So teilen Sie eine PDF-Datei, ohne das Herunterladen zu erlauben

Some PDFs are meant to be read and not kept. A draft proposal you’d rather not see circulated, a course handout for enrolled students, a price list for one prospect, a manuscript sent to an early reader. Attaching the file hands over a permanent copy, and once it’s on someone else’s laptop, the version you send next month has to compete with it.

This guide covers the common ways to make a PDF view-only, what each one does in practice, and how to publish a PDF from Fabric with downloads turned off, so readers open it in a browser and you keep the only file.

How people usually stop a PDF being downloaded

The oldest method is a permissions password set in Adobe Acrobat or a similar editor, which restricts printing, copying and editing. The recipient still receives the file itself. How strictly those restrictions are applied depends on the reader app they open it in, and the file can still be forwarded.

Cloud drives offer a setting for this. Google Drive, for example, lets you stop viewers and commenters from downloading, printing or copying a file, and it works well when the recipient opens the file in Drive’s own viewer. It’s one setting per file, though, so you can’t give one reader download access and another view-only access to the same document without making a copy.

Other people turn to document-sharing tools built for sales and fundraising, or export each page as an image to make copying harder. Both can work. The first adds another subscription and another place for files to live; the second makes the PDF harder to read and impossible to search.

Step 1: Add the PDF to Fabric

Drag the PDF into the Fabric web or desktop app, paste it, or click Upload a file. It opens in the reader, where you can check it reads the way you expect before anyone else sees it.

If you expect to revise the document, put it in a folder and publish the folder instead. A folder publishes as a web page, and changes to the source in Fabric update the published version, so readers see the latest file at the same address. How to turn a folder into a website covers that approach in more detail.

Step 2: Publish it with downloads turned off

Click Share to open the share modal, open the Publish tab and click Create link. The link settings decide what visitors can do. Leave allow downloads off, and visitors can view the PDF without saving it from the page. Turn off allow visitors to copy it to their Fabric as well, so it can’t be added to someone else’s workspace. Turn off allow indexing by search engines unless you want the PDF found in search results. Publishing and the download setting are available on every plan.

Give the link a clear name before you copy it. That name is how you’ll tell it apart from other links to the same PDF later.

Step 3: Add a password if the content is sensitive

Turning off downloads controls what a visitor can do. A password controls who can visit. To add one, right-click the PDF (or open it and click the three-dot menu), choose Add password protection and enter a password. Password protection is on the Pro and Team plans.

Visitors enter the password before the PDF opens, and their access lasts 6 hours before they need it again. Keep the password in a password manager, because there’s no reset. Send it to the reader separately from the link.

Step 4: Give different readers different settings

You can create as many publish links to the same PDF as you need, and each has its own settings. A common pattern is a view-only link for prospects or external readers and a second link with allow downloads on for a colleague who has to file the document. Name each link after its audience or recipient (Board pack, read-only or Acme, view only) so the list stays readable.

On Pro and Team, turn on collect engagement analytics for each link. Link analytics show a chart of traffic over time with visit dates, location and device, so you can see whether a view-only link has been opened. On Pro you can also publish on your own domain; how to share files on your own domain explains the DNS setup.

Step 5: Know what view-only covers

A view-only link keeps the original file with you and removes the download option from the page. Like any on-screen viewer, it can’t stop someone photographing their screen or typing out what they read. For material where that risk matters, combine view-only with a password, a separate named link for each reader, and analytics, so you know which link was opened and when.

If you need readers to respond to the PDF, a published link isn’t the right tool, because published links don’t support comments. Share the file instead and give the reader the commenter role; the collaboration page explains how sharing differs.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make a PDF view-only?

Publish it from Fabric and leave allow downloads off when you create the link. Visitors can read it in the browser without a download option.

Can I share a PDF without the recipient being able to save it?

With downloads turned off, the published page offers no way to save the file. No viewer can prevent screenshots, so add a password and a named link for anything sensitive.

Can some people download the PDF while others can’t?

Yes. Create a separate publish link for each group, with allow downloads on for one and off for the other.

Is the download setting on the free plan?

Yes. Publishing and the allow downloads setting are on every plan. Password protection and link analytics need Pro or Team; see pricing.

What’s the difference between view-only and password protection?

View-only decides what a visitor can do once the PDF is open: read it, but not download it. A password decides who can open it at all. For confidential documents, most people use both, with the password sent to the reader separately from the link.

Does the reader need a Fabric account?

No. Published links open in any browser.

Can I update the PDF after sharing the link?

Edits to the source in Fabric update the published version. If you plan to swap in new drafts, publish the folder that holds the PDF.

Can readers comment on a view-only PDF?

Published links are view-only and don’t take comments. Share the PDF with the commenter role if you want feedback.

Will a view-only PDF show up in Google?

Only if you turn on allow indexing by search engines for that link.