By the LinkDrop team.
The short answer
Put the photos and the job description in one PDF, give each contractor their own LinkDrop link to it, and you know which contractor opened it and when. If your measurements change, replace the PDF and both contractors see the new version on the link they already have.
An AI agent can do most of it. In this example, Maya already uses Claude Code, and it makes the PDF on her own computer. LinkDrop does not make PDFs. It shares them and records who reads them. You do not need an agent at all: make the PDF any way you like and add the links in the web app (see Without an agent).
The job
Maya owns a house with an old wooden deck. Three boards are soft, the railing by the stairs wobbles, and the bottom step has split. She wants quotes from two contractors before the weather turns: Tom, a deck builder a neighbour recommended, and Ana, a handywoman who fixed her fence last year. Maya and both contractors are invented for this example.
Before
Maya would usually text each contractor a dozen phone photos, one by one, and type the same explanation twice. The photos arrive out of order, without the measurements, and some get compressed. Then she waits. Did Tom see them? Is Ana's silence a no, or just a busy week? She cannot tell whether to chase one, both or neither. (When a plain attachment is still fine, and when it is not: email attachments vs tracked links.)
With LinkDrop
1. The agent makes one PDF
Maya puts her photos in a folder on her laptop, with a few lines about the job, and asks Claude Code:
Make a PDF for contractors from the photos in ~/deck-photos and notes.txt. Cover page with the job and the measurements, then one photo per page with a caption saying what it shows. Keep it under 20 MB.
Claude Code reads the photos and the notes on her computer and writes the PDF there. The cover page says what she wants done and the deck's size, 12 by 16 feet. Each photo page has a short caption: "Soft board, third from the house", "Railing post by the stairs". Maya flips through it and fixes one caption before anything is shared.
2. One link for each contractor
Then she asks:
Share it on LinkDrop with two links: one labelled "Tom, deck builder" and one labelled "Ana, handywoman". No downloads.
Claude Code uploads the file to LinkDrop, waits until it is ready, and makes the two links. (How to send a PDF from Claude Code covers connecting LinkDrop the first time.) Every document also starts with a Default link; Maya does not send that one. She texts each contractor their own link.
The labels are private: Tom and Ana never see them (see Share links). In a messaging app that previews links, such as iMessage, the link shows the document's title and a picture of its first page, so they can tell what it is before they tap.
Downloads are off by default, so both contractors read the current version on the web, on a phone or a laptop. If one of them asks for the file, they give their email and confirm it with a code, and Maya gets an email to Approve or Deny.
3. Know who opened it, and when
Tom opens his link that evening. Within about five minutes, Maya gets an email. It names the link, Tom, deck builder, says when it was opened, and how far he got. A few minutes after he closes it, a second email arrives: a short visit brief saying which pages held his attention (the captions name them) and which pages he never opened. The first brief in a Free workspace is free; later ones use credits.
Ana does not open hers for two days. Instead of guessing, Maya asks:
Have Tom and Ana opened the deck PDF? Which pages did they look at?
Claude Code reads each link's numbers from LinkDrop: when it was last opened, which pages were viewed and the time on each. Tom spent most of his visit on the railing photos. Ana's link has not been opened. Maya sends her a short reminder, and nothing to Tom.
A link only says which link was opened, not who held the phone. That is why each contractor gets their own. Contractors can read it without signing up, signing in or giving a name; asking for the file needs their email.
4. She measures again, and replaces the PDF
Before Tom comes out, Maya measures again. The deck is 14 by 16 feet, not 12 by 16, and she found one more soft board by the steps. She updates her notes, adds a photo, and asks:
Remake the contractor PDF with the new notes and photos, and replace the one on LinkDrop. Keep the same links.
Claude Code makes the new PDF on her computer and replaces the file on LinkDrop. Both links keep their address and their history, and anyone who opens either link now sees version 2. In the app, Maya can see what changed between the two versions, page by page (Versions and history). The replacement itself uses no credits; the AI summary of what changed uses credits, like the briefs.
LinkDrop does not email the contractors when the file changes. Maya texts them both: "Updated measurements, same link."
The result
Both contractors quote from the same, current description of the job. Maya knew within minutes that Tom had looked, she knew Ana had not, and she chased only the one who needed it. Tom had seen the first version, but her text and the same link meant he quoted from the new measurements.
The same idea with investors instead of contractors: a founder sends her pitch deck to three investors.
Without an agent
Make the PDF in any app that can put photos and text on pages. Upload it in the LinkDrop web app, then open the document and click New link once for each contractor, with their name as the label. The open email and the visit brief work the same way. When the measurements change, use Upload new version and choose Replace the current version; the links stay the same. How to track when someone opens a PDF walks through it step by step.
If you use ChatGPT
ChatGPT can make the PDF too, from photos you attach to the chat. It works in its own sandbox in the cloud, not on your computer. To share the PDF it made, it may give you an upload link: you save the PDF from the chat, open the link and choose the file. The rest works the same way, two labelled links, then ask who opened them. See Getting a file to your agent.
Good to know
- Size. LinkDrop takes PDFs up to 50 MB and 300 pages. Phone photos are large, so ask the agent to shrink them.
- Location data. Phone photos often carry where they were taken. Ask your agent to leave it out of the PDF if that matters to you.
- Testing your own link. Opens while you are signed in to LinkDrop are not counted. Open it signed out and it counts as a reader.
- Downloads. If you approve a download, the contractor gets the PDF as it was that day. A later replacement does not change their copy. If they saved it to a LinkDrop account, the copy shows when a newer version exists and lets them ask you for it. Keep downloads off until the details are settled.
- Your plan. One job is one document. Free covers 10 shared documents, with full open and page tracking. Visit briefs and the summary of what changed draw on the same credits. See Credits and plans and Pricing.