How can I see whether someone opened my PDF?

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• Can HawkOpen show who viewed a document I shared on Google Drive?

  No. HawkOpen cannot see who opened a Google Drive file; Google Drive has its own activity information, which depends on your account type. HawkOpen tracks PDFs that you share as HawkOpen links, per recipient, and for now this is a preview until external file scanning is switched on.

• What is document tracking, and how does HawkOpen do it?

  Document tracking means sharing a file as a link instead of an attachment, so you can see when and for how long it is viewed. In HawkOpen you upload a PDF, give each recipient access, and see viewing sessions and active time on each page once the recipient agrees to it on the PDF page.

• Should I send a PDF as an attachment or as a link?

  An attachment is a copy that leaves your hands once sent: you cannot see whether it was opened or take it back. A HawkOpen link keeps the file on HawkOpen, so you can end a recipient’s access and, if the recipient agrees to it on the PDF page, see viewing sessions and time per page.

• Can a downloaded PDF be tracked, or can a tracking pixel watch an attachment?

  Not reliably. A tracking pixel works in the body of an email, not inside an attached file, and a PDF that tries to contact a server when opened is usually blocked by PDF readers or flagged as suspicious. HawkOpen does not add tracking code to your files.

• What is the maximum PDF size, and is there a page limit?

  A PDF link takes one PDF file of up to 10 MB. Any number of pages can be viewed, but time per page is recorded only for the first 500 pages.

• Can I see repeat visits when someone reopens my PDF?

  Yes, once the recipient has agreed on the PDF page to the measuring; the consent covers your company’s documents until the recipient withdraws it. Each time the PDF is then opened in a new browser session, HawkOpen records a separate viewing session: when it started, when it was last active, how long it lasted, the IP address and the browser.

• Can a PDF link expire or have a view limit, and what does the viewer see then?

  Yes, on the Business plan: you can set an expiry date and a maximum number of views for a PDF link and change them later. After the date or the limit, the viewer sees a page saying that the link has expired or that the view limit was reached.

• Can I protect a PDF link with a password or require an email before viewing?

  HawkOpen uses a one-time code instead of a password. You give access to a specific email address; when that person opens the link, HawkOpen emails them an 8-digit code, and the document opens only after they enter it.

• Does the recipient need an account to view my PDF?

  No. The recipient opens the link in an ordinary web browser, enters the one-time code that HawkOpen emails to them, and reads the document. They do not install anything or create an account.

• Can I see which person opened my PDF, or why does it show an anonymous viewer?

  Not by name. For visits the recipient agreed to have measured, the session list shows when each viewing session happened, how long it lasted, the IP address and the browser. Because access is given per email address and confirmed with a code sent there, a viewer must have had access to one of the mailboxes you chose.

• Can I see whether my PDF link was forwarded to someone else?

  For PDF links, HawkOpen does not mark forwarding. A forwarded PDF link is of little use anyway: the one-time code goes to the address you gave access to, not to the person who received the forward. Proposal links do mark a view as forwarded.

• Can I block downloading of a shared PDF, and how do I share it securely?

  A PDF link has no download switch: the viewer shows the document in the browser, and what a browser can display it can usually also save. On proposal links, downloading is off unless you allow it, and while it is off a watermark is on by default.

• Does HawkOpen record when someone tries to print my document?

  On proposal links, yes: a print attempt in the viewer is recorded in the proposal’s report, together with whether downloading was allowed. Ordinary PDF links do not record printing.

• Can I add a watermark to a shared PDF?

  Yes, on the Business plan. The viewer then shows a faint diagonal text over the pages with the viewing session’s ID, the date and time and the word HawkOpen. The PDF file itself is not changed.

• Can I revoke a PDF link after sending, or replace the file behind it?

  You can revoke one recipient’s access or delete the whole document, and the link stops working. You cannot swap the file behind an existing link: upload the new version and send a new link.

• Will I be notified when someone views my PDF?

  On the Business plan, yes: switch on email alerts for PDFs in your settings and HawkOpen emails you for each new viewing session that the recipient agreed to have measured on the PDF page. The setting is off by default. On other plans you see those sessions in the dashboard.

• Can I show my own logo or brand on the PDF viewer?

  Not today. The PDF viewer is a HawkOpen page with the HawkOpen name in its header, and you cannot replace it with your own logo or colours.

• Which file formats can I share: Word, PowerPoint, OpenDocument?

  PDF links and signature requests accept PDF files only. Proposal links also accept Word, PowerPoint and OpenDocument files and images, which HawkOpen converts to PDF.

• Why do my document views and link clicks look inflated?

  Security scanners and link previews open links before people do, and many tools count those as views or clicks. HawkOpen labels likely scanner clicks in emails instead of counting them as people, and its PDF, video and signing pages ask for a one-time code that scanners cannot enter.

• Is a DocSend link phishing, and why do company firewalls block document links?

  HawkOpen cannot judge another company’s links. Document-sharing links are often blocked by company filters because attackers imitate them; check the sender and the real address of the link before entering anything.

• What is document analysis in HawkOpen, and does it read scanned documents?

  On the Business plan, HawkOpen can read the text inside a PDF, sort the document as an invoice, contract or proposal by keywords, and list possible email addresses, dates, amounts and reference numbers. It does not read scans or handwriting: there is no OCR.

• Can I track PDF views or downloads in Google Analytics?

  Not with HawkOpen. Its PDF viewer sends no data to Google Analytics; views and time per page, measured only with the recipient’s consent, appear only in your HawkOpen dashboard.

• Can I organize PDF links in folders or with tags?

  No. Your PDFs appear in one list with their title, creation date, expiry, view limit and watermark setting; there are no folders or tags.

• Can I compare views across versions of a document?

  No. A PDF link always shows the file you uploaded, and you cannot add a new version to it. Upload the new version as a separate document; each has its own sessions and page statistics, which you can compare yourself.

• Does the PDF viewer work on a phone?

  Yes. The viewer is a web page that adapts to narrow screens, so the recipient reads the document in their phone’s browser without an app. Time per page is measured the same way as on a computer, and likewise only after the recipient agrees to it on the PDF page.

• Why can recipients not see files I added to a shared folder later?

  HawkOpen does not share folders, so this does not come up in HawkOpen; in folder-sharing services it usually depends on how the folder was shared, so check that service’s help. In HawkOpen every PDF has its own link, and a document added later needs its own access.

• What are video messages in HawkOpen, and which plans include them?

  A video message is a short video that you upload and send as a HawkOpen link; if the recipient agrees to it on the video page, you then see whether and how much of it was watched. Video messages are part of the Pro and Business plans.

• What does HawkOpen measure when someone watches my video?

  Once the recipient agrees on the video page, HawkOpen records for each viewing session the watch time, the share of the video actually played and whether it was watched to the end (at least 95%). Skipping ahead does not count as watching.

• What is the difference between PDF links and video links in HawkOpen?

  Both share a file as a link with per-recipient access and a one-time code, and both measure only after the recipient agrees on the page. A PDF link records time on each page (all plans; Business adds expiry, view limit and watermark); a video link records watch time, share watched and complete views (Pro and Business).

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