To track document shares and forwarding, share your file with a trackable link and monitor for new viewers, revisits, and (when enabled) viewer identity. When the link is forwarded, you’ll see additional viewers you didn’t directly send it to—those are your “secondary viewers.”
Quick steps (2 minutes)
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Create a trackable share link for your document.
Result: You have one URL that you can reuse across messages. -
Turn on email verification (recommended).
Why it matters: Share tracking is most actionable when you can identify who opened it.
Result: New viewers are captured with an identity, not just “Anonymous.” -
Send the link and watch analytics for new viewers.
Result: You can see when additional people are brought into the conversation.
Step-by-step: detect forwarding (and act on it)
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Open the document’s analytics dashboard.
Result: You see a list of viewers and sessions. -
Look for new viewers you didn’t expect (new emails/domains, new devices).
Why it matters: That’s usually forwarding to a stakeholder (procurement, finance, legal).
Result: You have a shortlist of “who else is involved.” -
Check whether those viewers are high intent (time spent, completion, revisits).
Why it matters: Not every forwarded view matters; a CFO reading pricing twice does.
Result: You know who to prioritize in follow-up. -
If forwarding is unwanted, tighten access controls.
- Enable password protection
- Add an expiration date
- Disable downloads (for view-only)
Result: You reduce casual redistribution and regain control.
Troubleshooting (common edge cases)
- Someone downloaded the PDF and emailed it as an attachment: that copy won’t be trackable anymore. If you need share tracking, keep downloads disabled for that link.
- You see “Anonymous” secondary viewers: require email verification to identify them.
- You want forwarding, but only inside a company: use email verification and monitor domains; if you see an unexpected domain, revoke/rotate the link.
Quick checklist (copy/paste)
- Share link created (not an attachment)
- Email verification enabled (if identity matters)
- I can see unexpected/new viewers (forwarding signal)
- I checked high-intent behavior (time, completion, revisits)
- Password/expiry/download controls set (if sensitive)