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My PDF additions in preview mode (via the macOS desktop app) don't appear on the web.

I am running MacOS Tahoe 26.1 on a MacBook Pro

For work, I often use the preview function in finder to type directly onto a PDF. I thought this was going fine -- the edits are saved and viewable in finder, even for people on other devices -- until I looked at the PDFs I've been editing on the web version of Dropbox. This is a problem in Safari, Chrome, and Firefox. The PDFs, other than the information scanned in the photocopier, are blank.

I have made sure to clear the dropbox cache, resinstall the dropbox app, restart my computer, verified that all my files are available offline and I have permission to edit them. Everything, according to the Dropbox app, is synced and up to date. What am I doing wrong?

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Levi3

Hi! I found a workaround. If the edits aren't showing up in the dropbox browser version, I export the pdf as PDF-A and keep the file name and replace the original. Then it shows up normally.

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Nancy

Welcome to our forum, @Levi3!

First off, can you clarify how exactly you type onto your PDFs in Finder? Can you perhaps send me a screenshot to have a visual? I’d also like one more screenshot of the same PDF file, as it appears on your Dropbox web account.

Other than that, when saying that other people can see those updates on their end, do you mean that they’re also using the Dropbox desktop app and your edits sync locally to their computers?

Let me know more info, and we’ll go from there.

Megan

Hi @Levi3!

Hope things are going smoothly! Just wanted to check if you still need a hand. If all's well, feel free to share what did the trick.

Levi3

Hi! I found a workaround. If the edits aren't showing up in the dropbox browser version, I export the pdf as PDF-A and keep the file name and replace the original. Then it shows up normally.

Megan

Amazing @Levi3!

Happy to see that your issue is now resolved! Give me a shout if you need anything else! 🤓