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Request Files

A request link collects files from someone outside your organization. They open the link in a browser, upload files, and the files appear on the work item, with a comment that mentions you.

  1. Click Request files

    In the work item's Secure File Exchange panel, click Request files. If you don't see the button, see Who Can Create Links.

  2. Choose the settings

    • Expires after: how long the link works. Your admin sets the choices and the suggested value.
    • File types: Documents and images (PDF, Office and OpenDocument files, text and CSV, images and ZIP archives) or Any type, if your admin allows it.
    • Protect with a password: optional, unless your admin requires one. See Passwords and Locked Links.

  3. Click Create link

    The link appears in the panel as a File request card.

  4. Send the link

    Click Copy message and paste it into your email or chat with the person. If the link has a password, copy it now and send it another way, for example by phone or text message. See Copy the link and the message.

Screenshot — The Request files dialog

The dialog with Expires after, File types set to Documents and images, and Protect with a password turned on, with a generated password.

A link's settings are fixed once it is created. To change them, revoke the link and create a new one.

What the outside person does​

They open the link, drag in files or pick them from their computer or phone, and click Send files. The page says up front how many files, how large and which types the link accepts, and turns away a wrong file before anything is uploaded. Each file shows its progress, and a Thank you page confirms the upload.

While the link works, they can come back and send more, through Send more files, until they reach the number of files the link accepts (50 unless your admin sets fewer). See What Outside People See.

When the files arrive​

When the person finishes sending, the app adds one comment to the work item. It mentions the link's creator, lists the files with their sizes, and points to the panel. Jira notifies you as it does for any mention, so there is no need to keep checking the panel.

  • In Jira Service Management, the comment is an internal note: the customer does not see it and gets no email because of it.
  • If the person closes the page before they finish, the app still comments on the files it received, once the link has been quiet for half an hour. That comment can take up to about an hour and a half.

Download the files from the link's card in the panel.

Keep a file on the work item​

Received files are not Jira attachments. They stay in the panel until your admin's retention period after the link ends, and then the app deletes them (the card shows the date). To keep a file for good, download it and add it to the work item as an attachment.

Files from outside are not scanned for viruses. They always download as files and never open in the browser; treat them as you would an email attachment.