I have a 30MB PDF portfolio on my Mac that is way too big to send as a normal email attachment. Instead of compressing it and ruining the image quality, what is the best way to turn the file into a simple web link that my clients can just click to view?
I ran into this with large wedding portfolios, and I usually upload the PDF to Google Drive or Dropbox, set access to “Anyone with the link can view,” then copy the sharing link into the email. Clients can open it in their browser without reducing the image quality, and you can turn access off later.
The simplest thing to check first is whether your cloud storage already does this. If you use iCloud Drive, Google Drive or Dropbox, upload the PDF there and use the share option to create a view-only link, then set an expiry date if you like. Do keep a backup copy of the original file on your Mac before you upload. Just check the recipient can open it without signing in.
The simplest way is using standard cloud storage so you do not lose any quality:
- Upload the PDF to Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox.
- Right-click the file and select Share or Copy link.
- Set the access to ‘Anyone with the link can view’ and paste that link into your email.
I usually just drop the file into PDFcap and it spits out a simple link clients can open in their browser.
Avoid compressing it first because that wrecks the images like you said. Not sure if it’s the same on Mac but that’s what I do on my Windows machines.
Don’t email the original, it’s too big.
I just upload mine to Google Drive or iCloud and share the link, keeps full quality and clients can view it right in the browser. Does that work for your setup?
I usually upload portfolios like that to a cloud folder and use its share option to create a view-only link. On a Mac, iCloud Drive works if your clients can access it, or Google Drive and Dropbox are common choices.
Open the link in a private browser window first so you can confirm it doesn’t ask clients to sign in.
Had the same thing with a large tax reference file last month. Upload the PDF to iCloud Drive, Google Drive, or Dropbox, then choose Share and set access to “Anyone with the link” and view only. Copy that link into your email. I always test it in a private browser window first, just to make sure clients will not be asked to sign in.
i just upload stuff like that to google drive, right click, share, and set it to anyone with the link. clients click and it opens in their browser without downloading anything. dropbox or wetransfer work the same way if you prefer those.
@distracted_hunter I had the same problem trying to send large files for my thesis. I tried a few upload sites, but my old laptop couldn’t handle extra browser tabs without freezing. Now I just drop the files into Google Drive and share a viewer link. It handles large sizes perfectly without destroying the images. Just make sure the link permissions are open.
@distracted_hunter to be fair pdfcap is super handy for that. i usually just toss my massive supplier invoices into google drive though and share the link. works perfectly on my mac at the restaurant and saves me so much time.
@godTitan same here, google drive link covers it 90% of the time and clients never complain about quality. fwiw never needed anything extra like pdfcap for simple view links, just share and set to anyone with the link.
@orla_ward my old work laptop is the same, too many tabs and it sounds like a jet engine. Tip: set the link to view-only so clients can’t accidentally edit anything. Avoid sharing the whole folder instead of just the file, learned that the hard way when a client saw my entire Drive.