Replace a Dropbox file without changing its shared link

A shared Dropbox link becomes much less useful if every file update creates a new URL. The trick is to replace the existing file rather than delete it and upload another one.

Give the updated file exactly the same name and extension as the file already in Dropbox. Then:

  1. Open Dropbox in your browser and go to the folder containing the shared file.
  2. Find the updated version on your computer.
  3. Upload it to the same Dropbox folder and replace the existing file.

Dropbox keeps the existing shared link because the file was replaced in place.

Be careful at the replacement step: you may not get much of a warning, and uploading the wrong file can overwrite the one you meant to keep. Download a copy of the old version first if you may need it later. It is a small precaution that is considerably nicer than reconstructing a lost file.