF cuts paper costs and PDFs are secure enough to send out to anyone. Its clear PDFs are taking over and we felt it would be helpful to examine how to share PDFs.

There really would be no point in spending time perfecting a PDF file, only to be left with no simple options to get it out to the world.  Especially when PDFs can be opened on any device, including mobile options, which gives you a wider audience to reach. Virtually anyone can receive and open your file, you will benefit from knowing how to share PDFs.  

You’ll need a tool like Soda PDF, then you’ll create and edit your PDF files as needed. Once ready, you have a couple of options for sharing your PDF.

1- How to share PDFs via email

The simplest way to share PDFs is using an email platform. The benefit of sending by email is you control who accesses this file.

When working in Soda PDF, send the email from within the application.

1. Click File.

1. Choose Send.
2. Click Email.
3. Select the Send

Your PDF will open, attached in an Outlook email window, now you’ll send it off.

If you are not using Outlook, login to any email client and attach the file in an email.

1. Click the Attach (Paperclip) and then choose your file. 

2- How to share PDFs via a link – Do it yourself method 

You can also upload your PDF to a link. In addition to facilitating publishing your files to external sources, you retain control over the file that is sent out.

The basic process for getting your PDF to a link is:

1. Upload your file to a system or server that can generate a link.
2. Use that platform to create your link.

This sounds hard and complicated but there is a really simple way to pull this off on your own.

Soda PDF lets you save files directly into one of the following virtual cloud spaces. Click on each option for more instructions on setting it up.

1. Dropbox
2. OneDrive
3. Google Drive
4. Box

This article will use Dropbox as an example.

1. Save your file to Dropbox in Soda PDF.
   1. Click on Add a Place to see a list of all virtual drives in Soda PDF.

Your file will be uploaded to your Dropbox account.

1. Open your web browser then login to Dropbox.
2. Hover your mouse over the …
3. Choose Share.

1. In the window that opens, choose Create a Link.

Dropbox will now create a unique Dropbox URL for your specific file.

1. Click Copy link.

With the link now copied, go ahead and paste it wherever. You can get this link from your Dropbox account at any time. Any time someone clicks the link, they’ll be given the option to download the file. Anyone trying to access the file will need a Dropbox account, but anyone can create an account for free.

Each virtual drive system will have their own version of this process.

3- How to share PDFs via a link – Using your IT department. 

In the event you have access to an IT department with server space, get them to create a link for your PDF. The main advantage here is you can customize your URL, letting you send out the file without anyone needing to create an account in a third-party system.

The downside of this method is that without the infrastructure in place, it won’t be possible.

All you need to do is give them your PDF and tell them the URL that you want to use. They can upload the file to a server and provide you with that URL.

Please note unless you have access to the server yourself, any time you make changes to your PDF, your IT department will need to re-upload the PDF file.

No matter how you go about sharing your PDF files, we encourage you to download Soda PDF and create some new documents.