Delete, edit, and organize
Solve issues with deleting, editing, and organizing files and folders in your Dropbox account with support from the Dropbox Community.
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!
Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support
Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join!
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!
Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support
Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join!
Hello. Thank you for your response. Well, it wasn't working previously, for about a month's period. It was breaking my links. But I just tried again and now it is working!!! Horray!
Just FYI, unless I misunderstood, when I contacted dropbox support the person who helped me told me that it is expected that the link will break when you save a new file under the same name:
[Removed as per Community Guidelines]
Thanks for the info. In general, saving files with the same name would keep the shared link active.
The only issue might arise from an OS update which instead of allowing the file to be overwritten, first deletes the file (which deletes it from Dropbox and the shared link as well) and then adding the file again with the same file name, this time without any shared link.
Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support
Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join!
In general, saving files with the same name would keep the shared link active.
Just keep in mind that with some applications, while saving over an existing file, they'll first delete the original file before saving the new version with the same name. In such cases, if Dropbox were to sync fast enough, it can register the deletion which will break the link to the file as well.
I am currently having this issue....how can I fix?
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.
Thanks,
Mark
@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.
This is not helpful, they said wanted a new version of the file so how does it help them to replace with the previous version?
Hi there!
If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for a 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!