You might see that the Dropbox Community team have been busy working on some major updates to the Community itself! So, here is some info on what’s changed, what’s staying the same and what you can expect from the Dropbox Community overall.

Forum Discussion

DocMolly's avatar
DocMolly
Helpful | Level 6
3 years ago

Replace files without breaking the shared link on desktop application for Mac

Hello, 

 

I have used Dropbox for years to share PDFs on my website. I work on a mac and use the Dropbox desktop application. Previously, when I wanted to replace a PDF under the same name in Dropbox, I just had to save the new PDF by selecting the file I wanted to replace within the Dropbox folder on my Mac. I would click REPLACE and it automatically updated the PDF under the same name without affecting the shared link. Recently, I noticed this is no longer the case. It now deletes the original file and replaces it with a new file under the same name. This breaks the link.

 

Fortunately,  you can replace a file under the same name without affecting the link directly in Dropbox via a browser. This is not as slick, so I hope you bring back this functionality to the desktop app for mac. 

 

Thank you! 

 

Molly

  • Hi DocMolly, thanks for posting .

     

    This behavior hasn't changed, so if you copy and paste a file with an identical name, the file should be overwritten and the shared link would remain the same since the file would be seen as edited.

     

    Have you recently made any changes on the Mac, such as updating the OS?

     

    This will help me to assist further!

  • Karmaa's avatar
    Karmaa
    New member | Level 2
    Hello everyone. In Google drive there is a feature where you can manage versions of a file. So you could upload a file and have it replace another file but keeps the same download link. Is there any way to do this in Dropbox?
    • Hannah's avatar
      Hannah
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

      Hey Karmaa, thanks for joining the Dropbox Community!

       

      I just moved your post to this thread with some info relevant to your query.

       

      Check it out and let me know if you have any questions.

  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

    Hi DocMolly, thanks for posting .

     

    This behavior hasn't changed, so if you copy and paste a file with an identical name, the file should be overwritten and the shared link would remain the same since the file would be seen as edited.

     

    Have you recently made any changes on the Mac, such as updating the OS?

     

    This will help me to assist further!

    • doss's avatar
      doss
      Helpful | Level 6

      This solution is not working for me with PDFs. I've tried the updating and saving to a different area then moving it into Db. I still receive the message that the file has been deleted.

      • Jay's avatar
        Jay
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

        Hi doss, it depends on how the app you're using saves files. It could simply overwrite the existing file, thus preserving the link, or it could delete the original and save the new version, deleting the shared link.

         

        Upload the file directly to the site would overwrite it automatically and preserve the shared link.

    • Mstrcreative's avatar
      Mstrcreative
      Helpful | Level 6
      I just updated my Dropbox app for OS. I reduced a pdf file size and re—saved over the original file with the same name on Dropbox and it broke the link. So this behavior has changed FYI. Latest OS etc.
      • doss's avatar
        doss
        Helpful | Level 6

        Same here. It's not working at all. My links break and only when linking PDFs.

    • Mark Selker's avatar
      Mark Selker
      New member | Level 2

      Hi,

      In the past 24 hours I've sent out 1000 emails with a link to a file I have in Dropbox. 

      I discovered a correction in the file that needed to be made.

      After reading a number of posts/articles it seemed that it should not be an issue.

      I cut and pasted the new file with the same name over the old file.

      The link does not work and shows the file has been deleted.

      How can I restore the link with the new file, or at the very least keep the older file and link?

      I've copied the link for your review. 

      https://www.dropbox.com/s/2nv6qc2y8aym0w6/FASD%20Artwork%20Catalogue%202022%20September%20-%20High%20Resolution.pdf?dl=0

       

      Thanks, 

      Mark

      • Rich's avatar
        Rich
        Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II

        Mark Selker wrote:

        How can I restore the link with the new file, or at the very least keep the older file and link?


        Restore the previous version of the file and both the file and link will be restored.

About Delete, edit, and organize

Solve issues with deleting, editing, and organizing files and folders in your Dropbox account with support from the Dropbox Community.

Need more support

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X or Facebook.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!