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Can I replace my PDF without changing the URL?

Product: FlippingBook Online

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. Kindly note that this feature is available in Starter and higher plans.

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?

  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?

Any custom content that you added stays on exactly the same page as it was. Any links, videos, and images you add to the flipbook are bound to a specific page and 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. Thus, often your custom content will end up on the wrong page. That is the reason why we advise you to double check your content after you updated your original PDF.

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.

 

Now let’s have a look at the example. You had the flipbook with the link https://flippingbook.com/ on the page number thirty-two:

You have taken your original PDF and added 2 pages between the pages twenty-nine and thirty, so your thirtieth page became the thirty-second one. So now your link is still on the page number thirty-second but looks like this:

And so, as the link is on the wrong page now, you will need to correct this.

In case if you just added a couple of elements, you can move them manually by using the instructions from our How to add videos, links, and images to my flipbook? article.

If you have a lot of elements, we can enable the Shift elements option for you. With this function, you can move all content on several pages at once. So if you want to do it, contact us and we’ll be happy to assist.

 

I have replaced my PDF, and the new file has the same number of pages. The content is still in the wrong place. How to fix it?

Content can end up in the wrong place when you replace the original PDF consisting of single pages with a new PDF containing spreads. Spreads are two pages on a single sheet intended to be shown together. It means that the new PDF has half as many pages as the original one, even though the content hasn't changed.

Let's look at an example. Here's what page number six looks like in a single-page:

If we export the updated PDF as spreads (you can ask your designer for it), then we have two times fewer pages in the new PDF in comparison with the original one:

So page one stays page one, but page two now contains the old pages two-three, page three contains the old pages four-five, page four contains the old six-seven, and so on.

After that, we update your original PDF with the new version with spreads, now the content is in the wrong place. For example, here's the same page six exported as a spread:

As you can see, the video from your original flipbook is not on the page number six anymore. Now the video has moved to page number ten. It happened because, as mentioned before, the sixth page now contains the old ten and eleven. So the video has moved from the old page number six to the new page number six.

This example confirms that any links, videos, images you add to the flipbook are bound to a specific page and aren’t tied to your content.

Note! This issue also can happen vice versa if you replace spreads with single pages.

 

So how can you fix it? The best solution here is to export the PDF again with the original page setup. It means that if your original PDF had single pages, your new PDF should also have single pages. If it had spreads, your new PDF should also consist of spreads. After your new PDF is ready, replace the original PDF with a new one again. All content should return to its correct place.

Anyway, if you still face the issue or want to clarify any question, feel free to contact us!
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