Send a PDF Proposal as a Link and See When It's Opened (No Signup)

You can send a PDF proposal as a link by uploading it at squish.to/upload. You get a short link that opens the PDF in the recipient's browser, plus a stats page showing total opens, opens in the last 7 days, a 14-day chart, and recent opens with country and source. PDFs can be up to 10MB, and you do not need an account.

That covers the whole workflow. The rest of this post shows the steps, what the stats can and cannot tell you, and a few habits that make the numbers more useful.

Why send a link instead of an attachment

Attachments have a few quiet problems. Mail systems often cap attachment size, big files can bounce, and once a PDF is in someone's inbox you have no idea whether it was opened. A link fixes all three. It is tiny, it works in email, LinkedIn, WhatsApp or a calendar invite, and every open is counted.

It also keeps your message clean. A short link like squish.to/acme-proposal reads well in a sentence, and you can say it out loud on a call.

How to send a PDF as a trackable link

  1. Export your proposal as a PDF. Most tools, including Google Docs, Word, Notion and AI assistants that produce documents, have a "download as PDF" option.
  2. Open squish.to/upload. Choose the file. If you like, pick a custom link name such as acme-proposal. Custom names use letters, numbers and hyphens, from 3 to 30 characters.
  3. Upload and copy the link. You get a short link and a QR code. The QR code is handy if you want to put the proposal on a slide or a printed leave-behind. More on that in every squish.to link now comes with a QR code.
  4. Send it. Paste the link into your email or message.

The limits to know: the file cap is 10MB, and uploaded files stay live for 30 days. For a proposal that is usually plenty. If a deal runs longer, upload again and send the new link.

What the stats show

Click View stats after uploading, or visit squish.to/stats and enter your link name. You will see:

  • Total opens
  • Opens in the last 7 days and your busiest day
  • A 14-day chart of daily opens
  • Recent opens, each with the time, the country and the source (for example LinkedIn, WhatsApp, a newsletter, or Direct)

That is enough to answer the question most people actually have: "Has my proposal been looked at, and did it get passed around?" A second open from a different country or a new source a day later is a good sign it was forwarded.

Use one upload per recipient

Stats are per link, not per person. If you send the same link to five people, you will see opens but not who made them. The fix is simple: upload a copy for each recipient with its own name, such as acme-proposal and globex-proposal. It takes a few seconds, and each stats page then belongs to one conversation.

Read opens as a hint, not a verdict

Some email security tools and chat apps load links automatically to scan or preview them. That can add an open that no human made, often within a second or two of sending. A later open, hours after you sent it, is far more likely to be a person.

It also helps to know what an open means here. An open is counted when the link is visited. squish.to does not track which pages of the PDF were read or for how long, so use opens to time your follow-up rather than to judge interest. For the full list of what a squish.to link records, see what a URL shortener actually logs.

Tips for better proposal links

  • Name links clearly. acme-proposal is easier to find later than a random string.
  • Follow up on the second open. The first open is often a quick look or a scanner. A repeat open is a better moment to reach out.
  • Keep the file lean. Compress large images before exporting so the PDF loads fast on a phone.
  • Need a styled page instead? If your proposal is better as a web page, see how to host AI-generated HTML and track views.

Try it

Upload your next proposal at squish.to/upload. It takes less than a minute, and you will see the first open as soon as someone taps the link.

FAQ

How do I send a PDF as a link? Upload the PDF at squish.to/upload and share the short link you get back. It opens in the recipient's browser, with no download needed on their side.

Can I see when someone opens my PDF? Yes. The stats page for your link shows total opens, opens in the last 7 days, a 14-day chart, and recent opens with country and source.

Do I need an account? No. You upload the file and get your link and stats page without signing up.

Can I tell which person opened it? Not directly. Stats are per link, so upload one copy per recipient if you want to tell them apart.

How big can the PDF be, and how long does it stay online? Up to 10MB, and uploaded files stay live for 30 days.