PDF Expert
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    Contents
    • Using PDF Expert
      • Getting Started with PDF Expert
      • Highlight, underline, and strikethrough text
      • Text comments, shapes, and pop-up notes
      • Insert stamps to PDFs
      • Customize text and annotation colors
      • Draw on a PDF file
      • Use stickers in PDF Expert for iOS
      • View, search, and remove annotations
      • Export Annotation Summary
      • Content Selection Tool
      • Edit text in PDF files
      • Work with images in PDFs
      • Work with to-page and to-web links
      • Remove sensitive content
      • Supported forms and fields
      • Fill out PDF forms
      • Sign PDF documents
      • Enhance and adjust your scans
      • Convert scanned documents into text (OCR)
      • Scale and measure drawings
      • Polygon and polyline shapes
      • Red Line tools
      • Convert images, MS Office and iWork files to PDF
      • Export PDFs to other formats on Mac
      • Convert PDFs to images, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Text files on iOS
      • Reading mode
      • Select your way to scroll pages
      • Enable the two-page view
      • Zooming modes in PDF Expert
      • Jump to a specific page
      • Bookmark pages
      • Create a table of contents in a PDF file
      • Turn on the Night or Sepia theme
      • Read PDF text out loud
      • Keep your device awake while reading
      • View two PDFs side by side
      • Add page numbers, bates numbers, and text
      • Use Smart Search
      • AI Chat with PDF
      • Page number indicator
      • Create a new PDF file
      • Add, delete, and rearrange PDF pages
      • Rename files and folders
      • Recents and Favorites
      • Sort files and folders by name, date, and size
      • Password protect PDFs
      • Save the file as flatten
      • Reduce the PDF file size
      • Merge PDFs
      • Manage annotated pages
      • Move files and folders
      • Switch between the Grid and List views
      • Mark files and folders with color tags
      • Open a file in PDF Expert
      • Organize your files with Inbox
      • Page Resize
      • Access your device files via the Files app folder
      • Sync your PDF files through web clouds
      • Sync a folder from cloud storage
      • Connect to Mac or PC via SMB
      • Set up sync with Mac via SFTP
      • Time Capsule setup
      • Share files via the Share button
      • Transfer files between iOS device and desktop using Wi-Fi
      • Transfer files from Safari to PDF Expert for iOS
      • Transfer files between iPad and iPhone using WebDAV
      • Share text with other apps
      • Share files from cloud via a link
      • Transfer files between PDF Expert and your Mac using a USB cable
      • PDF Expert Widgets
      • Turn on the Dark Mode
      • Work with tabs on your iPad
      • Customize the toolbar in PDF Expert for iOS
      • Create your own toolset in PDF Expert for iOS
      • Make PDF Expert your default PDF viewer on Mac
      • Open email attachments in PDF Expert
      • Keyboard Shortcuts
      • Make presentations with PDF Expert and FaceTime
      • Full Screen Mode on Mac
      • Getting Started with Tools tab on Mac
      • Presentation Mode
      • Improve your workflow with Sidecar and Camera Continuity
      • Change the app's language on iOS
      • Convert PDF to black and white on Mac
      • Supported Scripting in AcroForms (Adobe Acrobat forms)
      • Supported Scripting in XFA (LiveCycle Designer forms)
      • URL schemes
    • Troubleshooting
      • PDF Expert quits or doesn't open
      • PDF Expert freezes
      • All files in the app look blank
      • Annotation tools do not work
      • Printing issues on Mac
      • Corrupted files
      • Sync issues
      • Restore accidentally deleted files
      • File cannot be opened
      • Annotations made in PDF Expert are not displayed correctly in a third-party app on iOS
      • File loads slowly
      • Garbled text
      • AI Chat with PDF issues
      • Connection issues on iOS
      • iCloud files don't stay downloaded
    • Billing & Subscription
      • How to get PDF Expert
      • Set up an account for cross-platform app usage
      • How to get PDF Expert Premium
      • Check and manage your subscription
      • How to cancel the free trial
      • The PDF Expert License FAQ
      • The “trial expired” message appears after a purchase
      • Is PDF Expert available on Windows?
      • The PDF Expert Billing FAQ
      • The difference between PDF Expert 2 and PDF Expert 3
    • Contact us

    Sync a folder from cloud storage

    With PDF Expert, you can sync a folder from cloud storage using the smart 2-way sync. The files from a synced folder are available locally on your device so you can work with them when you’re offline. This way, you can sync the same folder on your iPhone and iPad, and PDF Expert keeps files up to date between both your devices as well as cloud storage.

