Do you know when to send links or attachments in emails?

How you work with attachments should change depending on who you are emailing.

For internal communications, linking to a document store on the intranet keeps files accessible, up-to-date, and minimizes the risk of broken links. When communicating externally, attaching the file directly is often more convenient for recipients who may not have access to internal systems.

Internal documents - link

If you're sending to a fellow employee, use a link to a document stored on your intranet (E.g.: intranet.northwind.com/SharedDocuments).

When sharing documents internally it's best to keep the work alive in a link. The best way to do that is to have it hosted in one place where all working parties can access it.

❌ Figure: Bad example - Attaching documents to emails when sending internally

✅ Figure: Good example - Sharing documents in SharePoint so the team can access and work on the same document

Tip: Using SharePoint can help minimizing broken links.

External documents - public link or attachment

If you're sending to a client, either get them to share a publically available link, or attach the file to the email (e.g.: a Spec Review).

It's often easier to attach the file than share a link due to permission issues. This allows them to easily share the document internally and always have access to the copy.

• Clients often prefer attachments
• They can forward it to whoever they want
• There is a paper trail of changes and feedback that they can share internally on their end

❌ Figure: Bad example – Added the file as a link for external users. This requires adding them as guests to Teams, or having to make the file an anonymous link

✅ Figure: Good example – Added file as an attachment for external users