A NetDocuments secure link is a direct web address that lets someone outside your organization view or download specific documents, without a NetDocuments account and without the documents leaving your repository as attachments. NetDocuments calls the feature “Deliver a secured link.” The sender can add a password, allow or block downloads, lock the shared version, and set a date when the link stops working. For one-off sends to opposing counsel, a client, or an auditor, it replaces email attachments and third-party file transfer sites with sharing you can still control after you press send.
What is a NetDocuments secure link?
A NetDocuments secure link is a URL, sent by email, that points recipients to one or more documents held in your repository. Recipients can view the documents, and download them if the sender allows it, but they cannot edit them.
Because the link points to the document in your repository, no copy has actually been sent as a copy until the recipient downloads it. That is what makes the link controllable. You can stop it working, cap how long it lives, and lock the version the recipient sees, none of which is possible once an attachment lands in someone’s inbox.
Secure links are part of the core NetDocuments platform, and administrators decide whether each cabinet allows them. They sit alongside the other sharing methods, and choosing between them is the first decision users need guidance on.
When should you use a secure link or a CollabSpace?
A secure link should be used for one-way delivery of a few documents to someone who only needs to read or keep them, and a CollabSpace for ongoing work where external parties need access to a changing set of documents over weeks or months.
- Secure link. One-way and read-only, for a signed agreement, a board pack, a large exhibit, or a final report. The recipient needs no account.
- CollabSpace. A shared container for a defined external group, suited to audits, transactions, and litigation with co-counsel, where documents are added and revised over time.
- Email link. A link for people who already have access to the document in NetDocuments, which grants no new access to anyone else.
If a recipient will need more than two or three sends on the same matter, move them to a CollabSpace. NetDocuments CollabSpaces share selected documents with auditors, clients, and co-counsel, with expiry dates and reports that suit longer engagements.
Which options can a sender set on a secure link?
A secure link carries four options the sender sets when delivering it, and together they decide how much control remains after the email goes out.
- Password. An optional password the recipient must enter to open the link. Send it through a different channel from the link itself, such as a phone call or text message.
- Download. Allow or block downloading. With downloads blocked, the recipient can view the document in the browser and keeps no copy.
- Version lock. Lock the version being shared, so later edits in your repository do not change what the recipient sees and the shared version cannot be altered.
- Expiration date. A date after which the link stops working and the recipient is denied access.
For most legal documents, a sensible default is a password, downloads blocked unless the recipient needs a copy, the version locked, and an expiry date set on every link.
Which cabinet settings control secure links in NetDocuments?
Cabinet settings control whether secure links can be created at all and set the minimum safeguards every link must meet. Cabinet administrators configure them once, and they apply to every user in the cabinet.
- Enable secure links. Secure document delivery is switched on per cabinet. Leave it off in cabinets that should never send documents outside.
- Require a password. Administrators can make a password mandatory on every secure link in the cabinet.
- Maximum expiration. Administrators can cap how far ahead an expiry date may be set. Left blank, there is no maximum at all.
- Who can revoke. Revocation can be limited to cabinet administrators, or left to anyone with administer rights to the document.
Cabinet administrators can require a password on every secured link and cap how long links stay valid. For cabinets holding sensitive matters, turn both on.
How long should a NetDocuments secure link stay valid?
A NetDocuments secure link should stay valid only as long as the recipient needs it to open or download the documents, which for most legal sends is between 7 and 30 days. A link that never expires stays usable by anyone who obtains the email, long after the transaction or dispute has ended.
Match the expiry to the purpose. A signed agreement sent for the counterparty’s records needs a week. A data room extract for a due diligence review may need 30 days. Set a cabinet maximum, such as 30 or 60 days, so users cannot create open-ended links by accident, and tell users that a new link can always be sent if a recipient runs out of time. If a recipient loses the password, send a fresh link with a new password.
How do you revoke a secure link in NetDocuments?
A secure link in NetDocuments is revoked from the document’s version list, and revocation works on the whole version: it disables every link previously delivered for that version and blocks new links to it. Links to other versions of the same document keep working until they expire or are revoked.
