How to password protect design files you share

Design work often has to be shown before it can be talked about. A rebrand before launch, packaging for a product that hasn’t been announced, app screens covered by an NDA, a logo still in the round where the client might reject it. Designers send these out for review and handover all the time, and a leaked mockup can cause real trouble for the client.

This guide covers how designers usually share work they want kept private, and how to share design files from a password-protected folder in Fabric, with a separate route for feedback and for final handover.

How designers usually share private design files

Design tools have their own sharing. A Figma link, for example, can be limited to invited people or opened to anyone with the link, and some plans add password-protected links. It’s the natural choice for live files. Exports, PDFs of presentations, photography and the final asset pack usually sit somewhere else, so a project ends up shared from two or three places with different access rules.

File transfer services such as WeTransfer are common for handover. Paid plans can add a password and an expiry date, and the recipient gets a download without needing an account. A transfer delivers the files and stops there: comments come back separately by email, and the next version means a new transfer.

Shared cloud drive folders are the third habit, especially for agencies. They hold everything in one place, though access is usually by account, and showing a client one subfolder without the rest can get fiddly. Digital asset management for agencies looks at how studios organize this at scale.

Step 1: Put the project’s files in one folder

Create a folder for the project or the client and add the work: exported PNGs and PDFs, presentation decks, photography and source files. Drag them in or click Upload a file. If your team works from Finder or File Explorer, the desktop app mounts Fabric as a shared drive, so files saved from your design tools land in the project folder directly. Design file formats explained helps when deciding which formats to share at each stage.

Fabric extracts content type, concepts and colors from images as they arrive. That makes the folder searchable in ways designers tend to use: paste a HEX code or use the color picker to find every asset in a brand color, or select one mockup and run a similarity search to find others with a matching composition. Search covers the options.

Step 2: Protect the folder with a password

Right-click the folder, or open it and click the three-dot menu, and choose Add password protection. Enter a password. Password protection is on the Pro and Team plans.

A folder password also covers files added later, which suits design projects where new rounds keep arriving. Round three’s mockups are protected as soon as they’re saved into the folder.

Each client folder can have its own password, so access to one client’s unreleased work doesn’t open another’s. Keep the passwords in your team’s shared password manager, because Fabric has no password reset. Anyone with access has to enter the password, and access lasts 6 hours.

Step 3: Share the folder for review

For feedback, click Share and invite the client as a commenter. On images, they can draw on the design and attach a comment to the drawing, so “move this up” points at the exact element. On PDFs and other text files they can highlight text and comment. Each comment can be marked completed, so a feedback round works like a checklist. The annotations page shows these tools.

A typical round runs like this. You save the new mockups into the protected folder, message the client that round two is ready, and send the password by a separate channel if they don’t already have it. They work through the images, drawing and commenting, and you tick off each comment as you make the change. By the next round, the open comments show what’s still outstanding.

To keep a client to their own work, create a space just for that client and share the space; they see only that space. Roles (viewer, commenter, editor, admin) are set at space and file level, as described under roles and permissions. External reviewers can open a shared link without signing up.

Step 4: Publish the final files for handover

When the work is approved, publish the final folder. Click Share, open the Publish tab, and click Create link. A folder publishes as a web page, which makes a tidy handover page for a brand kit. Name the link, turn on Allow downloads so the client can take the files, and leave indexing by search engines off until launch. Each setting is described on the publish page.

Editing the source in Fabric updates the published version, so a corrected logo file or an extra icon set added after handover appears on the same page. The client keeps one link for the brand kit instead of a trail of transfer emails.

With engagement analytics on, link analytics show visits with dates, location and device. On the Pro plan you can publish on your studio’s own domain, which some agencies prefer for client handover.

Frequently asked questions

How do I share design files securely with a client?

Put the files in a Fabric folder, add password protection to the folder, and share it with the client as a commenter for review or publish it for handover. Send the password separately.

Can clients leave feedback directly on a design?

Yes, through a shared link with commenter permission. They draw on the image and attach a comment, and you mark each comment completed. Published links are view only.

Will new versions I add be password protected too?

Yes. A password on a folder covers files added to it later.

Can I give each client their own password?

Yes. Each file or folder can have its own password, so separate client folders can have separate passwords.

Can I stop people downloading my mockups?

Allow downloads is a setting you choose for each published link. Leave it off on a preview link and turn it on for the handover link.

Can I find a design file by color?

Yes. Paste a HEX code into search or pick a color, and Fabric finds images with that color.

Does my client need a Fabric account to review?

No. External people can use shared links without signing up.

Which plan does a design team need?

Password protection and link analytics need Pro or Team. Pricing isn’t per seat. See team pricing.