Templates
Storage Type New
Every template writes its finished document onto a HubSpot property. Storage Type decides what that property holds: a link to the document, or HubSpot's file reference for it.
Both options upload the document to your HubSpot file manager. The only difference is the value written onto the record — and that difference decides whether the property is usable in a HubSpot email.
Where to find it
In the Template Builder, open the Settings step and find the HubSpot Integration card. Two fields work together:
| Field | What it decides |
|---|---|
| HubSpot Storage Property | Which property on the record receives the document |
| Storage Type | What that property holds — a link, or a file |
The two options
Link (URL)
Stores the document's link in the property. Choose this if the property is used in emails or workflows.
The property holds the document's URL. Anything that reads the property gets a link: a personalization token in an email prints a clickable link, a workflow can pass it on, and a person looking at the record can click straight through to the document.
File Attachment
Stores the document as a file on the property. In emails, a personalization token for this property shows a file number instead of a link.
The property holds HubSpot's own reference to the file. On the record HubSpot recognises that reference and renders it as a file you can click and download, which is why this option looks right when you check the record.
Everywhere else, the property is just that reference. It is a long number, and nothing outside the record view turns it back into a link.
Why this matters in emails
This is not hypothetical. It is the single most expensive mistake we see: a customer emailed certificates from a property stored as File Attachment, and every recipient got a row of digits instead of their certificate.
The rule is simple:
If the property is ever read by an email, a workflow, or anything other than a person looking at the record, choose Link (URL).
File Attachment is only the right choice when the record view is the only place the document is ever read from.
| You want to… | Storage Type |
|---|---|
| Send the document in a HubSpot marketing or sales email | Link (URL) |
| Pass the document on in a workflow | Link (URL) |
| Show a clickable link on the record | Link (URL) |
| Have the document render as a file on the record, and nowhere else | File Attachment |
Fixing a template that used the wrong one
Changing Storage Type affects documents generated afterwards. Documents already written onto records keep the value they were given.
- Open the template, go to the Settings step, and set Storage Type to Link (URL).
- Regenerate the affected documents — see Regenerate Documents.
- Check one record and one email before sending anything in bulk.
Choosing the storage property
Only file properties can be chosen as a storage property. PDF CreateMate lists the file properties belonging to the template's object type and nothing else, so a property that does not appear in the list is not a file property.
This holds for both storage types. Link (URL) still writes into a file property — it writes the link as its value.
If there is no suitable property, create one without leaving the builder: click Create file property under the picker. See Create HubSpot Properties for the fields and naming rules.
Related
- Create HubSpot Properties
- Upload Template — where the storage property is chosen in the builder
- Document Storage — where files live once uploaded
- Email Documents — using the property in a HubSpot email
- The Document Generates But Is Not On The Record