How to link Notion with your local files and folders

Notion is a great all-in-one organizer for any kind of project. Due to its customizability, you can also use it to organize your animation, motion graphics, and game projects. However, these projects involve lots of files, which are typically out of Notion's reach. Notion cannot read the file system.

Why file organization in Notion is not great

Notion only allows you to upload files as attachments. This is great for images or videos because they can be viewed directly in Notion. However, for everything else, such as Photoshop files, EXR images or any 3D graphics, this does not work. You have to download them, go to your download folder, and put them back in your project folder structure, which is a painful process.

Open folders and files using web links

Link Your File allows you to link your local files and folders to Notion using a URL. Clicking on this URL will open the browser in the correct folder, no matter where your files are located. They do not have to be on Google Drive or any other similar platform. Link Your File creates a web link pointing to those files and folders, which can be used in Slack or anywhere else you like.

How to create web links to open local files in Notion

This procedure works the same for files and for folders (open up your file browser).

Download Link Your File

Download and install Link Your File for Windows or macOS. The whole process is straightforward. The first time you launch it, you will start a trial period. At the end of the trial period, you will be able to purchase a perpetual license. Link Your File will be a context menu entry on your operating system.

Navigate to your file and create a web link

Link Your File creates a web link pointing to a local file.

Paste the link into Notion

Paste the link into your Notion database or anywhere else. If you are using a database, you need a URL property, so that you can click on the link later on.

Opening the file

When you click on the link, the Link Your File website will open. The first time this happens, you will have to accept that your browser will open an application. When you do, the Link Your File application is launched and opens the file.

Using links in a team

If you work in a team and several people need to open the files and folders from Notion, everyone needs Link Your File. Also, everyone needs to have access to the files and folders, which can be done by sharing them via Dropbox or having them on a NAS or similar.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I create a hyperlink to a file?

You can create hyperlinks to files using Link Your File. After you installed the application, do a right click on any file and choose "Link file".

Will my files be uploaded to the cloud?

No, files stay on your local computer. Link Your File is just a plugin for your operating system that only points to a file and does not upload them anywhere.

Where can I paste links that link to my files?

You can paste links into any application, such as a wiki tool like Notion or a chat application like Slack.