Should I send the file or send the link?

When you share a file that lives in OneDrive or SharePoint, there are two ways to do it, and from the inbox they look almost the same: an email "with the file." Underneath, they're very different.

• A link points to the file that already exists. Whoever opens it works on that same file, in its latest version.
• A copy is a new file, separate from yours. Whatever the other person changes in their copy never makes it back to your file.

Neither one is always better. Two questions decide it:

1. Is the other person going to change the file? If so, and you want their changes, send a link. With copies, you end up merging versions by hand: budget_final.xlsx, budget_final_v2.xlsx, budget_final_FINAL.xlsx.
2. Do you need them to see a snapshot? If you're sending a finished report that shouldn't change, a copy keeps it the way it was that day. With a link, they'd see whatever the file says when they open it.

Try it

Think of a file you sent this week. Did you send a link or a copy? Was that the right call? Describe to your Maestro a file you sent this week. You don't need to paste the contents: just say what it was, who it went to and what it was for.

What Outlook offers you

Outlook asks you this question almost every time you attach something. According to Microsoft's help:

• If you pick a file from your computer, a copy gets attached.
• If you pick a file from OneDrive or SharePoint, you can send a link or a copy. The link keeps the email small.
• If you attach a file from your computer, you can also upload it to OneDrive before sending it, and then it goes out as a link. Microsoft recommends this for collaborating, because everyone works on the same, most up-to-date version of the file, and for files too large to send as attachments.

With a link, you also decide who can do what. At a company, by default everyone in your organization can edit the linked file. To change that, there's a menu next to the attachment's name with these options: Organization can Edit, Organization can View, Recipients can Edit and Recipients can View. If you only want the people who get the email to read it, the last one is for you.

The options vary a little between new Outlook, classic Outlook and the web version, but the ideas are the same.

When the link won't open

There's a third question, and it's the one people forget most: can the other person open the link? A file saved on a SharePoint site that only you can access won't open for anyone else. Microsoft explains that if new Outlook detects that the recipients won't be able to view the file, the link is highlighted in red with a warning icon, and it offers you Manage access to fix it. In classic Outlook, the warning appears under the file name and offers you Attach as copy.

So before you send a link to someone outside your company, make sure it isn't red. If it is, decide: give them access, or send them a copy, knowing the copy won't change along with your file.

If you're not sure which permission to pick for your own case, ask your Maestro before you send the email.