How to create a link for a PDF and track views

Before you start

• You need a HummingDeck account and a PDF up to 100 MB. The video uses a finished five-page proposal for a buyer.
• The video creates a Personal Link with Anyone with the link access, so your recipient opens the PDF in a browser without a HummingDeck account. Anyone who has the URL can open it: the recipient's name labels the link but does not verify who viewed it. Verified email and Restricted access require Pro or Business.
• Recorded views and visit time are available on every plan. Page Engagement, which shows the time recorded on each page, starts on Starter, the plan used in the video.

Follow the steps

1. Upload the PDF

   In your Library, choose Add document and upload the PDF. Keep Preview in browser selected so your recipient can read it page by page. Wait for processing to finish, then open the document.

2. Create and copy the link

   Choose New link. Keep Personal Link selected, leave access on Anyone with the link, and type your recipient's name. Choose Generate Link, then Copy. The name labels the link; HummingDeck does not email your recipient for you.

3. Send it in your own email

   Paste the link into your email and send it as usual. Your recipient opens it in any browser and reads the PDF page by page, without signing up or needing to download the file. Test the link in a separate browser before sending it, and account for your own test visits when you review activity.

4. Check the recorded view and time

   Back in HummingDeck, open the document's Links tab to see the view recorded on your recipient's link. Open Analytics to see how long the visit lasted. On Starter and above, Page Engagement shows the time recorded on each page; in the video, the pricing page has the most, so the follow-up starts there. Recorded time is an engagement signal, not proof that someone read or agreed with a page, and a forwarded link records visits under the same link.

5. Share several documents in a Room

   To send the PDF together with other documents, a video, and a booking calendar, add them to a Room and share one Room link. The related file-sharing tutorial below shows how to create and share a Room. Room activity records tabs visited and time, not playback or bookings inside an embedded video or calendar.

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