# Create a public link

Make a link that lets somebody outside SorviAI open one file, with an optional password, an expiry date and a switch for downloads.

A customer, a supplier or an auditor has no SorviAI account, so sharing by name can't reach them. A public link can: it's an address that opens one file, on the terms you set when you make it. Links are for files only.

- Open the file's menu, select **Share**, and then select the **Public Link** tab.
- Select **Create Link**. A short form opens above any links the file already has.
- Enter a label that says who the link is for, then fill in the rest only if you need it: a password, and the number of days before the link stops working.

  ![The Public Link tab of the Share panel for Service Report - Bellhaven Steelworks - Gearbox GB-4.pdf, with the new link form open: a Label box with the hint For Client X, a Password (optional) box reading No password, an Expires in (days) box reading Never, a ticked Allow download checkbox, and Cancel and Create Link buttons. Below the form an existing link card, Bellhaven engineering team, shows 5 views, 3 downloads and Expires Oct 3, 2026.](https://www.sorviai.com/help/nest/shared-with-me/public-link-form.png)
- Clear **Allow download** if the person should be able to open the file but not save a copy.
- Select **Create Link**, then select the copy icon on the new card and send the address to the person who needs it.

## What each setting does

- **Label**: For you, not for them: it's how you tell one link from another on the same file.
- **Password**: Anyone opening the link is asked for it, and a wrong one is refused. Send it separately from the link.
- **Expires in**: A number of days from today. Leave it blank and the link never expires.
- **Allow download**: On unless you clear it. With it cleared, the link still opens but the download is refused.

> **Warning:**
>
> **Anyone with the address can use it**
>
> A public link isn't tied to a person. If it's forwarded, whoever receives it can open the file too, which is why a password and an expiry date are worth adding for anything confidential.