Preview Links

When you want to share files with co-workers, who also have a QorusDocs license, the best way to do that is with ‘Preview Links’.

Unlike other file sharing links, ‘Preview Links’ generates a QorusDocs specific link, where your co-workers can access a range of QorusDocs features available for working with the file, like adding it to their QorusDocs favorites, or using it to create a personalized proposal fast from a template automated with QorusDocs Smart Fields and Rules.

‘Preview Links’ is available for all file types that can be previewed in QorusDocs Hub as well as in all the QorusDocs Add-ins, and only accessible by co-workers who have a QorusDocs license. They’ll be prompted to log in to QorusDocs first (if they are not already) before they can gain access to the underlying file. 

Please also note that 'Preview Links' is currently available for content stored in SharePoint Online only, and not for content housed in Microsoft Teams or OneDrive for Business. 

In this article, we’ll cover:

1. Where to find ‘Preview Links’

2. The recipient user experience for each ‘Preview Links’ option

1. Where to find ‘Preview Links’

You can find the ‘Preview Links’ option under the ‘more’ menu (the three dots) below Word, PowerPoint, Excel, PDF, image, and text files:

When you do this for Excel, PDF, image, and text files, you’ll get the following pop-up window on your screen:

When you do this for Word and PowerPoint files, you’ll get this pop-up window instead:

Let’s have a look at what each of these options do.

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2. The recipient user experience for each ‘Preview Links’ option

User Experience 1: Document preview

This is the only option available for Excel, PDF, image, and text files, and one of three options available for Word and PowerPoint files. If you’re working in Outlook, you can simply ‘insert’ the link into your email or you could copy and paste it:

When the person you’ve sent this link to clicks it, they will be prompted to sign in (if they haven’t done so already) and then QorusDocs will land them on the file’s ‘Preview’ screen, where they can preview the file, access additional information, and a range of content actions:

User Experience 2: Document preview and create

This option is available for Word and PowerPoint files only. After clicking on ‘Preview Links’, copy the URL and send it to one or more co-workers:

When they click on the link, your co-workers will land on a QorusDocs preview page with an already opened Smart Fields form to complete. To save you time, the form will be auto populated with default values:

It’s as if your co-worker had clicked on a ‘document preview’ link, and then clicked on the ‘more’ menu in the top right nav, and then on ‘create’ after the preview had loaded.  Except they didn’t because you saved them two clicks.

This is a great option to use for sharing Word and PowerPoint templates with co-workers. If they’d prefer not to fill in the Smart Fields form quite yet, then they can always close the form and use the range of features available in the document preview.

User Experience 3: Create without preview

This option is also only available for Word and PowerPoint files only. After clicking on ‘Preview Links’, you can copy the URL and paste it as a hyperlink into any internally facing documentation, messages, or web pages:

Clicking on this link skips the preview entirely, and launches the Smart Field form in the web browser:

This is a good option for when you’d like to hyperlink directly to a template’s QorusDocs Smart Field form within your own internal content.

For example, in a useful resources channel in Microsoft Teams, you could have something like “Click here to create a new sales proposal.”, where the text ‘Click here’ is hyperlinked to the ‘Create without preview’ QorusDocs link.

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