There's a better way to share documents. Instead of attaching a file, you send a tracked link. Same PDF, completely different outcome.
This article breaks down what changes when you stop attaching files and start sharing tracked links.
What happens when you send an attachment
When you attach a PDF to an email, here's what you get:
Delivery confirmation. Your email was sent. That's it.
Maybe an open signal. Some email tools tell you the email was opened. Not the document — the email.
Zero document data. You don't know if they downloaded the file. You don't know if they opened it. You don't know which pages they read.
The file leaves your hands the moment you hit send. It can be forwarded, saved, printed, or ignored — and you'll never know which.
The real problem: you make follow-up decisions based on zero information.
You wait three days, send a generic "just checking in" email, and hope for the best.
What happens when you send a tracked link
A tracked link replaces the attachment with a URL. The recipient clicks the link and views the PDF in their browser. The document is the same. The experience is nearly the same. But now you get data.
Here's what a tracked link gives you:
Who opened it. Name, email, and sometimes company — especially if you use a lead capture page.
When they opened it. Timestamp for every session. You see if they opened it at 9am on Monday or 11pm on Thursday.
What they read. Page-by-page analytics. Time spent on each page. Pages skipped. Pages revisited.
What caught their attention. Heatmaps showing cursor focus. Text selections showing what they highlighted.
Who else saw it. Forward detection tells you when your document reaches a new reader you didn't send it to.
Real-time alerts. Get notified the moment someone opens your document.
Put an image here: side-by-side comparison. Left side shows a basic "email sent" confirmation. Right side shows a BridgePDF analytics dashboard with page views, duration, and viewer info.
Two scenarios, same proposal
Let's make this concrete.
Scenario A: The attachment
Sarah sends a 12-page proposal to a prospect as a PDF attachment on Monday.
Tuesday: Nothing. She doesn't know if they opened it.
Wednesday: She sends a follow-up. "Just wanted to make sure you received my proposal."
Thursday: The prospect replies, "Yes, we're reviewing it."
Next Monday: Sarah follows up again with a generic message. Still no real intel.
She eventually gets a call back. The prospect has questions about the pricing on page 9. Sarah didn't know they were focused on pricing. She could have prepared better.
Scenario B: The tracked link
Sarah sends the same proposal as a tracked link on Monday.
Tuesday, 10:14am: She gets an alert. The prospect opened the document. They spent 4 minutes on the executive summary and 6 minutes on the pricing page. They skipped the technical specs entirely.
Tuesday, 10:30am: Sarah calls. "Hey, I saw you had a chance to look at the proposal. Do you have any questions about the pricing structure?" The prospect is impressed — and ready to talk numbers.
Wednesday: Forward detection shows the CFO just opened the document. Sarah now knows the deal has moved to financial review. She prepares ROI data.
Same proposal. Same client. Completely different conversation.
Put an image here: a BridgePDF session timeline showing the sequence — prospect opens, reads specific pages, then CFO opens via forward detection.
The practical differences
Email attachment | Tracked link | |
|---|---|---|
Know if it was opened | No | Yes, with timestamp |
Know what pages were read | No | Yes, per page |
Know how long they spent | No | Yes, per page |
Detect forwards | No | Yes |
Real-time notifications | No | Yes |
Branded viewing experience | No | Yes |
Revoke access | Impossible | Anytime |
Update the document after sending | Impossible | Swap the file, same link |
Works offline | Yes | No (requires internet) |
The last two rows matter. Attachments work without internet and can't be changed once sent. Tracked links require a connection but let you update or revoke the document at any time.
When attachments still make sense
Tracked links aren't always the right choice. Use a regular attachment when:
The document is purely administrative. Internal forms, invoices with no sales context, standard templates. If there's no follow-up decision attached to the document, tracking adds nothing.
The recipient expects a file. Some procurement teams require actual file submissions. Legal reviews often need local copies for markup.
Offline access is required. If you know the reader will review on a plane or in a location without internet, an attachment is more practical.
For everything else — proposals, offering memorandums, product catalogs, pricing sheets, pitch decks — the data from a tracked link directly improves how you follow up.
What this changes in practice
The shift from attachments to tracked links isn't a technology change. It's a workflow change.
Before: Send document. Wait. Follow up blind. Hope.
After: Send document. See engagement. Follow up with context. Know when to push and when to wait.
Sales teams that track documents report cutting follow-up time in half. Not because they send fewer emails, but because every follow-up is targeted.
You stop asking "did you get a chance to look at it?" and start saying "I noticed you spent some time on the pricing section — want to walk through it together?"
That's the difference.
Bridge PDF lets you turn any PDF into a tracked link in seconds. Upload a document, get a link, share it. You'll know who reads it, what they focus on, and when to follow up. Try it free.
