Document tracking
for files you've already shared.
Your file host rarely tells you when someone outside your company opens a file. A tracked link in front of it does, and it can email you the moment it happens.
Quick answer
To know when someone opens a document you shared, send them a tracked short link that forwards to the document instead of the file host's link. Every open through it is recorded with the time, the city and country, and the device, and an open alert can email you each time. It works for Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Notion, Canva and any PDF with a web address.
What your file host tells you, and what a link adds
Using Google Drive as the example, since it is where most shared documents live.
Opens by people outside your company
Google Drive on its own
Limited: the Activity dashboard is a Workspace feature, and a viewer from another company shows only if their company shares view history
With a tracked link
Every open through the link, whoever it is
An email when it is opened
Google Drive on its own
Not for view-only shares
With a tracked link
With an open alert (Agency and Business)
City, country and device
Google Drive on its own
No
With a tracked link
Yes, for every open
Time spent on each page
Google Drive on its own
No
With a tracked link
No; tools like DocSend do this
Source for the Drive limit: Google Workspace Admin Help, Activity dashboard.
What people track
A CV or portfolio
Send each application its own link and you know which companies opened it, and roughly when someone came back to it.
A pitch deck
One link per investor. A second open from a different city usually means the deck has reached a partner.
A contract or report
Know it was opened before you chase a signature or a reply, instead of asking whether it arrived.
A client deliverable
On your client's domain, the link carries their brand, and you see when their team actually looks at the work.
Sending proposals? See proposal tracking for how to read the opens and when to follow up.
How to track a document
- 1Share the document so anyone with the link can view it, and copy that link.
- 2Create a tracked link that forwards to it. Name it after the person you are sending it to.
- 3Optional: turn on an open alert for the link to get an email on every open.
- 4Send the tracked link. Opens appear on the link's page as they happen.
Document tracking FAQ
Can I see who viewed my Google Drive file?
Only partly. Drive's Activity dashboard is a Google Workspace feature that editors in the owner's organisation can see, and a viewer from another company appears only if that company's settings share view history. Someone who opens an 'anyone with the link' file without signing in can't be listed at all. To see every open, send a tracked link that forwards to the file: each open through it is recorded.
Can I track when a PDF is opened?
Track the link to the PDF, not the file itself. Most PDF readers don't load remote images, so a tracking pixel inside a PDF rarely fires. A tracked link to a PDF hosted in Drive, Dropbox or on your site records every open through that link.
Does it tell me who opened it?
It tells you the link was opened, with the time, place and device. It doesn't know the person's name. Give each recipient their own link and an open on it is almost always theirs, or someone they passed it to.
What if they download the file?
The open that led to the download is recorded. Anything after that, such as opening the downloaded copy again or emailing it on, happens on their computer and can't be seen.
Can I stop the link working after a date?
Yes, on Pro and above. Give the link an end date, a password, or both. The file itself stays where it is, so remove the share at the host as well if it must be closed for good.
Which plan do I need?
Tracking opens works on every plan, including the free one. An email on each open is part of Agency ($49/mo, 50 alert emails a month) and Business.
Know what happens after you hit send
Link open alerts
An email the moment someone opens a link you sent.
Proposal tracking
Know when a client opens your proposal, and on what device.
Password-protected links
A password before the link opens, on any destination.
Expiring links
Set the day a link starts working and the day it stops.
Real-time link tracking
Watch clicks land live as they happen on your links.
Know it was opened
Start free and see every open. Get an email on each one with Agency at $49/mo.
Create a tracked link