This feature automatically finds text matching your step names within files you've linked as related files, then inserts links that open those steps directly in Dive. You don't need to specify which row or cell to paste into—it happens automatically. The text and layout remain unchanged, so you can keep using your original format.
Without this feature, you'd manually search the document for each item, look up the URL for each step, and paste it in—impractical for checklists with dozens of items. This feature handles matching and insertion in one go, and shows you a preview of which steps link to which locations before finalizing.
PDF, Excel, and PowerPoint export create new files from your Dive content. This feature adds only links to files you already have and returns them to you. Use it when you want to connect daily checklists and work standards—the ones your floor team already uses—directly to your video procedures without rebuilding them.
This feature is available on Pro and Enterprise plans. Only someone with permission to edit the SOP can use it from a PC browser. You also need user permissions that allow downloading attached files.
Supported file types
Only files linked in the "Related files" panel in the Basic information tab of the SOP editor that meet these conditions are eligible. An "Add Dive links" button appears for files that qualify.
- One of the following: Excel (.xlsx / .xlsm), Word (.docx / .docm), PowerPoint (.pptx / .pptm), or PDF (.pdf)
- Older formats (.doc, .xls, .ppt) are not supported. While they can be used as reference material for AI analysis, we can't process them for link insertion because we need to return the original file unchanged. Please save your files in the newer format first.
- The file must be uploaded to Dive directly (files registered as external URLs cannot be processed).
- The PDF must not be password-protected.
Eligible files include not only SOPs used as reference material for AI analysis, but also checklists and inspection forms you attach later. The "Role" setting for the file doesn't matter.
Adding links
- Open the Basic information tab in the SOP editor and open the "Related files" panel.
- Click "Add Dive links" on the row for your file.
- The system automatically matches text in the file with your step names, and a confirmation screen appears.
- If you don't want to add a link for any step, uncheck it on the left.
- Click "Download" or "Replace the related file in Dive".
How to read the confirmation screen
The matches appear in three categories.
- Exact match — the step name matches text in the file exactly (ignoring full-width vs. half-width characters, spaces, and leading numbers or symbols).
- Partial match — the file text contains the step name in full.
- Estimate — the text doesn't match exactly (common with scanned or distorted text). The confidence level appears as a percentage.
The "Where it goes" and "Text at that location" columns show where the link will appear and what text is there. Uncheck any that aren't right—those steps won't get links.
For PDFs, page images appear on the right. Click a row to navigate to it and see a flashing outline. Orange outlines show estimated matches. You can drag the border between the table and page images to adjust the width.
Steps that couldn't be linked appear grouped at the top of the screen.
- Steps not found in the file.
- Steps that don't qualify: step names shorter than 3 characters, or duplicate step names.
Download vs. Replace
Download
Download the file with links added immediately. The filename will be "original-filename_with-links.extension". Use this when you're sharing the file outside Dive.
Replace the related file in Dive
Save the file with links to Dive and replace the original in the related files. The file that people access from the SOP will always be the version with links.
The original file is kept after replacement. When you run Add Dive links again, it always rebuilds from the original, so links never get duplicated.
What gets embedded
Embedded links are Dive URLs that open a specific step. Clicking one takes you directly to that step in Dive.
The URL itself doesn't grant viewing permission. Access depends on logging in to Dive and having folder permissions. If someone isn't logged in or doesn't have permission to view the folder, the step won't open. You can't embed external sharing links.
For showing steps to people outside your organization, see External sharing guide for SOPs: when to use External Sharing URLs vs. Guest invitations.
What changes and what stays the same
Linked text appears in blue with an underline so people can see it's clickable (except in PDFs). The text content, layout, and format stay the same.
- Excel — hyperlinks are added to the cells with matching text, displayed in blue and underlined. Grid lines, fills, alignment, and number formats stay the same. Cell values, formulas, row/column sizes, shapes, and checkboxes are unchanged.
- Word — text in matching paragraphs becomes links using Word's built-in Hyperlink character style. Paragraph formatting and layout remain unchanged.
- PowerPoint — text in matching paragraphs becomes links following the theme's hyperlink formatting. Shape positions, sizes, and font sizes stay the same.
- PDF — link areas are added to pages, but the page content itself is unchanged (links aren't visually apparent).
When links won't be added
To avoid linking to the wrong steps, we don't add links when we're unsure. Links won't be added in these cases:
- Different phrasing or sentence endings (for example, "secure the jig" and "securing the jig" are treated as different text).
- Step names shorter than 3 characters.
- Multiple steps with the same name (we can't tell which one to link, so we link neither).
- The same text appears multiple times in the file (such as in both a table of contents and the body text). Links are only added if we can narrow it down to one location between neighboring steps.
- In Excel, only cells containing text are checked. One link per cell, and one link per step.
- In Word and PowerPoint, paragraphs that already have links are skipped (to avoid breaking them). If a step name spans multiple paragraphs, links won't be added.
- In Word, text inside text boxes or shapes, and paragraphs with tracked changes, are skipped.
- In PDFs, rotated text is not supported.
If no matches are found, you'll see "No matching step names were found in the file" and no output file is created. Aligning step names with how they appear in your original document makes matching easier.
When you update the SOP
Embedded links point to step numbers. If you change step names or reorder steps after adding links, existing files will have links pointing to the wrong steps.
If you try to publish in that state, you'll see a message: "The file exported with links will become out of date." After publishing, go to Basic information > Related files and run Add Dive links again to create an updated file.
This message won't appear if you only update the content without changing step names or order. Existing files and their links will still work.
About step name matching
Step name matching continues to improve. If you notice successful matches or unexpected placements, please let us know through Support.