Send files as link attachments in email and overcome the issues faced in traditional attachments 

In this article, we explain how CloudFiles can be used to send secure email attachments in Gmail, Outlook or any other E-mail client, using CloudFiles. In the process, we will also discover how CloudFiles is an innovative way to share documents securely.

CloudFiles is a secure file sharing app for businesses which supercharges your files with enterprise grade security, page-by-page analytics and powerful automations. 

Through CloudFiles you can make PDFs, word documents, slides and other file types as links. Since CloudFiles integrates with various cloud storages, you can enable secure file sharing for Google Drive, OneDrive, Box & Dropbox. You can enable security settings such as password protection, identity wall or simple lead capture on those links. You can then share these files as secure links with your clients and track file opens, views, downloads & time-spent. Finally, you can automate your content sharing & tracking pipeline for smoother processes.

CloudFiles exposes a number of file security settings to secure documents before sharing. We will focus on Soft ID Validation and Hard ID validation since these address most of the file sharing needs of businesses. These features enable putting up an identity wall and restricting access to the documents. Thus, not only CloudFiles enables secure file sharing, it provides a new way of sending files in email as well.

Soft ID Validation - Requires the viewer of the file to enter their email before accessing the document. This email is only validated but not verified.

Hard ID Validation - Requires the viewer to verify their email (either through login or one-time code) before accessing the document. This ensures the that the email belongs to the person.

Allowed emails & domains - Enables the sender of the file to restrict access with soft or hard validation to a fixed set of emails or domains. E.g. To restrict access to people at CloudFiles, you can restrict email domains to cloudfilesapp.com.

Through the above 3 features, you can restrict access to any type of document without explicitly enabling password protection or using specialized software to lock your files or encrypt your email attachments. You can simply attach the secure file links in your emails, thus making your email attachments secure. We explore step-by-step tutorial of how to use these settings below.

If you don't already have an account, head over to our website to create a free CloudFiles account now.

Sometimes, you may want the client to enter their email before accessing the file. Sometimes you may want them to enter a specific email or emails from a specific domain to access this file. CloudFiles soft ID validation enables you to do exactly this. While accessing your document, the viewer will have to enter their email ID.

Follow the steps below and refer to the GIF below to have a visual underatnding of these steps -

Step 1: Upload a file in the CloudFiles content library through the various import options. E.g. If you would like to secure a Google Doc, you can simply connect your google drive to CloudFiles content library and import the Google Doc. The content library is your centralized repository of trackable and secure content that you can share with the world through secure CloudFiles links.

Step 2: Open the link Security Settings  as shown in infographic above and enable Soft ID Validation. You can also add an email list or a list of domains to restrict access. Once you enable this setting, your content is immediately gated.

Step 3: That's it. Share this secure file link with your clients. When you client accesses the file, they will be asked to enter their email as shown in infographic above. Sharing this link in an email simulate sending a secure file via email.

If you want a stronger security setting on your file, you can enable hard ID validation. This feature requires the user to either login through one of the available options or verify their email through a one-time code. You can again restrict access to certain emails or certain domains. When accessing the document, the client is now required to verify their email.

Step 1: Upload a file in the CloudFiles content library through the various import options. E.g. If you would like to secure a Dropbox file, you can simply connect your Dropbox storage to CloudFiles' content library and import the file. The content library is your centralized repository of trackable and secure content that you can share with the world through secure CloudFiles links.

Step 2: Open the link Security Settings as shown in the gif below. Enable Hard ID Validation as shown below. You can also add an email list or a list of domains to restrict access. Once you enable this setting, your content is immediately gated.

Step 3: That's it. Share this secure file link with your clients. Now when you client accesses the file, they will be asked to verify their email as shown in the gif below. Sharing this link in an email simulate sending a secure file via email

Refer to the gif below to have a visual understanding of these steps -