# How to share a PowerPoint, Word file or PDF as a link that stays current

Send a deck, document or PDF as one link that opens in any browser, swap in a new file later at the same address, and see who opened it.

By artifact.guru team. Published 2026-10-05, updated 2026-10-05.

**Short answer:** Upload the file to artifact.guru or ask your agent to publish it. Then choose who can open it and send the link instead of an attachment. PDFs, Word files and PowerPoint decks open in any browser, with no Office app. When the file changes, your agent publishes the new one to the same artifact. The link doesn’t change, and the old file stays in Versions. An attachment is still fine for a final file that won’t change.

## Three questions in one

- **Will it open for them?** Yes, in any browser, phones included, with no Office or PDF app.
- **Can I change it after sending?** Yes. A new file published to the same artifact becomes the next version, at the same link.
- **Who can open it, and did they?** You choose one of four modes, and **Views** shows who opened it, or how many did.

Open **Brand guidelines.pdf** in the brand kit below and page through it.

## A handover in six formats

Sample brand kit: [Saltmarsh brand kit](https://artifact.guru/examples/saltmarsh-brand-kit). The handoff page shows the new brand’s logo, colors and type. The guidelines PDF and the launch deck sit in the same project.

Ostra Studio made this brand kit for Saltmarsh Inns. The page itself covers the logo, colors, type and tone of voice, and its “Files in this project” section holds five more files. The brand guidelines are a 42-page PDF and the launch announcement a 12-slide PowerPoint deck. There’s also a photography brief in Word, a sitemap in Mermaid and a Markdown draft of the room descriptions.

In the brand kit above, the files open inside the page so you can try them here. In your workspace, each file is its own artifact, with its own link and access, and the page links to each one.

## How each format opens

| Format | Files | What the reader gets | Change it by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| PDF | `.pdf` | Every page, numbered and fitted to the width of the screen, drawn as it scrolls into view | Publishing a new file |
| Word | `.docx` | The document, laid out in the browser | Publishing a new file |
| PowerPoint | `.pptx` | Slides to click through | Editing in the app, or a new file |
| Images | PNG, JPG, GIF, WebP, AVIF, SVG, HEIC | Full size. If a browser can’t show a photo, the original is offered. | Publishing a new file |

> **Office files.** Browser previews of Office files can differ from Office in places, and the original is one click away with **Download**. Excel workbooks (`.xlsx`) open as sheets too. Older `.doc`, `.ppt` and `.xls` files and Keynote files aren’t accepted: save them as `.docx`, `.pptx`, `.xlsx` or PDF first.

## Share it as a link

1. **Drop the file on artifact.guru** Or use **Upload files**. It becomes an artifact with a preview and a **Private** link.
2. **Check it** Open it and page through it as your reader will, on your phone too.
3. **Choose Share** Pick who can open it, copy the link and send it yourself.

An agent sends the file as bytes, so use one that can upload files, such as Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI or Grok Bot. Say: “Publish exports/q3-review.pptx to artifact.guru privately and give me the link.”

Chat apps, such as Claude on the web and ChatGPT, publish text formats like Markdown and HTML straight through the connection. For a deck or PDF made in a chat, download it and drop it on artifact.guru. In Claude, a doc exports to Word or PDF and a deck to PowerPoint or PDF with **Export**; Claude’s templates for these are in beta on paid plans.

## Choose who can open it, and see who did

| Mode | Who can open it | Names in Views |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Private | Your workspace; in a team workspace, the whole team | Yes |
| Email | People you invite, up to 50, signed in with that address | Yes, and who hasn’t opened it yet |
| Secret code | Anyone with the link and the code | Counts only |
| Public | Anyone with the link | Counts only |

Every link also shows its views and daily visitors for the last 30 days, and where they came from. Views counts opens, not pages or slides read. With controls on, the bar above the file has a **Download** button for the original. To hide it, switch off **Show controls** in the Share panel. Nothing stops a screenshot, and there are no watermarks. [Choose who can open your link](https://artifact.guru/blog/choose-who-can-open) covers when to use each mode.

## What your reader sees on a phone

A code link opens on “Enter the code”. An Email link shows “Sign in to open”; once they tap **Continue** and type the invited address, a one-time code arrives by email. Then the file fills the screen. A PDF is a column of numbered pages as wide as the phone, so 42 pages of guidelines scroll like one long page. A deck shows its slides to click through, and a Word file reads as a document. Nobody is asked to install anything.

## Replace the file, keep the link

When the file changes, open the artifact, choose **Upload new version** above the Versions list, and pick the new file. Or ask an agent that uploads files to publish it to the same artifact:

- “Publish exports/brand-guidelines.pdf as a new version of Brand guidelines. Keep the same link.”

It becomes the next version. Anyone with the link sees it the next time they open it, or when they reload an open tab. The link, its access and its views stay as they were.

The new file has to be the same kind, so a PDF replaces a PDF and a deck replaces a deck. Dropping a file on your workspace instead makes a new artifact with its own link. A PowerPoint deck can also be changed in the app, where **Edit** opens a slide editor for text and layout. Saving makes a new version.

The **Versions** list keeps every earlier file, with who published it and when. **Roll back** makes an older one live again at once and keeps the newer ones. Old versions count toward your storage (10 GB on Individual, no limit on Team); delete them from the Versions list or in **Settings → Storage**.

## Find it later by what it says

Search reads the text inside PDF, Word and PowerPoint files, not only their names. A new file is searchable a few moments after it’s published. In a team workspace everyone searches the same files, so “Eelbrook” finds every file that mentions it. Your agent can search too: “find the deck that mentions the Easter launch”.

## Mix formats on one page

In the brand kit, one HTML page explains the work and links to each file, and the files sit beside it in a project. Ask for all of it at once:

Say to your agent:

```
Publish these files privately to a new artifact.guru project called
“Saltmarsh handover”. Then make one self-contained HTML page in the
same project that introduces the work and links to each file, opening
in a new tab, with one line on what each file is. Publish the page
privately too, and list every link for me.
```

> **Share the files too.** Each file keeps its own access. If the page is shared by Email and the PDF is still Private, an invited client who taps the PDF sees “This link is private”. Share each linked file with the same people as the page.

## When an attachment is still fine

- The file is final and won’t change, such as a signed contract.
- The reader has to edit it in Office and send it back with tracked changes. artifact.guru has no comments or co-editing.
- It goes to one person you trust, and you don’t need to know whether they opened it.
- They’ll read it offline, or have to upload it somewhere else.

## Limits

- One file can be up to 100 MB, or 250 MB on Team.
- Word files, PDFs and images aren’t edited in the app. Publish a new file instead.
- Views counts opens. There’s no time per page or slide, and no alert when someone opens it.
- There are no watermarks, NDA gates or download blocking.
- Email invitations don’t send email. You send the link.

## Questions

### Does the reader need PowerPoint or Word?

No. Both open in the browser. With controls on, **Download** gives them the original file.

### Does the old link still work after I replace the file?

Yes. The same link shows the new version, so there’s nothing to resend. The earlier file stays in **Versions**.

### Can I edit the deck in the browser?

Yes. PowerPoint decks have a slide editor for text and layout. Word files and PDFs are replaced with a new file instead.

### Can I see which slides they read?

No. **Views** counts opens on every link, and names who opened it on Private and Email links. It doesn’t track pages or slides.

## Checked

What this article says about other products was checked against their own documentation on 2026-10-05.

- [Claude Help Center: What are artifacts and how do I use them?](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/9487310-what-are-artifacts-and-how-do-i-use-them)

Source: https://artifact.guru/blog/share-powerpoint-word-pdf