Replacing file attachments

Created by Ben Shell, Modified on Thu, 7 Aug, 2014 at 8:01 AM by Ben Shell

Your content management system keeps a copy of all versions of uploaded files, allowing revisions and other features to work normally. Newer versions of uploaded files are always assigned a unique name and URL, e.g. a new version of annual-report.pdf will be renamed to annual-report-0.pdf, annual-report-1.pdf, etc.

In some circumstances, a site administrator will need to replace a specific file attachment on the server. Possible scenarios include:

An e-mail blast was sent out with a link to the wrong version of the file
A search engine has indexed a particular file (e.g. PDF) at a specific URL which contains out of date information
A direct link to the attachment has been shared (as opposed to a direct link to the post, which will automatically update attachment URLs to the newest versions.)

In each of these circumstances, this could not be fixed by simply editing the post, removing the attached file, and re-uploading, because the old file will still be accessible at the original URL. To address this, use the method below to replace the existing file.

Note: replacing a file attachment using the method described below is a permanent operation and cannot be undone! Previous revisions will cease to exist, and it will basically look as though the new file had been uploaded instead of the original file.

To replace a file attachment:

Identify the URL of file you wish to replace, e.g. http://www.digitaldeployment.com/sites/main/files/file-attachments/regionalsancasestudy.pdf
Pay close attention to the last part of the URL which indicates the filename (in the above example, it would be regionalsancasestudy.pdf)
Go to Commands > Manage Content
Click on the "Manage Files" tab
Find the file you wish to replace by searching for the first few letters of the filename, e.g. by typing in "regional"
Please check to ensure you are replacing the right file!
Click "Replace"
Choose the file to upload from your computer that will replace the old file (note: it does not have to have an identical file name to the original, as it will "adopt" the file name of the original attachment)
The file will automatically upload and a confirmation message will display
Caches and CDNs will be automatically cleared and the site should start serving the new file immediately
Please access the original URL of the file you replaced to ensure the new file is accessible