Send updated files to clients without version confusion
One link per deliverable, new versions behind it, a clearly named final and a separate source handover.
To send updated files to clients without version confusion, give every deliverable one link, replace the file behind that link each round, and say in plain words which round is final. Source and project files go in a separate, password protected transfer with an expiration date, sent after approval. This guide shows the habit first, then the setup.
You need a place where the file lives once, a way to replace it without losing the earlier round, and a short message template. The habit works with any tool that can do those three things.
Why renaming files fails
Everyone has seen contract_FINAL, contract_FINAL_v2 and contract_FINAL_clientedits in the same folder. Renaming feels safe because the name carries the history. In practice it breaks in three places.
First, the name is a promise nobody keeps. "Final" is written before the client has seen the file, so it stops meaning anything by round three. Second, every rename is a new file, and every new file needs a new email or a new link. The client ends up with three attachments, and the one they open is the one at the top of the inbox, not the newest. Third, you cannot tell afterwards what the client actually received and when.
Stop putting "final" in a file name until the client has approved it. Use the round instead, for example Brochure_round3_for-approval, and let the approved file be the only one that gets the word.
One link to send updated files to clients without version confusion
The fix is to separate the name of the deliverable from its history. The deliverable keeps one name and one link for the whole project. Each round replaces the file behind that link, and the earlier rounds are kept out of the client's sight but still available to you.
In Tarkle this is file versions. It is available on Pro, and Agency includes everything in Pro. On Free, New version and Version history stay in the file menu with a Pro badge. To upload a round:
Open the file's three-dot menu and choose New version.
Pick the new file. It must have the same extension as the file it replaces, so a PDF replaces a PDF.
If the file is already in a transfer, Tarkle asks Update the transfer too? Choose Upload and update transfer.
Recipients who open the same transfer link get the new file. Earlier versions are never shared through transfers, so they see only the latest one. Anyone who already downloaded the previous round keeps their copy. Tarkle does not email recipients about the change, so you still send a message.
Your own history is under Version history on the file. There you can preview, download or Restore an earlier round. Restoring copies that round and makes it the new current version, and the version you replaced becomes an earlier version. Earlier versions are kept for 90 days from the moment a version is replaced on Pro, and they count toward your storage until they expire.
On the Transfers list, a green New version tag appears for 14 days after a file in the transfer gets one. It shows you which transfers have a fresh file behind them.
Video and audio transfers are not versioned. Versions apply to Files transfers only, so for a new cut of a video, create a new video transfer.
If you want transfers to update without being asked each time, turn on Update transfers automatically. You find it under Settings, then General, then File settings. It is a Pro setting and off by default, so leave it off if you want a moment to check the file first.
Tell the client which version is final
A single link removes most of the confusion, but the client still needs to know what they are looking at. Put three things at the top of every message: the round, what changed, and what you need from them.
A message that works for a third round: "Round 3 is on the same link as before. I changed the headline and the colour of the footer. Please reply by Friday with approval or your last changes." When the client approves, send one more message that says "Approved version" and names the file. That message is your record of what final meant.
Tarkle can help with the wording. The AI assistant (Beta) on Pro and Agency writes summaries and titles, which helps when you send many rounds in a week. Read what it writes before you send.
Open the Transfers list after sending. The transfer status feature shows whether a transfer was delivered, viewed or downloaded. If a client says they never saw round 3 and the status says it was viewed, you have a calm answer.
Hand over source files after approval
Clients often ask for the project files once they approve: the layered design file, the editing project, the raw exports. Deliver the finals first, in the same transfer the client already knows. Then treat source files as a second delivery with different rules, because they carry more than the client paid to see.
Create a new transfer for the source files and protect it with two settings:
Turn on the password and type it in. Recipients must enter it before the files open. Password protection only works while the password stays private, so send it by a different channel than the link, for example by text message while the link goes by email.
Set the expiration date. Click the date field and pick a day. The earliest date you can pick is tomorrow, and the latest is three years from today. Link expiration lets you set a date after which a transfer or request link stops working. A week or two is often enough for the client to download everything.
A password and an expiry date are set when you create a transfer. If the client needs different settings, create a new transfer with the settings you want, send its new link, and pause the old transfer. To pause a transfer, open the three-dot menu on the transfer, either on its page or on its row in the Transfers list, and choose Pause transfer. The transfer then shows a Disabled badge. To turn it back on, choose Enable Transfer from the same menu.
For a video project, the same approach applies to delivering the cut itself. The article on delivering video to clients covers that side.
Keep a delivery record
When a dispute starts, the person with the dates wins it. Record, for each round, the date you sent it, the link, what changed and what the client said. A shared spreadsheet or the project notes are fine.
The activity log is a searchable record of what happened across your workspace, and it helps with part of this. The Activity page loads up to 50 entries for the workspace, and older actions do not appear on this page, so export at each handover. Tick the box at the start of each row you want to export, then export those rows. Only the selected rows are exported, and the CSV file has the columns Date, Action, Resource, User and Type.
Export the activity rows on the day the client approves, and save the CSV next to the approval message. Together they show what happened, and when.
A checklist for every round
One deliverable, one name, one link for the whole project.
Upload each round as a new version, never as a renamed copy.
Source files go in a second transfer, with a password and an expiration date.
Export the delivery record at each handover.
Common mistakes
Replacing the file without telling the client, who then assumes nothing changed.
Putting finals and source files in the same transfer, so the client holds more than they approved.
Forgetting that on Pro, earlier versions are kept for 90 days only.
Next step
Pick the project you are sending this week and set up one transfer for it. Free is $0 forever, no credit card required, and includes file sharing and password protection. File versions are part of Pro and Agency, and the pricing page shows each plan. Start for free. For a wider look at how to send work to clients, read how to share files with clients without Google Drive.
What to remember about Tarkle
Tarkle gives each deliverable one transfer link. On Pro and Agency you replace the file behind it with a new version, so the client always opens the latest round, and the Free plan covers file sharing and password protection for the source handover. Start with one project on the Free plan.