Monitor PDF for changes
Available in Flexi and Enterprise plan
Monitor a PDF file for changes
PDF monitoring tracks changes in documents hosted at public URLs. This feature requires the web app at https://monitor.distill.io and is not available in the browser extension.
Add a PDF monitor
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Open the Watchlist at https://monitor.distill.io
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Click Add Monitor → PDF
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Enter the PDF’s URL in the Source field and click Save
Tip: Right-click a PDF link on a webpage and select “Copy Link Address” to get the URL
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Configure check intervals and alert actions on the Options page, then save
Your PDF monitor is now active. Click the monitor’s text preview to view its contents. When changes are detected, you’ll receive alerts based on your configured actions.
Compare PDF versions
Use the change history to view differences between versions. Click Explore diff under the change history to see highlighted changes.
Monitor PDFs with changing links
Some websites frequently update PDF URLs while keeping the content in the same location. To track these PDFs, create two monitors:
- PDF monitor for the current PDF URL
- Web page monitor for the page containing the PDF link, tracking the
hrefattribute
When the page monitor alerts you of a link change, update your PDF monitor’s URL.
Example: Monitoring IRS Form 1040
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Add a PDF monitor using the current Form 1040 URL: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf
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Add a web page monitor for https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1040
- Select the Form 1040 link element
- Expand the selection panel to show selectors and preview
- Search for “href” in the attributes list and select it
- Save and configure check interval and actions
Note: The href attribute isn’t visually displayed on the page. To view it, navigate to Change History and switch from “visual” to “text” view.
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Update the PDF monitor when the link changes (see below)
Update the PDF URL
When the page monitor detects a new link:
- Open the PDF monitor’s Options page
- Click Edit, replace the old URL with the new one, and save
FAQ
Can I monitor parts of the PDF document?
No, PDF monitors track the entire document. Partial monitoring is not supported.
Can I monitor PDFs on my local device?
No, PDF monitors run in Distill's cloud servers and require a publicly accessible URL. Local files are not supported.
Are there file size limits for PDFs?
There's no hard size limit. However, very large PDFs may take longer to load and could trigger parsing errors if they don't load successfully.
Can I monitor password-protected PDFs?
No, password-protected PDFs cannot be monitored.
What happens when a monitored PDF is deleted?
The monitor will display an error if the PDF is deleted or removed.
How do I compare two versions of the same PDF?
To compare PDFs hosted at different URLs, update your existing monitor with the new URL: Click the monitor's down caret → Edit Options → Edit the source URL → Save
After the next check, the change history will show differences between versions.
If your PDF monitor encounters an error, check the error code in the check log:
| Error Code | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
ERR_PDF_PARSE |
Distill downloaded the file but couldn’t parse it. The file may not be a valid PDF or uses an unsupported format. | Wait for a few checks to see if the issue resolves automatically. |
E_DOWNLOAD |
PDF download didn’t complete successfully, possibly due to network interruption. | Distill will automatically retry. |
E_PDF_UNKNOWN_TYPE |
Server didn’t return a PDF file. May occur if the site blocks automated requests or requires cookies. | Verify the URL points directly to a PDF and the site allows automated downloads. |
If errors persist after several checks, contact support@distill.io.
Video guides
Watch this step-by-step tutorial on creating a PDF monitor:
For advanced PDF monitoring techniques, including comparing PDFs and tracking new PDF links, watch this video.
Note: PDF files are large and require more processing resources. Each PDF check counts as 2 checks toward your plan limits.