So veröffentlichen Sie ein PDF als Link

Plenty of PDFs are written to be handed out rather than worked on: a price list for customers, a restaurant menu, a report for a board, joining instructions for an event. Sending each one as an attachment means a separate copy in every inbox, and the moment page 4 changes there are two versions in circulation.

This guide looks at the usual ways people share a PDF by link and where each one gets awkward, then walks through publishing a PDF from Fabric: uploading it, creating the link, choosing what visitors can do with it, and keeping the content current.

How people usually share a PDF by link

Email is the default. It’s fine for one or two recipients, but the file gets forwarded, renamed and saved in places you can’t see, and a correction means sending a second email that some people will miss.

A share link from Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive is the usual step up. It keeps one copy in one place. The sharing settings take some care, though: restrict the link and recipients may hit a sign-in or access request screen, open it up and it’s easy to share the parent folder by mistake. The reader also lands inside the drive’s interface, with its menus and toolbars, which can feel like an odd way to receive a finished document.

Transfer services such as WeTransfer are quick for a one-off send, but their links expire after a set period, which rules them out for a menu or a policy that needs to stay available. The other option is uploading the PDF to your own website. That keeps it available indefinitely, at the cost of going through the website’s CMS each time the file changes.

Step 1: Upload the PDF to Fabric

Drag the PDF into the Fabric web or desktop app, paste it, or click Upload a file. If it’s sitting in an email or chat on your phone, open it there, tap Share and choose Fabric; the mobile apps for iOS and Android both support this.

Before you publish, open the file in Fabric’s reader mode and give it a final read. The published link shows the copy held in Fabric, so this is the version people will see.

If the PDF is one you’ll replace regularly, such as a weekly menu or a monthly report, create a folder for it and upload it there. Step 5 explains why that helps.

Step 2: Create a publish link

Select or open the PDF and click Share to open the share modal. Open the Publish tab and click Create link. Publishing is designed for delivery: visitors can view the PDF, and download it if you allow that, but they can’t edit or comment on it.

Give the link a name that tells you where it’s going, such as “Website footer” or “Board pack, March”. You can create as many publish links for the same PDF as you like, each with its own name and settings, which is useful when one copy goes on a public page and another goes to a smaller group.

Step 3: Choose what visitors can do

Allow downloads decides whether visitors can save a copy of the PDF. It’s available on every plan, including free. Leave it on for anything people will need to print or keep on file, and turn it off if you’d prefer them to read the document at the link.

Allow indexing by search engines controls whether Google and others can list the page in results. Turn it on for public material such as a product guide, and keep it off for anything meant only for the people you send it to. There’s more on that choice in how to stop search engines indexing a shared file. Allow visitors to copy it to their Fabric lets anyone who uses Fabric save the PDF into their own library.

Collect engagement analytics records each visit to the link, with the date, location and device, and draws a chart of traffic over time. Link analytics are on the Pro and Team plans. They don’t name the visitor, so if you need to know whether a particular person opened the PDF, give that person a link of their own.

Step 4: Add a password if the PDF is private

Password protection is on the Pro and Team plans. Right-click the PDF in Fabric, or open it and click the three-dot menu, then choose Add password protection and enter a password. Anyone opening it has to type the password first, and their access lasts six hours before they’re asked again. The password protection page covers the details.

There’s no password reset, so save it in a password manager before you send the link. To change it later, enter the old password and choose a new one. If the PDF holds financial or personal details, how to share large files securely covers the wider set of precautions worth taking.

Step 5: Send the link and keep it current

Copy the link and send it wherever it needs to go: an email, a team message, a button on your website, or a QR code printed on a table card. Each place can have its own named link if you want to see which one brings the most visits.

When the content changes, editing the source in Fabric updates the published version, so the URL you’ve already handed out keeps working. This is where the folder from Step 1 helps. A published folder appears as a web page, so if you publish the folder instead of the single file, you can swap in next week’s PDF and the same link shows it. How to turn a folder into a website goes further with that approach.

If you’d like the link on your own address rather than fabric.so, custom domains are on the Pro plan. How to share files on your own domain walks through the DNS setup.

Frequently asked questions

Can I publish a PDF as a link for free?

Yes. Publishing, including the option to allow downloads, is on the free plan. Password protection and link analytics need a Pro or Team plan; the pricing page lists what each plan includes.

Do people need a Fabric account to open a published PDF?

No. Anyone with the link can open it in a browser. If they do use Fabric and you’ve allowed it, they can also copy the PDF into their own library.

How do I stop people downloading my PDF?

Turn off Allow downloads when you create the publish link. Visitors can still view the PDF at the link.

Will my published PDF show up in Google search results?

Only if you turn on Allow indexing by search engines for that link. Leave it off for anything you want to keep to the people you send it to.

Can I see how many people opened my PDF link?

On the Pro and Team plans, yes. Turn on engagement analytics and you’ll see visits over time, with the date, location and device of each visit. Visitors aren’t named, so use a separate link per person when that matters.

Can I update a published PDF without sending a new link?

Yes. Editing the source in Fabric updates the published version. For a PDF you replace often, publish the folder it lives in, then swap the file inside the folder.

Can people leave comments on a published PDF?

No. Published links are view and download only. For comments, share the PDF with commenter permission instead, and people can highlight and comment on the text.

Can I password protect a PDF link?

Yes, on the Pro and Team plans. Add password protection to the PDF in Fabric, and anyone opening the link has to enter the password, which lasts six hours per visit.

Can I publish several PDFs at one link?

Yes. Put them in one folder and publish the folder. It appears as a single web page containing every PDF inside.