That design has a practical consequence. Once you revoke links on a version, you cannot send that version by secure link again. To reshare the document, create a new version and send a link to that one. Users who revoke a link sent in error should expect this and not assume something has broken.
Decide who can revoke. Limiting revocation to cabinet administrators gives central control, and leaving it with anyone holding administer rights lets the sender fix a mistake within seconds. For a mistaken send, speed usually matters more, so most departments leave it with document administrators and record each revocation.
How do you keep a record of secure links in NetDocuments?
A record of secure links is kept by logging sensitive sends in a simple register, so you can show later who received what and when access ended. Routine sends of non-sensitive documents rarely need logging, but anything confidential should be recorded.
- Sender and recipient. Who sent the link and the recipient’s verified email address.
- Documents and version. Which documents and which locked version were shared.
- Options used. Whether a password was set and whether downloads were allowed.
- Expiry date. When the link stops working.
- Purpose and matter. Why the documents were sent and which matter they belong to.
Confirm the recipient’s email address before sending anything sensitive, since a secure link sent to the wrong address is still a disclosure. Disclosures are costly: the 2026 edition of a long-running global study puts the average cost of a data breach at $4.99 million, a record high. Confidential HR and legal content in NetDocuments usually needs its own security design, and many departments block secure links from those cabinets entirely.
What limits apply to secure links in NetDocuments?
Secure links in NetDocuments carry a delivery limit and a few behaviors that shape how users should work with them. Knowing them avoids failed sends and false confidence.
Each delivery handles up to 500 items, with around 400 as the practical working limit, so very large sets are better shared through a CollabSpace. Recipients can view and download but cannot edit, so any document needing markup should go through a CollabSpace or be returned as a new file. Folder inheritance and restricted matters still apply inside your repository. NetDocuments absolute security limits access to only the groups listed, and a user with access to a restricted document may still be able to send it, so training matters as much as settings. A NetDocuments implementation should include sharing policy and user training before secure links are switched on.
Conclusion
A NetDocuments secure link is the controlled way to send a few documents to someone outside your organization. Set a password, block downloads unless a copy is needed, lock the version, and give every link a short expiry. At cabinet level, require passwords and cap expiry dates where matters are sensitive, and decide who can revoke. Remember that revoking works on the whole version, log confidential sends, and move recurring exchanges into a CollabSpace.
How Basla can help
Basla provides certified delivery team members for NetDocuments implementation, covering legal technology consulting, business analysis, cabinet security and sharing configuration, secure link and CollabSpace policy, user training, documentation, and post-go-live support. Basla’s team sets the cabinet safeguards, writes the sharing guidance users follow, and tests what external recipients can and cannot do.
Basla supports NetDocuments programs from initial design through migration and hypercare, and its teams stay on to review sharing settings once users start sending documents externally.
Frequently asked questions
What is a NetDocuments secure link?
A NetDocuments secure link is a URL that lets someone outside your organization view or download specific documents without a NetDocuments account. The sender can add a password, block downloads, lock the version, and set an expiry date.
Can recipients edit documents sent by secure link?
Recipients cannot edit documents sent by secure link. They can view them, and download them if the sender allows it, so documents needing markup should be shared through a CollabSpace.
Can a secure link be password protected?
A secure link can be password protected by the sender, and cabinet administrators can require a password on every link. Send the password through a separate channel from the link.
How do you revoke a secure link in NetDocuments?
A secure link in NetDocuments is revoked from the document’s version list, which disables every link for that version. To share the document again, create a new version and send a link to it.
How long should a secure link stay active?
A secure link should stay active only as long as the recipient needs it, typically 7 to 30 days for legal documents. Administrators can set a cabinet maximum so links cannot be created without a sensible end date.
How many documents can be sent in one secure link delivery?
One secure link delivery in NetDocuments can include up to 500 items, with around 400 as the practical limit. Larger sets are better shared through a CollabSpace.
*This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Basla Solutions provides legal technology implementation and support services and does not practice law.*