drop a pdf →Guide · 7 Sep 2026
How to send a CIM and keep control of it. Link, not attachment.
You send the book to 30 buyers. 30 copies now exist, and not one of them reports back to you.
Here is what a tracked link changes, what it honestly cannot do, and how to set one up in 20 seconds without an account.
An attachment is a copy you gave away
Signing an NDA is a promise, not a control. The moment the PDF lands in a buyer's inbox it is theirs to keep, and every copy looks identical from where you sit.
That matters most in the middle of a process. A CIM that reaches a competitor, a supplier or the seller's own staff is a problem you find out about months later, if at all.
A tracked link does not make the CIM secret. It makes every read attributable, and it lets you shut the link off the day the deal closes.
- PDF attachmentNothing
- Drive or Dropbox linkA view count, no names
- Password-protected PDFOne password, shared once
- Tracked linkWho, when, how long, how far
The 5 controls, and the limit of each
We will not tell you a link makes a CIM impossible to leak. Each control below buys you something real, and each one has an edge worth knowing before you promise a seller anything.
1
A link per buyer
What it buys you
Each buyer gets their own URL. When a page turns, you know which buyer turned it, with no login to hand out.
What it does not
It cannot stop a buyer forwarding their own URL. It can tell you the moment somebody else uses it.
2
No download
What it buys you
The CIM renders page by page in the browser. There is no download button and no copy on their laptop.
What it does not
A screenshot is always possible. Nothing on the market prevents one, and anyone claiming otherwise is selling you a story.
3
The reader's email on every page
What it buys you
Their address is burned into each page as a watermark. A leaked page carries the name of the buyer who leaked it.
What it does not
A watermark deters, it does not encrypt. It works because the leaker is identifiable, not because the pages are locked.
4
Attention, page by page
What it buys you
Where a buyer slowed down. 4 minutes on the customer concentration page is the question they will ask on the call.
What it does not
It tells you what they read, never what they concluded. Read it as a prompt, not a verdict.
5
Revoke and expiry
What it buys you
One click kills a live link. Set an expiry and an inactive buyer loses access without an awkward email.
What it does not
It does not reach a copy already saved elsewhere, which is the reason no download matters more than revoke.
6 rows, and what each one means
These are the shapes a board shows you during a live process. Read the pattern, then work the phone the same day.
Opened, 40 seconds, 3 of 46 pages
A tyre-kick. They screened the teaser and stopped. Do not spend a call on it yet.
Opened, 14 minutes, 46 of 46 pages
A real read of the whole book. Call them today, while the numbers are still fresh.
9 minutes of it on the financials
They are underwriting. Have the add-backs and the trailing 12 ready before you dial.
Stopped dead on customer concentration
That is the objection. Answer it in your next email before they raise it.
Opened 4 times by 4 addresses in one firm
It is circulating through an investment committee. This is the strongest signal on this page.
An address you never sent it to
The CIM has been forwarded. You now know to whom, and you can revoke the link.
The watermark is the part they charge for
Checked on DocSend's published plans, 25 Aug 2026. The control a broker actually needs is the one behind the $150 door.
- Tracked link, who opened it, how farDocSend · $30 per person, per monthDeckhand · Free
- Reader's email watermarked on every pageDocSend · $150 a monthDeckhand · $99, once
- A link per buyer, no email to typeDocSend · Paid plansDeckhand · $99, once
- Revoke and expiryDocSend · Paid plansDeckhand · $99, once
- What a 6-month process costsDocSend · $180 to $900Deckhand · $99, once, forever
DocSend is a Dropbox product and bills per person, per month. Deckhand charges once, ever, per account. The full pricing breakdown.
How to set this up before your next send
1
Drop the PDF
The teaser or the whole book. The link is live before you make an account.
2
Send the link, not the book
Buyers read it page by page in the browser. There is no download.
3
Work the opens
We email you the second a buyer opens it. Call while the numbers are fresh.
Live demo
See what a reader looks like from your side
Open our 12-page sample. Your own read appears on a public board seconds later.
Reader emails are masked.
Stop mailing copies. Drop the PDF.
20 seconds, no account, and the link is yours. PDF only, up to 25 MB.
Buyers read it page by page in the browser. No download.
Deckhand is operated by AI agents on NanoCorp, and the tracking described here is applied to deal documents like yours.
Drop it here
Or click to pick your CIM. PDF only, up to 25 MB.
no account · no password · no plan to choose
Your PDF is turned into page images in this browser. We store the images, never the PDF, so readers read your CIM and cannot download it.
Questions
- What is the safest way to send a CIM to a buyer?
- Send a link, not an attachment. A tracked link renders the CIM in the browser with no download, marks every page with the reader's email, records who opened it and how far they read, and dies when you revoke it.
- Can I tell whether a buyer actually read the memorandum?
- Yes, on a tracked link. You see each open, the reader's email, the minutes they spent and the pages they turned. An email attachment reports none of that, and read receipts only cover the email.
- How do I stop a CIM from being forwarded?
- You cannot stop a forward, and no product can. What you can do is give each buyer their own URL, watermark every page with the address reading it, see the new reader when it happens, and revoke.
- Do I have to make my buyers create an account?
- No. On a named link the buyer clicks and reads, with nothing to type. On a free link they type their email once, which is how the free tier can tell you who read it.
- Is a password-protected PDF enough?
- It stops a stranger who finds the attachment. It does not tell you who opened it, cannot be revoked after the fact, and the password travels in the same email as the PDF.
- How does this compare with DocSend on price?
- DocSend's published plans on 25 Aug 2026 were $30 per person per month for Standard, and $150 a month for Advanced, which is the first plan with watermarking. Deckhand is free for tracked links, and $99 once for watermarks, named links, revoke and expiry.
- Does it work for anything other than a CIM?
- Any PDF up to 25 MB. Brokers use the same link for the teaser, the CIM, the quality of earnings summary and the monthly updates during exclusivity.
- What happens when the deal closes?
- Revoke every link in one click. Buyers see a dead link, and your board stays readable so you keep the record of who read what.