Can I replace my PDF without changing the URL?

After creating your initial FlippingBook Online publication you may need to update it. You can use the option Replace PDF, and it will update your flipbook without changing the URL.

Note! This article describes how to replace the old version of your PDF in your flipbook with a new one. It's not possible to add or delete individual pages in FlippingBook Online or modify the content of the PDF itself. You can only replace the whole PDF and you’re going to need to use special tools to add or delete pages in it.

• How to replace the PDF in my flipbook?
• Will my links and videos remain intact if I replace the flipbook with a completely different PDF?
• Related articles

How to replace the PDF in my flipbook?

1. Open the list of your flipbooks.
2. Hover over the flipbook you'd like to change and choose the Replace PDF option from the three-dot button menu:
   
3. This will open a window where you can choose the PDF file. Click the Select New PDF button:

   

4. Choose the updated version of the PDF file, then click on the Open button.
5. Your flipbook will start updating and will be ready soon.

Updating might take some time depending on the size of your PDF file and the speed of your internet connection. Your flipbook stays available online with the same URL during the whole process. It's very convenient, as your clients will have access to your publication without interruption. You will receive an email notification when the update is finished. 

If you had links, videos, and images in your flipbook, you will be prompted to either keep them in the book or get rid of them as you replace the file:

You can update your flipbooks as often as you need.

Will my links, videos, and images remain intact if I replace the flipbook with a completely different PDF?

Whether your links, videos, and images will stay on the same pages depends on how many pages your new PDF contains. Here are the possible scenarios:

1. Your new PDF contains the same number of pages but has different content.

    

   Any objects you add to the flipbook are bound to a specific page, but not necessarily to its content. This means that if you have added a link on page 8 it will stay on that page when you replace the PDF, even if the content is different.

   Normally, that’s exactly what you expect if the new PDF is identical to the old one except for some fixed typos or a few replaced images. But if you change the PDF more significantly, you have to be alert, since it will affect the objects in the flipbook. For example, if you remove the 3rd page, the 8th will become the 7th. Any links on page 8 will stay there and you’re going to need to move them to page 7 manually.

   Note!
   If you expect to move pages, then we recommend adding the links to the PDF itself, instead of using the FlippingBook Online Editor. The links will be recognized and extracted automatically.

2. Your new PDF contains fewer pages than the original one.

    

   When you update your flipbook with a PDF that contains fewer pages, any objects on the removed pages won’t be transferred anywhere and will not show in your flipbook. However, the information about them stays recorded in flipbook files. This way, if you revert to a PDF that has the same or higher number of pages as the original one, your links and videos will be automatically restored.

   Internal links leading to some other pages in your book work a bit differently. If an internal link used to lead to a removed page, the record about it stays, but the link itself won’t be visible in the flipbook. You will still be able to see it in the Editor, though, and apply edits without the need to create a new one. You can also leave it untouched. It will go back to its original state when you replace the book with the PDF that contains the page number to which the link was originally leading.

    
3. Your new PDF has the same content but contains more pages.

    

   In this case, any embedded objects your flipbook contains will only be affected if you add pages at the beginning or the middle of the updated PDF. As mentioned above, links, videos, and images aren’t tied to your content. If your PDF is replaced, we can only use page numbers to understand where to place your links and videos.

   This means that if you had several links on pages 3, 5, and 10, adding 20 more pages will change the enumeration of your flipbook, but the links will still be tied to pages 3, 5, and 10. The same rule applies if you add more pages to the middle of your updated PDF.

Related articles

The easiest way to add or remove pages in the PDF is to use Adobe software, like Acrobat or InDesign. However, if you don't have them installed, feel free to check out what online services you can use to edit your PDF.

You can also use our Editor to add links and videos directly to your flipbook without the need to replace your PDF.