# Start Uploading Before You Finish Filling In the Form With big files the slow part is the upload, not the form. Here the upload begins as soon as you add files, so the minutes you spend typing a message, adding emails or choosing options are not wasted. _Source: https://sharelargefilesfree.com/upload-starts-while-you-type ยท Updated 2026-10-01_ **Quick answer:** Files start uploading the moment you add them to the upload page; a note under the list says "Uploading while you finish" with the percentage. While they go up you can choose Get a link or Send by email, write a message and open More settings. When you press Get link (or Send), the transfer is created from what is already uploaded; if everything has arrived, your link appears straight away. Nothing is shared, created or emailed until you press the button. ## What it does and when it helps most Most of the time spent sending a large file is upload time. Starting it early overlaps that time with everything else you do on the page. - **Sending to many people by email**: typing 20 addresses and a careful message can take several minutes, all of it upload time now. - **Setting options** such as a password, an [NDA](https://sharelargefilesfree.com/send-files-with-nda) or a form: the files are moving while you read and choose. - **Photos from a phone**: a few hundred MB often finishes while you write the message, so the link is there the moment you press the button. ## How it works, step by step 1. Open the [upload page](https://sharelargefilesfree.com/) and add files or a folder: drag and drop, tap to add, or [from a link](https://sharelargefilesfree.com/send-files-from-dropbox-google-drive-or-link). 2. The upload starts at once. Each file shows its percentage, and a note says "Uploading while you finish" with how much is done. 3. Meanwhile, choose **Get a link** or **Send by email**, add recipients and a **Message to them**, set a password or press **More settings**. 4. When the note says "All files are uploaded. Press "Get link" to finish.", press it. The finished screen with the link, QR code and download code appears immediately. If files are still uploading, you see the progress screen for what is left. 5. In email mode the button says **Send**. If you are not signed in, you first confirm your own address with a 6-digit code; the emails go out only after that. ![Upload card with a file added, a message box, a password box and the Get link and More settings buttons](https://sharelargefilesfree.com/assets/img/guides/upload-files-added.jpg?v=1791899187) ## A worked example Ana has a 4 GB video and a 20 Mbit/s upload connection, so the upload takes roughly half an hour. She drops the file in and spends four minutes adding six client addresses, writing a message and picking an expiry. When she presses **Send**, more than a tenth of the upload is already done. For her next job, 300 MB of photos, the note says all files are uploaded before she finishes typing, and the link is ready the instant she presses **Get link**. Want an estimate for your own file? Try the [upload time calculator](https://sharelargefilesfree.com/tools/upload-time-calculator). ![Finished transfer screen with the download link, Copy and Share buttons, a QR code and a short download code](https://sharelargefilesfree.com/assets/img/guides/upload-done.jpg?v=1791899187) ## What the recipient sees Nothing until you press the button. There is no link to open and no email in their inbox while the upload runs in the background. Once you press **Get link** or **Send** and the upload is complete, they get the normal download page with your options applied, exactly as if you had filled in the form first. ## What happens to files you do not send - **Remove a file** from the list and its upload stops; the part already uploaded is deleted. - **Clear all**, or **Discard** on an unfinished-upload banner, deletes the whole unsent upload. - **Leave without pressing the button** and no transfer exists: no link, and nobody can download anything. Unsent files are deleted automatically after the resume window, 24 hours unless the page says otherwise. Came back in time? Add the same files and they continue from where they stopped, as in [resuming an interrupted upload](https://sharelargefilesfree.com/resume-interrupted-upload). ## Limits and what it does not do - The upload uses data from the moment files are added. On a metered mobile connection, add only what you mean to send. - It does not make your connection faster; it only stops form time from being wasted. - Keep the tab open until the upload has finished, including after you press the button. - The usual limits apply: up to 20 GB and 1000 files per transfer. ## Troubleshooting - **The note says "Connection lost":** your progress is saved and it keeps trying. Leave the tab open. - **The upload only starts when I press the button:** on rare occasions the server cannot start early (for example a limit); the page then uses the classic order automatically. - **Added the wrong file:** remove it from the list before pressing the button; nothing has been shared. - **The tab closed before I pressed Get link:** open the upload page in the same browser; a banner offers to continue, and the button still says Get link because nothing was sent. - **The progress screen appears after pressing the button:** some files were still uploading. Wait on that screen; the link appears when they finish. ## Frequently asked questions ### Do my files upload before I press Get link? Yes. They start uploading as soon as you add them, while you fill in the rest of the form. ### Is anything shared before I press the button? No. No transfer, link or email exists until you press Get link or Send (and, for email, confirm your address with a code if you are not signed in). ### What if I close the page before pressing Get link? Nothing is sent. The partly uploaded files are deleted automatically after a limited time. If you return sooner and add the same files, they continue. ### Can I remove a file while it is uploading? Yes. Its upload stops and the uploaded part is deleted from the server. ### Does it work on a phone? Yes, in any modern mobile browser. Keep the screen on and the tab open until the upload finishes.