Uploading to a chapter usually just works. When it doesn't, the message on screen tells you which of the cases below you ran into.
"This PDF is protected against editing"#
Suppliers often deliver certificates with PDF security applied, for example as part of a digital signature. Anyone can open such a file, but it is locked against changes.
MDB Builder never edits the contents of a document; pages are only compiled into the data book, and comments sit on a separate layer. To compile the pages, it needs an unlocked working copy.
What to do: click Continue with unlocked copy. The file you uploaded is stored unchanged next to the working copy, so the protected original, including any digital signature, stays available in the chapter folder. Click Cancel upload if you'd rather not add the file.
"This PDF requires a password to open"#
Some PDFs can't even be opened without a password. MDB Builder doesn't handle password-locked files.
What to do: ask the sender for a copy without an open password, and upload that.
"The uploaded file could not be read as a PDF"#
The file is damaged or isn't really a PDF, even if its name ends in .pdf.
What to do: open the file on your computer first. If it opens, save or print it to a new PDF and upload that one. If it doesn't open, ask the sender for the file again.
Word and Excel files#
Chapters only take PDF files. When you drop a Word or Excel file, MDB Builder shows Only PDF documents can be uploaded to an MDB chapter. In some places a mix of files is accepted: the PDFs are added and a message says how many other files were skipped.
What to do: save or export the document as PDF in Word or Excel, and upload the PDF.
"PDF exceeds the upload size limit"#
A single file is larger than MDB Builder accepts in one upload.
What to do:
- Split the PDF into smaller files and upload them one by one.
- Scanned documents are often large because of their resolution. Scan again at a lower resolution, or compress the PDF with your PDF software.
When you edit pages, a chapter can also grow too large to save as one file. MDB Builder then shows This chapter file is too large to save. Split its content over more chapters or units.
Uploads are blocked because of storage#
Two messages stop an upload because of storage:
- This upload does not fit the free storage limit: your workspace has no Pro subscription and has reached its storage limit. Nothing is deleted, but new uploads are blocked. Remove files you don't need, or upgrade to a Pro plan, which includes far more storage.
- Uploads are paused: last month's storage charge … is still unpaid: on the Pro plan, storage above the included amount is paid in credits. When there weren't enough credits, uploads pause after a grace period. Buy credits or free up storage to continue.
See Credits, budget and history.
Pages seem to be missing#
Uploaded pages don't always land in the chapter itself. Check these first:
- The file went to the chapter folder. When you drop a PDF on a chapter, you choose Add to chapter or Add to chapter folder. Files in the chapter folder wait there until someone places their pages in the chapter. The yellow count shows how many pages still have to be placed. Use Add all pages to add a whole file at once.
- Pages are marked not to use. A page marked as not to use stays visible in its file in the chapter folder, but it is excluded from the pages left and can't be dragged into the chapter. A file with such pages can't be added with Add all pages: drag the pages you need instead.
- You are looking at another unit. In a product with multiple units, per-unit chapters hold separate pages for every unit. Check which unit is selected. See Products with multiple units.
See Add documents to chapters for the chapter folder and the PDF tool.