How can I get annotated PDFs back to Dropbox?

[wherahiko]

This is probably a basic question, but I can't find the answer anywhere.

After annotating a PDF with the stylus on my Onyx Boox Note, I can use the Notes -> Export function to export the annotations. It then saves the annotated PDF in a folder which is named /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.dropbox.android/files/ ... etc. This seems to imply it is sending the file back to its original Dropbox folder. But I can't see it anywhere in Dropbox on my laptop.

I can see it on the Note if I browse to that location, but I haven't found a way to get it back to Dropbox or email by "sharing", etc. There seems to be now way to get it onto a laptop without plugging the Note in to the laptop (which has never worked for me on Mac).

Is there anything I need to do to get annotated files to upload back to Dropbox? Thanks!

[wherahiko]

Update: I've now discovered this can be achieved by

1. browsing to the exported file using the built-in Storage app
2. selecting the file and choosing "open with" and then choosing Dropbox PDF viewer
3. choosing the option there to save the file to Dropbox

However, this is fairly cumbersome if one is, for example, marking 50 student assignments. Is there a way the uploading to Dropbox can be automated? Thanks!

[lensmann]

Hi,

I do this using Dropsync. The issue is that Dropbox for Android, unlike the desktop versions, doesn't monitor folders for changes. Dropsync fixes that, and will monitor and sync local folders on the Boox which you set it to monitor. I use it for a similar purpose, and it works just fine.

[wherahiko]

Thanks, @lensmann. This is very helpful.

[Sitka]

Another way to do it is to "open with..." in Dropbox, and choose Adobe Acrobat. Make your annotations, then at the end, press the "back" button (with the curly backwards arrow - the rightmost button). The file will automatically be updated in Dropbox the next time you turn on wi-fi.

Oh, I should mention I always set the document to "available offline" in Dropbox before I do the annotations. I don't know if it makes a difference with regard to the updating, but it might.