Updating PDF files breaks certain link shares

[Robbot]

I work for a company that uses Dropbox to share all our files with one another. 
We've recently updated our website and are now sharing our PDF catalog and specification sheets via shareable dropbox links.
We found this was great as if we update anything we can just save and replace the PDF and the website would be updated automatically! 

I only just found out now that certain PDFs that I update are having their links broken when I save over them.
They're all named in a cohesive manor and I make sure to save over the file directly but for some reason like 4 out of the 20 I update have their links broken when I save over them.

I just did a little test to make sure, and it seems for one certain PDF, when I replace it, Dropbox automatically deletes and redownloads it instead of just updating like the rest of the PDFs. (This still happens when I save it into the same folder of one of the PDFs that do update correctly)

Anyone have any ideas why this is happening and how to fix?

[Jay]

Hi @Robbot, thanks for posting today!

If you overwrite a file in your Dropbox folder, or via uploading it to the Dropbox site directly, then the link shouldn’t break.

If the file is being deleted first and then recreated, then this sounds like an OS or app issue, if you’re saving it directly via the app.

If it only occurs for certain files, then there should be a common ground between them, such as a specific folder, file size, edited in a different app, or something else that could cause this discrepancy.

Let me know what you find out!

[Robbot]

Hi Jay, thank you for the reply!

I'm uploading the files via my desktop with the Dropbox windows explorer integration.

All the PDF files are editted in the same file within inDesign, I just choose the specific pages to print to PDF and save to their respective folder replacing the previous file. 

I can't seem to find that common ground sadly. I've tried several different folders with no luck and a couple I'm having issues with vary in file size (one is 823kb and one is 5313kb) so that can't be it as I have files that are working are inbetween those sizes.

So I thought it might have to do with page amounts, as the ones I'm having issues do have 4-6 pages vs only 2, but in other parts of the document I'm able to output like 8 pages without breaking the link.

It seems to be how inDesign saves the document in specific instances, as I just tried saving a problematic document to a different location, opened with Acrobat reader, and then saved it over the linked document and now the link doesn't break...

If you have any other ideas that'd be greatly appreciated, but it kind of seems like more of an Adobe problem than Dropbox at this point!

[Jay]

If the behavior appears to be erratic, then there isn't much we can do to narrow down what could be causing the issue.

Is the PDF printer one built into the program, or a separate third party PDF printer? Perhaps there's a setting there that can help.

What if you try printing the PDF to a different location, and then dragging it to the correct one in Dropbox to overwrite the file, does the link remain there?

[Robbot]

Apologies for the delay!

The PDF printer is part of inDesign's program, similar to most other programs where when you go to print you have the option of exporting to PDF.

What you described is currently the work around I've been taking to avoid links breaking the last couple days. I export the PDF with the inDesign print to PDF to my desktop, and then either save as or drag and replace the correct one in Dropbox.

Definitely something I can live with.

[Jay]

Thanks for the update, @Robbot. While we weren't able to narrow down the issue, I'm happy to hear that the workaround is suitable for your requirements.

If you need any further assistance, please let me know.