> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.scaleflex.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.scaleflex.com/portals/building-a-portal/sections/share-your-files.md).

# Share your files

Let visitors send files of their own from your Portal, without adding them to your library.

Most of a Portal hands your assets to other people. This section runs the other way: a visitor drops files of their own onto the page and gets back a link, or an email, that carries them to whoever needs them.

It is the file-transfer corner of a Portal — for the artwork a partner is returning, the photographs an agency shot for you, the deck someone needs to pass on. Nothing sent this way joins your asset library.

## Add the section

1. In the builder, open the **Sections** panel and select **Add section**.
2. Choose **Share your files**, pick a variant, and select **Add section**.
3. Edit the headline and the copy around the drop zone as you would on any other section.

There is nothing else to configure. The variants differ only in how the drop zone sits beside the words:

| Variant | Layout                                                      |
| ------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| **A**   | Headline and highlights beside a drag-and-drop upload zone. |
| **B**   | Centered headline above a drag-and-drop upload zone.        |
| **C**   | Boxed callout card with a compact drop zone.                |
| **D**   | Split layout with headline beside the drop zone.            |

## What a visitor does

The section shows a drop zone reading **Drag & drop, click to browse**. Dropping files on it, or picking them, opens **Share your files** — two steps, then a link.

### 1 — The files

The chosen files are listed with a running total, as *3 file(s) (12 MB)*. **Add more files** adds to the list, **Remove file** takes one out, and a file already in the list is marked **Already added** until **Dismiss** clears the notice. **Next** moves on.

### 2 — The share

Give the share a **Title** — it is called **Shared files** if you leave it alone — and choose how long it should last under **Share expires in**:

| Option           |
| ---------------- |
| **One day**      |
| **One week**     |
| **One month**    |
| **Three months** |

**Add message** opens a **Message** that goes to the recipients. Then choose how to send it:

| Tab       | What it does                                                  |
| --------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Email** | Add the recipients' addresses and select **Send**.            |
| **Link**  | Select **Generate link**, then **Copy link** once it appears. |

With a link made, the dialog confirms *Your share link has been generated* and offers the link to copy. **Back** returns to the file list; **Done** closes it.

{% hint style="info" %}
There is no "never" among the expiry options, and that is deliberate. Files sent through this section are temporary: when the share expires, or you delete it, the files go with it.
{% endhint %}

## Visitors need an account

Sending files is tied to a person, so a visitor who is not signed in sees **Sign in to send files and share them with the team.** and a **Sign in** button where the drop zone would be. On a Portal that anyone can open, expect the section to ask for a sign-in before it does anything.

## Where the files go

They are uploaded to your project but kept out of your asset library: they do not appear in listings or search, they cannot be picked in a gallery, and they are not assets you curate or have to tidy up afterwards. They exist to be collected by whoever has the link, and then to expire.

That is the difference between this section and the rest of a Portal. Everything else shows assets you chose; this one carries files you never have to own.