This page is for ZIP archives, Office documents, and the other non-media files ShareKit will store. Images, video, audio, and PDFs each have their own page because those files preview. A ZIP does not.
Attachment limits versus a link
These mailbox caps are the vendors’ published numbers, and they can change. They are here so you can see why a design handoff dies in email.
| Path | What the recipient gets | Documented ceiling |
|---|---|---|
| Gmail attachment | The file inside the email | 25MB total. Google’s attachment-size help |
| Outlook.com attachment | The file inside the email | 20MB. Microsoft’s large-file note |
| ShareKit link | A URL in the email. The bytes stay on the share page. | Up to 2GB per file. Under 20MB is free. Larger files use credits and require an account. |
Example: a 300MB design-asset ZIP
An agency packs fonts, layered exports, and a readme into brand-kit.zip at 300MB. Gmail and Outlook.com will both reject that attachment. The credit function charges 29 credits for a 300MB archive, so the sender signs in, uploads, and mails only https://sharekit.app/s/k7nq2wpx (an example, not a live file). The client opens a download card, saves the ZIP, and unpacks it locally. The share page does not preview Photoshop documents inside the archive. The account upload is stored with a 30-day expiry. If the client needs the same URL next quarter, buy Keep One File on that upload so the stored date covers the quarter; that moves one file out by at least a year and still allows only five replacements. Delete it when the handoff is finished.
7 days, 30 days, or one paid year
- Guest, and only when the file is under 20MB: the upload stores a 7-day expiry.
- Signed-in account: the upload record is written with a 30-day expiry.
- Keep One File, $4.99, after the upload exists: that one file’s expiry moves out by a year. The URL and QR code stay the same.
Do not treat a public link as a private folder. Anyone with the address can download the file unless you set a password. A password is optional on Pro and Business: the recipient enters it on the share page, and ShareKit stores only a hash. When the stored expiry date passes, the page, the download, and the QR stop serving the file and show that the share is offline. Delete the upload if it should go offline sooner.
ZIP, Office, and what is refused
Archives (ZIP, RAR, 7z, TAR, GZ) and Office files (DOCX, PPTX, XLS, XLSX, CSV, TXT, MD, RTF, ODT, ODS, ODP) are accepted. Documents other than PDF show a download card, not an editor. Executables and installers — including EXE, DMG, APK, and similar extensions — are rejected. CAD files are not on the allow list; put them in a ZIP if the recipient can open that archive. Replacing the file later, up to five times, keeps the same share address if the upload is on your account.
Steps for a handoff that will not fit in email
- Zip anything the allow list will not take, and skip installers.
- Sign in if the archive is 20MB or larger. Confirm the credit cost before you leave the tab.
- Send the share page. Keep your own copy; the link is not a backup, and a downloaded ZIP is the only copy the recipient will have after expiry.
What you can tell after the link is sent
Every file keeps running totals for views, downloads, and QR scans, including on the free plan. Pro and Business add a day-by-day table in the file dashboard, plus an optional email the first time a visitor opens the share page or downloads the file. That email goes to your verified address and does not name the visitor. The same plans can put a password on the share page. These controls live on the saved file, not on a separate public stats URL.
- Pricing — Pro and Business include day-by-day stats, a password, and the first-open alert.
- PDF to URL — use this when the file should preview in the browser and the printed QR has to survive a replacement.
- When a file link should expire — how 7 days, 30 days, and one year map to the object you are printing or sending.
- File-sharing analytics — what the view, download, and scan counts are actually counting.
- Use cases — menus, manuals, events, and client materials.
When the attachment should have been a link
- Sales proposals and client materials — decks and quotation sheets the client should open without a mailbox bounce.
- Sharing a ZIP by link — packing a folder when one file is the wrong shape.
- Stop sending attachments — the mailbox problems this page is the practical answer to.
Questions about sending a file by link
Why is a 300MB design ZIP not a guest upload?
It costs 29 credits. Any upload with a credit cost above zero requires a signed-in account. Guest upload is only available when the cost is zero, which is files under 20MB.
Can I upload a DWG, DXF, or other CAD file directly?
No. Those extensions are not on the allow list, so the uploader rejects them. Zip the CAD export with the fonts or references the recipient needs, and upload the archive. They download it and open it locally. There is no in-browser CAD viewer.
Does a ZIP get a file browser on the share page?
No. Archives, including ZIP, RAR, 7z, TAR, and GZ, show a download card. ShareKit does not list the files inside the archive and does not add a password to it.
What is the difference between a 7-day guest link and a paid year?
Under 20MB with no account: a stored 7-day expiry. Signed in: a stored 30-day expiry. Keep One File is a $4.99 purchase that moves that date out by at least a year for one upload, its URL, and its QR code. When the stored date passes, the public page, download, and QR stop serving the file. Pro and Business do not change that date; they add a password, day-by-day counts, and a first-open email.
Can I put a password on a file link?
Yes, on Pro or Business. Recipients type it on the share page before the preview or download. ShareKit stores a hash, not the password. Without a password, anyone with the address can open the file. A password is a gate, not a private folder.
Can I see which day a file was opened?
Every saved file keeps total views, downloads, and QR scans. Pro and Business also show those counts by day in the file dashboard, and can send one email the first time someone other than the owner opens or downloads the file. That email does not include the visitor’s address or IP.
Guest uploads store a 7-day expiry. Account uploads store a 30-day expiry. Keep One File ($4.99) moves that date out by at least a year for one file, its URL, and its QR code. When that date passes, the public page, download, and QR stop serving the file. Delete the upload sooner if it should go offline earlier. Guest short links are refused after 7 days. Uploads under 20MB cost no credits.
Back to the uploader