Onboarding Guide

PreviewFile.dev offers three core ways to create secure preview links for your files and URLs. Whether you're a casual user, business user, or developer, you can get started quickly.

New to PreviewFile? This guide will walk you through all three usage scenarios with practical examples.

Use Case: Quickly share any web resource (images, videos, PDFs, etc.) while hiding the original URL

How It Works

Visit the URL shortening endpoint

https://previewfile.dev/u?url=[YOUR_ORIGINAL_URL]

Example:

https://previewfile.dev/u?url=https://example.com/sensitive-document.pdf

Get your preview link
- System automatically generates a short link: /p/abc123xyz
- Full preview link: https://previewfile.dev/p/abc123xyz
Share with others
- Recipients can view the content by visiting /p/abc123xyz
- Original URL is completely hidden
- Link expires based on configured duration (default 1 hour)

Example Use Case

Scenario: Share internal company report without exposing S3 storage path

# Enter in browser
https://previewfile.dev/u?url=https://s3.company.com/reports/Q3-2025.pdf

# Returns short link
https://previewfile.dev/p/x7k2m9n

# Share short link with team members

Benefits

✅ No registration or login required
✅ Instant preview link generation
✅ Hide original resource address
✅ Automatic expiration protection

Use Case: Upload local files for online preview with advanced security policies

How It Works

Visit homepage
- Go to https://previewfile.dev
- See file upload component
Drag/select file
- Drag and drop file to upload area
- Or click "Upload File" button to select
Login prompt
- System prompts for login on first upload
- Supports GitHub / Google / Email quick login
Configure preview policies (optional)
- Link Validity: Set expiration time (15 minutes to 7 days, plan limits apply, default 1 hour)
- Dynamic Watermark: Add watermark text
- No Download: Disable download, view-only
- One-Time Link: Link expires after one view
Generate preview link
- Click "Guard Your Files with Effortless Previews"
- Get /p/[shortUrl] format preview address
Manage history
- View all created preview sessions in Dashboard
- Manually delete or wait for automatic expiration

Example Use Case

Scenario: Designer shares design with client, view-only, no download

Upload design-final.psd
Check "No Download"
Set "Dynamic Watermark" to "Client Preview Only"
Set validity to 24 hours
Get link: https://previewfile.dev/p/d3s1gn42
Client can only view online, cannot download original file

Benefits

✅ Support local file upload
✅ Flexible security policy configuration
✅ Manage all preview records after login
✅ Suitable for internal enterprise collaboration

Scenario 3: Developer API Integration

Use Case: Integrate file preview functionality in applications, batch generate preview links

API Endpoint

POST /api/u
Content-Type: application/json
x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY

Request Parameters

{
  "url": "https://example.com/document.pdf",
  "ttlMinutes": 60,
  "watermark": "Confidential",
  "noDownload": true,
  "oneTime": false
}

Response Example

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "shortUrl": "a1b2c3d4",
    "previewUrl": "https://previewfile.dev/p/a1b2c3d4",
    "expireAt": "2025-10-02T15:30:00Z",
    "status": "READY"
  }
}

Integration Examples

Node.js

const fetch = require('node-fetch');

async function createPreview(originalUrl) {
  const response = await fetch('https://previewfile.dev/api/u', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.PREVIEWFILE_API_KEY}`
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      url: originalUrl,
      ttlMinutes: 120,
      noDownload: true
    })
  });

  const result = await response.json();
  return result.data.previewUrl;
}

// Usage
const previewLink = await createPreview('https://cdn.company.com/invoice-2025.pdf');
console.log('Preview link:', previewLink);

Python

import requests

def create_preview(original_url):
    response = requests.post(
        'https://previewfile.dev/api/u',
        headers={
            'Content-Type': 'application/json',
            'Authorization': f'Bearer {API_KEY}'
        },
        json={
            'url': original_url,
            'ttlMinutes': 120,
            'noDownload': True
        }
    )
    data = response.json()
    return data['data']['previewUrl']

# Usage
preview_link = create_preview('https://cdn.company.com/invoice-2025.pdf')
print(f'Preview link: {preview_link}')

Application Scenarios

SaaS Application Integration
- Auto-generate preview links after user uploads
- Include temporary preview address in email notifications
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
- Share contracts, invoices with customers
- Automatically set expiration and download restrictions
Internal Collaboration Tools
- Batch generate preview links for team documents
- Centrally manage permissions and validity