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Watermarking

May 5, 2026
Contributed by: 
P P

Watermarking allows you to track documents by user. This includes printing. If the user has download permissions, the watermark will not appear while viewing.

Setting the Watermark (VDR)

To set an account-wide default, go to Account settings > Advanced Preferences > File Settings. You will find the Document Watermark setting under the Watermark settings on this page.

Notes:

  • Once enabled, the watermark will immediately display.

  • These folder-specific settings are only for VDR account.

  • Watermarking is also supported for PowerPoint, Word, and Excel files.

Watermark settings for Advanced, Premium, and Industry Advantage

Folder-level watermark settings: VDR vs Advanced, Premium and Industry Advantage

  • Advanced/Premium/Industry Advantage: Does not support folder-level watermark settings. Watermarking is configured at the account level and applied when you create a share link.

  • VDR: Supports folder-specific watermark settings in Edit Advanced Folder Settings. You can also enable or disable “view-only” watermark downloads for a folder, allowing view-only users to download a watermarked PDF.

Enable Watermark (account-level)

Use the following instructions to enable watermarking for your ShareFile account.

  1. Open your ShareFile account. Navigate to Account settings.

    Watermark-VDR

  2. Navigate to Advanced Preferences. Select File Settings.

    Watermark-VDR

  3. Select Watermark and click on Enable Watermarking, and click on Yes.

    Watermark-VDR

Watermark Options

  • User’s Email
  • User’s First Name
  • User’s Last Name
  • User’s Company
  • User’s IP address
  • Current Date
  • Current Time

Select the New Line option from the list provided to create a line of text to be displayed on the watermark.

Enable watermark in Advanced, Premium, and Industry Advantage plans

The following steps explain the process of how to add a watermark before sharing with users.

  1. Navigate to Folders > Shared Folders.

    Enable Watermark

  2. Go to the folder and select a file you want to share.

    Enable Watermark

  3. Select Share.

    Enable Watermark

  4. Click on Create another link to show the watermark option before sharing.

    Enable Watermark

  5. The Create another link page is displayed. Click the Add a watermark checkbox. Select Create and copy to generate the link.

    Enable Watermark

Watermarking for VDR accounts

If the account-level watermarking is enabled, files within Projects will follow the same setting.

For example, users with “view-only” permissions will see files with watermarks applied when viewing them.

Watermarked Downloads

Use Watermarked Downloads for the entire account or within a folder in the Virtual Data Room. Watermarked Downloads allow users with view-only access to download a PDF version of the file with a custom watermark included.

  1. To enable Watermarked Downloads for View-Only:

    a. Navigate to Account settings > Advanced Preferences > File settings.

    view only

    b. Select Watermark. Click on Enable Watermarking and change the default setting from No to Yes, and select Save.

    view only

  2. To enable Folder-specific settings:

    a. Navigate to Folders. Select Shared Folders.

    Folder-specific

    b. Select the folder and access the More Options drop-down menu beside the folder name.

    c. Select Edit Advanced Folder Settings.

    Folder-specific

    There are three options under the Watermark section:

    • Use account-wide settings
    • Do not use a watermark for this folder
    • Use another watermark (allows for custom text)

    d. Select Watermark option. Click on Use Account-Wide Default.

    Folder-specific

    e. Set the desired option for Watermarked Downloads for View-only.

    f. Select Enable View only Watermarked Downloads, or Disable View only Watermarked Downloads. Select Save.

    Folder-specific

    More than one file can be downloaded with a watermark at a time, including whole folders.

Watermarking
May 5, 2026
Contributed by: 
P P
May 5, 2026
Contributed by: 
P P

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