How to share and sync PDF files between devices.

Saving, sharing, and accessing files across your devices is common nowadays — be it with laptops, mobile phones, tablets, and/or desktops, and cloud-based storage services. You may access or work on a file on one device and then want to pick it up again on another. It’s easy to share and sync PDF files between devices so you can access the latest version where and when you want to. Read on to learn how.

What you’ll learn

• The differences between sharing and syncing files
• Options for sharing and syncing PDF files with cloud storage
• How to sync multiple devices with cloud storage
• Using Adobe Acrobat to sync PDFs to the cloud
• The advantages of Adobe Acrobat online to share and sync files

The differences between syncing and sharing files.

File synchronization and file sharing are similar concepts, but there are differences in what they are. The key points are —

• File synchronization.
  File synchronization is a process that you can use to ensure that whatever device is used to access a document, you are always working on the latest version. This can be done by working on files on shared local networks, and via cloud storage.
  
  The primary purpose of file synchronization is to ensure that your files in two or more locations are consistent, up-to-date, and the same version when you access them from different devices.
  
  For example, if you have a file on your computer and a copy on a cloud storage service, such as Adobe Document Cloud, file synchronization would ensure that changes made to the file on your computer are mirrored in the cloud storage, and vice versa.

• File sharing.
  File sharing is about giving others access to specific files or folders. This allows you to collaborate more easily with others on the same documents.
  
  The main purpose of file sharing is to give others specific access to a file to view, edit, and/or collaborate on the document. File sharing can be done via sharing links to cloud storage, local networks, and email.
  
  For example, with Adobe Acrobat applications, you can share documents via links to cloud-based storage services, email, and messaging apps.
  
  

Options for sharing and syncing your PDF files with cloud storage.

Sharing and syncing files between devices is easy to do in conjunction with cloud storage services. To sync to the cloud —

• Use any Adobe Acrobat application to connect to the cloud.
  You can access and save files to the Adobe Document Cloud from within all Adobe Acrobat applications — including the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, Adobe Acrobat Standard and Adobe Acrobat Pro. You can also use your usual web browser with the web-based Adobe Acrobat online to access cloud storage.

• Scan your files to PDF with Adobe Scan.
  The free Adobe Scan mobile app can scan just about anything to a PDF or image file. It will sync to the cloud by default. Just scan from your phone, and then find your PDF or image files safely and securely filed in cloud storage.

• Integrate Adobe Acrobat with other cloud storage services.
  Adobe Acrobat also integrates with other cloud-based services such as Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and SharePoint sites.
  

How to sync multiple devices with cloud storage.

Cloud storage is the easiest option to sync files between devices. Cloud storage services are convenient and user-friendly for general file syncing, and you can use them in combination with many different applications. To set up your devices to sync between devices with cloud storage services, simply —

1. Choose your cloud storage service.
   First, choose a cloud storage service you can use and access across all your devices. Think about the different interfaces and how they display on your devices, including your mobile phone, and any other applications you frequently use to work on files.

2. Log into your cloud storage on all devices.
   Log into your chosen cloud storage with the same account on all your devices.

3. Review any saving and synchronization settings.
   Review the settings in your cloud storage and applications to ensure that are saving to the cloud location and have allowed syncing across all your devices.

If you’re not sure which cloud-based storage service is right for you and the applications you use, make the most of free trials. You can explore a free trial of Adobe Acrobat, and access some free cloud services with Adobe Acrobat Online.

Using Adobe Acrobat to sync PDFs to the cloud.

To make sure your PDF files are syncing to the cloud across your devices, follow these practices —

• Always log into your Adobe Acrobat applications using the same credentials for every device.

• When you save a PDF file, check that you are saving to the correct cloud storage location.

• If you are offline when you are working on a PDF in an Adobe Acrobat application, ensure you have saved it to the cloud when you’re back online and connected to the internet again.

Compare PDF files.

When you have got different versions of the same file, it’s easy to use Adobe Acrobat to compare PDF files.

From the Tools menu in Adobe Acrobat, select “Compare files.” In the settings, you’ll see options to compare text, images, annotations, headers and footers, formatting, and the background in PDFs. After choosing your settings, when click “Compare” you’ll get results to review all differences.

The advantages of Adobe Acrobat online to share and sync files.

Don’t want to download any apps? Check out what you can do with the completely web-based Adobe Acrobat Online services. You’ve got cloud storage and the ability to use over 20 PDF tools online, such as —

• Editing a PDF online
• Compressing and reducing PDF file sizes online
• Rearranging PDF pages online
• Converting to and from PDF online

Related content.

Keep exploring! There’s a lot you can do with PDFs that you share, sync, and create at work and home. A few other articles to learn from include —

• Document Reviews and Collaborations — Make It Efficient and Effective with PDFs
• Battling with Big File Sizes? Prepare and Share Large PDFs with Your Team
• PDF Security: Protect Your Sensitive Content and Information