Overview
Getting documents in and out of Stax.ai CX shouldn't require email attachments or adding every outside contact as a user. CX gives you two tools for working with external people:
Share with a Link — send someone a secure, trackable link to a file, with optional expiration dates and use limits.
Public upload folders — let outside contacts send files to you through a link, without a login and without seeing anything already in the folder.
Together, these cover both directions: sharing documents out and collecting documents in.
Prerequisites
The file or folder should already exist in Files. Need help with that first? See [Navigating and Organizing Files].
Know your audience: links are for people who should receive a file; public upload folders are for people who need to send you files.
Sharing a file with a link
Open Files and select the file you want to share.
In the right-side panel, find the Share with a Link section.
Click Add +. The Create a new File Link window opens.
Enter a Nickname so your team can identify the link later (for example, "NDA for ABC Co - Jane").
Set an Expiration Date if needed. The link stops working at the end of that date.
Enter a Number of Uses to limit how many times the link can be opened. Leave it at 0 for unlimited uses.
Click Create Link. The link appears in the list.
Click Copy Link to copy it to your clipboard.
Send the copied link to the person who needs access.
Tip: For sensitive documents, set both an expiration date and a low use limit. A link that expires in a week and works twice is much safer than one that lives forever.
Managing existing links
Each saved link shows its nickname, expiration date, and usage count in the same panel.
Use the link icon to copy a link again at any time.
Use the delete action to revoke a link when you no longer want it to work. Revoked links stop working immediately.
Creating a public upload folder
Public upload folders are perfect for collecting intake documents from people who aren't CX users — no login friction, no portal setup.
Open Files and choose (or create) the folder you want to use for incoming uploads.
Open the folder options and enable Public File Upload.
Copy the generated public link.
Send the link to the external person who needs to upload files.
Ask them to upload their documents directly through the link.
Check the folder to confirm their uploads arrived.
Important: Public users can upload files, but they can never see files already in the folder — yours or anyone else's. Uploads go in; nothing comes out.
You're all set
You can now share files out with controlled links and collect files in through public folders — all without email attachments or extra user accounts.
Tips
Tip: Give every share link a clear nickname. Six months from now, "Q1 valuation - sent to auditor" beats "Link 3."
Tip: Use a dedicated intake folder per client for public uploads, so incoming documents land pre-sorted instead of piling into one giant folder.
Note: Clients with portal access have a better option than links for ongoing sharing — their shared client folder. See [Template Client File Directories] for how shared folders are set up.
Related articles
Files Overview
Navigating and Organizing Files
Template Client File Directories
Collaborating with Comments and Activity Logs