How to update a PDF without changing the link (or the QR code)
Update a PDF, keep the same link
You can update a PDF without changing its link, as long as the link points at a file record rather than at the file itself. Swap the file behind the record and the URL, the QR code you printed and the view count all stay put. On Link in Seconds that is one button in Link settings, and it is free on every plan. Here is how it works, what carries over, and how Drive and Dropbox compare.
The short answer
- Where
- Link settings → Sharing → Replace the file
- Cost
- Free on every plan
- Link and QR code
- Unchanged
- Views and settings
- Carried over
- Old version
- Kept on Pro (last 5), deleted on Free
Why the link breaks in the first place
Most of the time a fixed price list, a corrected typo or a new menu means a new link, because the tool you used ties the address to one upload. Send a fresh PDF by email and the old one still sits in every inbox. Upload a new copy to a transfer service and you get a new URL with its own expiry date. Print a QR code that points at that upload and the code is now wrong.
The fix is a link that acts like a mailbox, not a parcel. The address stays the same and you change what is inside it. That matters most for anything you can't easily re-send:
- Printed QR codes on menus, flyers, posters, product packaging and table tents.
- Links already in the wild: in an email signature, an Instagram bio, a LinkedIn post or a client's bookmarks.
- Documents that keep changing: price lists, timetables, house manuals, resumes and course handouts.
How to update a PDF without changing the link
- 1
Open the link's settings
In My files, open the menu on the link you already shared and choose Link settings. - 2
Pick the new file
On the Sharing tab, find Replace the file and click Choose new file. Pick the updated PDF, or any other supported file. - 3
Wait for the check
The new file uploads and is scanned before it goes live. Until it passes, the old file keeps serving, so nobody sees a broken page mid-swap. - 4
Done, nothing to re-send
You'll see 'File replaced, same link kept'. The URL, the QR code, the view count and every setting on the link stay exactly as they were.
The new file still has to fit your plan's per-file limit (100 MB on Free), and storage is counted on the difference: the old file comes off, the new one goes on. A link that is under review can't be replaced until the review is done.
What stays the same, and what changes
| After a replace | What happens |
|---|---|
| The URL (linkinseconds.com/p/…) | Kept |
| The QR code, printed or not | Kept, it encodes the URL only |
| View count and analytics history | Kept |
| Password, expiry, view limit, email gate, view-only | Kept |
| The file type | Can change, a PDF can become a video or an image |
| The previous file | Deleted on Free; Pro keeps the last 5 as restorable versions |
Undo a replace with version history
On the free plan a replace is final: the previous file is deleted, so keep the original on your computer. On Pro, every replace keeps the file it replaced as a version, up to the last 5. You can restore any of them in one step, and the file you restore over becomes a version itself, so nothing is lost by changing your mind. Restored files are scanned again before they go back online.
Drive, Dropbox and the rest
| Tool | How to keep the same link | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Link in Seconds | Replace the file in Link settings | Free on every plan; Pro adds version history |
| Google Drive | Manage versions → Upload new version (desktop web, non-Google files) | Works; recipients still hit Drive's permission and preview screens |
| Dropbox | Upload a file with the same name to the same folder | Works if the name matches exactly; a renamed file gets a new link |
| Most transfer services | Not possible | Every send is a new link with its own expiry |
| Email attachment | Not possible | The old copy lives in every inbox forever |
Drive and Dropbox can both do it. The catch is everything around the file: Drive links still depend on the sharing setting staying open (we list everything that ends one in do Google Drive links expire?), and Dropbox only keeps the link if the new file has exactly the same name in exactly the same folder. Neither tells you how many people opened the updated version.
Where this pays off most
Restaurant menus and price lists
Print the QR code once, then change the PDF every time a price moves. We walk through the menu set-up on the PDF menu QR code page and the catalog version in your brochure or catalog as a link.
Resumes and portfolios
Put one resume link on every application and keep it current. A recruiter who opens it next month sees this month's version, not the one you sent. See share your resume as a link.
Proposals and decks in negotiation
Fix a number in a proposal after you've sent it and the client never opens a stale copy. The open tracking carries over too, so you still see when they come back to it.
Quick answers
Can I update a PDF without changing the link?
Yes, if the link points at a file record rather than at the file's bytes. On Link in Seconds you open Link settings, choose Replace the file and pick the new PDF; the URL, the QR code, the view count and every setting stay the same. It is free on every plan.
Will my printed QR code still work after I replace the PDF?
Yes. A QR code only stores the link's address, and replacing the file never changes the address. Anyone who scans the code you printed last month opens the new version today.
Do people who already opened the link see the new version?
Yes, the next time they open it. The public page is rendered fresh on every request and the file itself is served without a long-lived cache, so there is no stale copy to wait out. If someone downloaded the old PDF to their device, that saved copy does not change.
Can I replace a PDF with a different file type?
Yes. The replacement can be any supported format, so a PDF menu can become an image, or a draft PDF can become a video walkthrough, on the same link.
Can I go back to the old version?
On Pro, yes: replacing a file keeps the previous ones as versions, up to the last 5, and you can restore any of them in one step. On the free plan the old file is deleted when you replace it, so keep your own copy if you might need it.
Does replacing the file reset my view count?
No. The views, the analytics history and the settings belong to the link, not to the file, so they carry straight over to the new version.
Go deeper
Turn any file into a link in seconds
Upload a PDF, image, video, or ZIP and get a clean, trackable link with a QR code, free.
Try Link in Seconds →