Review Links: Share Files for Review and Approval

In this article, we’ll show you how to share files and folders in a Review Link. When creating a link, you will have options to allow comments and downloading, choose an expiration date, and control access to your link. If you’ve already created a Review Link, you can easily edit these settings; to learn how, please see Update Existing Links.

• Create a Review Link
• Review Link Settings
• Send a Review Link via Email
• Share Files and Folders from the Collection Bin

Create a Review Link

To share files in a Review Link, select the files and/or folders you want to share. Then, click the paper airplane icon in the top right. 

This will open the Share window, where you will choose your link settings. To learn more about the options available to you, please see Review Link Settings below. Once you’ve chosen your settings, click Create Link.

If you want to share a combination of files and folders at once, you can select them by holding the Command key (macOS) or the Control key (Windows) and then clicking on the items you want to share. Once you’ve made your selections, click the paper airplane icon in the top right.

As an alternative to clicking the paper airplane icon, you can click the three-dots button on a file or folder and select Share > Review Link; or simply right-click to select Share > Review Link.

For analytics on your Review Link, go to the navigation bar on the left and click the bar-graph icon. This will open the Insights page, where you can track activity on Review Links, Presentations, and Spotlights. 

Review Link Settings

When you open the Share window, your workspace’s default link settings are automatically applied. You can keep these link settings or adjust them to your liking.

If you’re a workspace administrator, you can set the default link settings from the Administration page (Administration > Settings > Links). 

First, we’ll review your basic link settings, followed by some advanced options.

• Access: Choose who can view your files by selecting one of three options from the Access menu:
  • Public: Anyone with the Review Link URL can open the link and view its contents, even if they are not logged in to MediaSilo. They only need to log in to leave comments.
  • Password protected: Anyone with the Review Link URL can open the link and view its contents, as long as they enter the correct password. The password cannot contain the following characters: < > =
  • Workspace users: Only certain workspace users can view the contents of the link. If you select this option, you must enter one or more user names in the Recipients field. 
• Expiration: You can set an expiration date, or set the link to never expire. Like all your link settings, you can always update the expiration date later.
• Allow downloads: When this toggle is on, your audience can download files from a Review Link by clicking a download button. To allow downloading, you must have download permission in the project that contains the files.
• Enable feedback: When this toggle is on, viewers have access to commenting and annotation tools. These tools are hidden when the toggle is off. To enable feedback, you must have commenting permission in the project that contains the files.
  • On this link only: When this toggle is on, the comments made in the Review Link are only visible to people with access to the link. When the toggle is off, the comments made in the Review Link are also visible to any workspace users with access to the file in Projects. As long as those users have commenting permission, they can open the file in Review Mode to view and make comments themselves. 
• Notifications: Click the notifications button in the top-right corner of the Share window (next to the “X” button) to turn notifications on or off. When notifications are on, you are notified by email when your link is viewed. Note that you are still notified of new comments and approvals whether this toggle is on or off.

For additional link settings, click the Advanced button in the bottom left.

This opens an expanded view of the Share window. Here, you can edit the link title and message that are displayed to your audience. By default, the title of the link is the same as the file or folder you are sharing. If you’re sharing multiple items, then the default title matches the first file or folder you selected. 

To change the sort order of the files in your link, go to the Files section. Here, you can click and drag assets to rearrange them, or click the sort icon to choose a sorting option, such as sorting by title or date created. Keep in mind that your audience will see a similar menu, so they can sort the files in a Review Link to their liking. 

Finally, go to the Watermarking section to apply a watermark to any unwatermarked files in your link. To learn more, please see Enable SafeStream on a Review Link. If you are sharing files from a watermarked project, then the files are already watermarked according to your project settings.

Once you have chosen your link settings, you’re ready to click Create Link.

Send a Review Link via Email

After you create a Review Link, the link URL is displayed at the bottom of the Share window and is automatically copied to your clipboard. You have the option to email the link to recipients by clicking Send Link. 

An email preview will appear on the right. You can enter your email subject, message, and recipients on the left.

When you’re done, click Send Link in the bottom right.

Can I add my logo to a Review Link?

If your Review Link contains multiple files, then your content is automatically displayed in a review gallery with your brand logo at the top:

As an account administrator, you can upload your brand logo by going to Administration > Branding > Set Brand Logo. You only need to complete this step once; after your logo is uploaded, it is applied to every review gallery.

Your brand logo is also applied to Presentations. To learn more, please see Share Files and Folders as a Presentation.

Share Files and Folders from the Collection Bin

The collection bin allows you to group files and folders from different projects and then share them all at once.

To open the collection bin, go to the navigation bar along the left side of the page and click the collection bin icon (a square with dashed lines).

Then, start dragging files and folders into the bin.

You can also drag assets directly into the collection-bin icon in the navigation bar. The icon will display the number of files and folders in the bin.

Once you are ready to share the contents of the bin, click the paper airplane icon along the bottom. You can share the contents as either a Review Link or a Presentation.