    Note: PDF Expert for Mac doesn’t support 2-way sync. However, you can easily sync all files from Mac using cloud storage.

    Jump to:
    • Prerequisites
    • How to sync a single folder
    • How to sync multiple folders at once
    • How the 2-way sync works
    • How to disable automatic sync
    • How to sync folders manually
    • Deleting synced folders

    Prerequisites

    iPad iPhone

    To connect to iCloud:

    1. Go to the system settings of your device.
    2. Tap your name and select iCloud.
    3. Enable the PDF Expert toggle.

    To connect to another cloud storage:

    1. Make sure your iPad is connected to the network.
    2. Launch PDF Expert and tap + Add Connection on the sidebar.
    3. Select the cloud storage to sync and provide your credentials.
    4. Follow the on-screen instructions to log in.

    To connect to iCloud:

    1. Go to the system settings of your device.
    2. Tap your name and select iCloud.
    3. Enable the PDF Expert toggle.

    To connect to another cloud storage:

    1. Make sure your iPhone is connected to the network.
    2. Launch PDF Expert and tap the Plus button  .
    3. Tap + Add Connection and select the cloud storage to sync.
    4. Provide your credentials and tap Sign in.

    How to sync a single folder

    iPad iPhone
    1. Tap your cloud storage account on the sidebar (e.g. your Dropbox account).
    2. Find the folder you wish to sync and tap ... More on it.
    3. Tap Sync.

    You can also sync a folder once you open it:

    1. Tap the needed cloud storage account to open it.
    2. Navigate to the folder you'd like to sync with and open it.
    3. Tap Sync  in the upper-right corner.
    4. Tap Sync This Folder, and the progress bar will appear on the folder icon.
    1. Launch PDF Expert and open your cloud storage folder in the My Filessection.
    2. Navigate to the folder you'd like to sync and open it.
    3. Tap Sync at the top of the screen.
    4. Tap Sync This Folder, and the progress bar will appear on the folder icon.

    How to sync multiple folders at once

    iPad iPhone
    1. Tap your network account on the sidebar.
    2. Tap ... at the top right > Select.
    3. Select the desired folders and tap Sync on the sidebar. 
    1. Launch PDF Expert and open your cloud storage folder in the My Filessection.
    2. Tap ... at the top right > Select.
    3. Select the desired folders and tap Sync at the bottom.

    Note: The Sync button becomes active if you select folders which haven't been synced yet.

    How the 2-way sync works

    Once the sync is complete, the full copy of the synced folder is available in the Synced folders tab or folder on your iPad or iPhone. All new files and modifications within the synced folder automatically sync with the cloud storage server and vice versa. The automatic sync is enabled in PDF Expert settings by default.

    Note: Your data syncs automatically when the following conditions are met:

    • Your device is connected to the network.
    • PDF Expert is running.
    • The automatic sync is enabled in settings.

    If you work with files in a synced folder while you're offline, changes will sync once you're online, and PDF Expert is launched.

    How to disable automatic sync

    By default, PDF Expert syncs changes automatically once you connect to Wi-Fi. If you want to sync your edits manually, you can disable automatic sync:

    1. In PDF Expert, open Settings.
    2. Tap Clouds & Connections.
    3. Under Automatic Sync, tick Disabled.

    If you want to stop syncing a particular folder, follow these steps:

    1. In the file manager, tap Synced folders.
    2. Tap Select at the top right.
    3. Choose the needed folder.
    4. Tap Pause Sync.

    How to sync folders manually

    After disabling automatic sync, you can sync folders manually. Just tap Synced folders, open the needed folder and pull down from the top of the screen to sync it.

    There are two other ways to sync folders manually:

    • Open Synced folders > tap Select at the top right > select the folder > tap Resume Sync.
    • Tap Synced folders > tap the More on a folder > select Sync Now.

    Deleting synced folders

    When you sync folders that contain subfolders, your file structure looks like this: PDF Expert/My Files/Synced folders/The folder you synced/Subfolders or files.

    • If you delete subfolders or files which are located in the folder you synced, those subfolders or files will be removed from the PDF Expert and from the cloud storage.
    • If you delete the folder you synced at the root level of Synced folders, the local copy of the folder will be deleted from PDF Expert, but the folder in the cloud will be left unchanged.
    Read next: Connect to Mac or PC via SMB
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