Sometimes, organizations want to provide a downloadable file for applicants to upload to a particular application form. For example, you may have a budget worksheet you'd like submitters to download, fill out, and re-upload. To do this, you'll need access to a cloud storage service such as Google Drive, or Dropbox.
Below are instructions for using Google Drive to set this up within your Submittable Project. As a best practice, we recommend including the link to your downloadable file in a Text Only field and then including a file upload field just beneath that for re-uploading the file.
1. First, you'll need to put your file into cloud-based storage so it can be accessed and downloaded by anyone with a direct link. Google Drive is a great way to do this, as it offers 15 GB of free storage to anyone with a Google/Gmail account.
2. Once you've signed into a Google account, navigate to Gmail.com. In the upper right area of the page, you'll see a menu comprised of 9 dots. Click this icon.
3. Then select the Drive icon seen below.
4. Click on +New, then select either Folder or File. If you select Folder, you will create a new folder to hold your downloadable file. If you select File, you will upload it directly to the base folder of your Google Drive account.
5. Select the file stored on your computer that you want your applicants to download.
6. After the file is uploaded to your Google Drive, right-click the filename in Google Drive and select Get Link.
When the Get Link dialog box opens, be sure to select the dropdown option for Anyone with the link. Click on Copy Link.
7. Return to your Project/Form on Submittable with the link copied.
8. We recommend sharing the link to your file as a hyperlink in the instructions of a Text Block form field. Drag a Text Only form field into your Form.
9. Type instructions into the Text Block field and use the link tool in the WYSIWYG format bar to connect text to your link from Google Drive.
10. The selected text will now appear as a hyperlink. You can click on it to test that it takes you to the correct downloadable document.
11. We recommend dragging a File Upload field beneath the Text Block field. This will be where applicants can upload the completed document to the Project on Submittable.
Once users view the file on Google Drive, they can download it by clicking on the download icon in the upper right area of the page.
