Request files with WeTransfer and find what is still missing

A WeTransfer file request can give three contributors one place to upload their work. To tell whether all six deliverables arrived, keep a separate list of what each person owes you. In the example below, six received rows still leave two requested files outstanding: an updated portrait from Avery and a caption from Casey.

The downloadable example roster gives every deliverable an item ID from P01 to P06. The received example has six rows, including an older revision and a duplicate submission. You can open both CSV files in a spreadsheet and compare them as you follow along.

Give each file an item ID

The roster assigns Avery a portrait and caption, Blair a portrait and caption, and Casey a portrait and caption. Each expected filename starts with its item ID and ends with a revision such as r01 or r02. For instance, Avery’s requested portrait is P01-Avery-portrait-r02.jpg.

The ID is the part to keep stable. If Avery replaces the portrait, P01 still means the same deliverable. The revision tells you which version was requested. A changed filename alone cannot prove that the file’s contents changed, so treat the name as a way to organize submissions before you inspect them.

Before sharing a request link, make the assignment clear to each contributor:

Contributor	Portrait	Caption
Avery	P01, revision r02	P02, revision r01
Blair	P03, revision r01	P04, revision r02
Casey	P05, revision r01	P06, revision r01

The downloadable CSVs use synthetic contributor names and filenames.

Create the request

WeTransfer’s Request Files instructions start at Request Files on the homepage. Give the request a required title, add optional instructions, create it, and copy the link. The instructions appear above the upload area. WeTransfer does not provide custom required fields for this request, so asking for an item ID in a filename is guidance for contributors, not a form rule the service enforces.

For this example, Portrait and caption collection would be a clear request title. Keep the upload instructions short enough to use while choosing files:

Upload your assigned portrait JPG and caption TXT.
Start each filename with its item ID and include the revision.
If replacing a file, tell me its item ID and the new revision in your message.
Due Friday, October 9, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. in the organizer’s stated time zone.

Send the assignments separately so each person knows which IDs and revisions apply to them. The Friday deadline is part of this example; it is not a measured WeTransfer expiration time.

According to WeTransfer’s instructions, uploaders verify their email address, and that address identifies their transfers. The request owner receives an email notification when files arrive. Uploaders do not receive a notification when the owner downloads them.

Compare the six received rows

Open the roster beside the received CSV. Compare by item ID first, then check the requested revision. Here is the full result of that comparison:

ID	Expected file	Received example	What needs attention
P01	P01-Avery-portrait-r02.jpg	P01-Avery-portrait-r01.jpg	Avery’s r01 row is present; the requested r02 is absent.
P02	P02-Avery-caption-r01.txt	Same filename	Current revision label; ready for content inspection.
P03	P03-Blair-portrait-r01.jpg	Same filename	Current revision label; ready for content inspection.
P04	P04-Blair-caption-r02.txt	That filename and P04-Blair-caption-r02-copy.txt	Two r02 submissions; compare their contents.
P05	P05-Casey-portrait-r01.jpg	Same filename	Current revision label; ready for content inspection.
P06	P06-Casey-caption-r01.txt	No row	Casey’s caption is missing.

Six upload rows cover only five distinct IDs. Four IDs have at least one row labeled with the requested revision, but P04 has two such rows and needs a comparison. P02, P03, and P05 are the three unambiguous current-revision rows ready for content inspection.

The two P04 names do not tell you whether the files contain identical text, which one Blair intended to keep, or whether either caption is correct. Do not choose the one ending in -copy or the other one based on its name or presumed upload order. In a real collection, open both, compare their contents, and ask Blair which version is intended if the difference matters. The downloads contain spreadsheet rows, so use your own files for the content comparison.

Use a spreadsheet to count, then inspect

For a small project, you can sort both CSVs by item_id and compare the rows manually. Keep one row per required deliverable in the expected sheet. P04’s second submission belongs in the received sheet; it does not create a seventh requirement.

If you want a count beside each expected item, import expected-deliverables.csv and received-example.csv as separate worksheets. Name the second worksheet Received. Item IDs are in column A of both CSVs. In an empty cell on the expected sheet’s P01 row, enter:

=COUNTIF(Received!A:A,A2)

Fill the formula down through P06, adjusting the expected row reference as the spreadsheet does. The result counts received rows with the same ID: P01 through P06 return 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 0 in this example. A zero identifies P06 as absent, while the two for P04 flags a duplicate ID.

A count of one does not mean the right version arrived. P01 also returns one, but its received row says r01 and the roster asks for r02. After checking the count, compare the revision column and filename with the expected row. Then inspect the contents of any candidate you plan to use. The reconciled example records the missing, older, duplicate and inspection-ready states.

If a filename lacks an item ID, ask the contributor which deliverable it replaces before adding it to the received list.

Request the specific corrections

A general “please check your uploads” message leaves contributors to guess. The roster and received rows support two precise requests:

Avery, please upload P01-Avery-portrait-r02.jpg. The received example lists P01-Avery-portrait-r01.jpg, but the requested revision is r02.

Casey, please upload P06-Casey-caption-r01.txt. There is no received row for P06.

Blair’s P04 situation calls for a different action. Compare P04-Blair-caption-r02.txt with P04-Blair-caption-r02-copy.txt and clarify which contents to use if they differ. A third upload is not automatically needed just because the sheet shows two rows. Once corrections arrive, repeat the ID, revision, and content checks rather than marking an item complete solely because its count increased.

Check received transfers before the deadline

The request link’s lifetime and the uploaded files’ availability are different. WeTransfer’s file-request tracking instructions say the request itself does not expire, but received transfers do. The request owner can find requests under Transfers > Requested, open one, and use its Received details to view or download what came in.

The documented default expiration depends on the request owner’s plan: three days for Free or Starter, and 30 days for Ultimate or Teams. Ultimate and Teams owners can adjust an expiration from the Received tab. Because contributors may upload on different days, the example’s Friday deadline cannot serve as one expiration date for every submission. Review receipts during collection and download files you need into the project folder, so a contribution from earlier in the week is checked while it is available.

When no further corrections are needed, Close stops new uploads to the request. Delete is irreversible. For this case, the request still needs to accept Avery’s r02 portrait and Casey’s P06 caption; close it after those corrections have been received and checked.

Source note: The WeTransfer help pages linked above were checked October 7, 2026 KST. The three downloadable CSVs are a synthetic local exercise whose rows were checked by CSV computation. No sender or recipient account trial was performed.