---
title: "Add a File Shortcut in a Data Room"
lang: en
canonical_url: https://www.peony.ink/docs/getting-started/add-a-file-shortcut
description: "Place a file in another folder or data room without copying it. A Peony file shortcut shows the original's name and versions and doesn't count as another document."
---

A **file shortcut** places a file in another folder or data room in Peony, a virtual data room for fundraising, M&A and due diligence, without copying it. The shortcut shows the original's name and versions, so one upload updates every room that shows the file.

## Steps

1. Open the folder or data room where the shortcut should go.
2. Click **Add content** and choose **File shortcuts**.
3. The dialog opens at **All teams**. Click **Open** on a team, then on folders, until you reach the file.
4. Click **Select** on the file.

A toast reads **Reference created**, and the shortcut appears in the folder. In the dialog, a file that is already a shortcut carries a **Reference** tag. Selecting it points your new shortcut at the original.

## How a Shortcut Behaves

- **Name and content come from the original.** Rename the original or upload a new version of it, and the shortcut follows.
- **You can't rename it, set its thumbnail or upload a new version to it.** Its menu has **Open source file**, which takes you to the original.
- **Its place is its own.** **Move**, **Duplicate** and **Delete** work on the shortcut, and it has its own [permissions](https://www.peony.ink/docs/features/security/granular-access-control) and links.

## Notes and Limits

- Deleting a shortcut leaves the original in place.
- **Deleting the original deletes every shortcut to it**, and links to those shortcuts stop working. See [Delete a file or folder](https://www.peony.ink/docs/getting-started/delete-a-file).
- Shortcuts are for files. You can't make one of a folder.

## Common Questions

#### Does a file shortcut use up my document limit?

No. A shortcut isn't counted as another document, because it holds no file of its own.

#### How do I update a file that has shortcuts?

Open the shortcut's menu and choose **Open source file**, then [upload the new version](https://www.peony.ink/docs/getting-started/upload-a-new-version) there. Every shortcut then shows it.

## Related

- [Upload and organize files](https://www.peony.ink/docs/getting-started/upload-and-organize-files)
- [Upload a new version](https://www.peony.ink/docs/getting-started/upload-a-new-version)
- [Move a file or folder](https://www.peony.ink/docs/getting-started/move-a-file-or-folder)
- [Create a team](https://www.peony.ink/docs/getting-started/create-a-team)

---

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