Download a document as PDF¶

Outcome¶

You get a PDF file of one version of a native document: the header from the document card (type, version, status, author, approvers, date), the body with its headings, tables, task lists, footnotes and images, and page numbers in the footer. Threadory renders the file on the server, so it looks the same for everyone who downloads that version. Preparing a PDF takes a few seconds; the button shows the progress.

Before you begin¶

In Threadory: you are a member of the project in any role, viewer included. If you can read the document, you can download it.
By public link: you have the link. A link that asks you to confirm your e-mail address needs that confirmation first, as for reading.

Steps¶

In Threadory, open Knowledge → Documents and the document.
Choose what to download:
Download PDF in the document card — the version on screen;
PDF in a row of Versions — that version of the history, without switching to it.

Drafts can be downloaded too; the status in the header says "Draft".

On a public link (/d/<token>), select Download PDF next to Export .md. You get exactly the version on screen: a link that always shows the latest version gives you the version you are reading, and a link fixed to one version always gives you that version.
Wait while the button says Preparing PDF… — usually a few seconds, longer for large documents or when several are being prepared — then Downloading…. Keep the page open until the file is saved. If it takes more than two minutes, the button says the PDF is still being prepared: select Download PDF again a minute later — the work already done is not lost.

What is and is not in the file¶

Images attached to the document are embedded.
Images that live elsewhere — for example on the CDN of the editor the document was imported from — are not downloaded. In their place the PDF shows the image description and its address.
PDF and Office files (XLSX, DOCX, PPTX), videos and ZIP archives attached to the document are named in the text but not embedded. Download or play them on the document page.
Links to web pages and e-mail addresses stay clickable; links inside the document (#section) jump to the section.
A PDF from a public link does not contain e-mail addresses, the work item or who downloaded it.
On the Free plan every page ends with “Exported from Threadory · threadory.ai”. On a paid plan the line is absent unless an owner or admin turned the Threadory footer on in Settings → General (see Skills).

Result¶

Your browser saves <title>-v<N>.pdf. Downloading the same version again is fast: once a PDF of a version is ready, it is kept, and the next download starts at once.

Download as Markdown¶

Next to Download PDF, the document card has Download .md, and every row of Versions has .md — for the team, any role. The file is the version's Markdown exactly as written:

A document without attachments downloads as <line>-v<N>.md.
A document with attachments downloads as <line>-v<N>.zip: the .md plus an attachments folder with the files, and the links in the text point into that folder — so the images show in any Markdown viewer, offline, without Threadory.
An attachment the project no longer holds stays an attachment://… link; it shows nowhere outside Threadory.
The file contains no links that sign in to Threadory: an attachment's address on the page is temporary and is never written into the file.

If an attachment cannot be downloaded, nothing is saved and the button says so; try again. On a public link, Export .md gives the text alone, with attachments as attachment://… links.

Read a shared document as Markdown¶

On a public document link, select Read as Markdown in the page header. The browser receives plain Markdown with the title, version, status and body. The link is available even before JavaScript loads. After choosing another version, it points to that version; pinned links always retain their pinned version. Attachment links require access to the same publication.

An agent can also request the original public URL with Accept: text/markdown, or follow the HTML's Markdown alternate link. It does not need a KB connection. This applies to public document links, not personal sign-in links sent by email.

If the response is 401, confirm your email on the document page first; the agent must have the verified reader cookie to read that protected link. A 404 means the link or selected version is unavailable; ask the sender for an active link. On 429, wait for the time given by Retry-After. On 502 or 503, retry later. To save an offline file instead, use Export .md or the team's Download .md described above.

Common problems¶

Symptom	Likely cause	What to do
The button says Preparing PDF… for a while	The PDF is being made; several documents are prepared one after another	Wait; keep the page open
"The PDF is taking longer than expected. Try again in a minute — it is still being prepared."	The queue is long or the document is large; preparation continues without the page	Select Download PDF again in a minute
"This document is too long to export as PDF. Export it as Markdown instead."	The body is longer than 100,000 characters	Use Export .md, or split the document
"This document has too many or too large images to export as PDF."	More than 50 images, more than 32 MiB of images together, or images that are very large when opened (an animated GIF counts by its first frame)	Reduce or compress the images
"The PDF would be too large to create."	More than 300 pages, or the file would be larger than 64 MiB	Split the document or use Export .md
"This document is too large to turn into a PDF (its images or tables need too much memory)."	Its images or tables need more memory than PDF export allows	Reduce the images, split large tables, or use Export .md
"This document took too long to turn into a PDF. Try again in a minute."	The document is very large or complex, or the service was busy	Try again in a minute; if it repeats, simplify the document
"Couldn't create the PDF. Try again in a minute."	Preparing the file failed	Try again in a minute
"PDF export is unavailable right now. Try again later."	The service that prepares PDFs does not answer	Try again later
"The document changed while the PDF was being prepared. Try again."	Someone saved or changed the status of the document meanwhile	Select Download PDF again
"The PDF is no longer available. Try again."	The prepared file was removed	Select Download PDF again
"Too many downloads right now. Try again in a minute."	Many files are being downloaded at once, or you already have a PDF download running (one at a time)	Let the running download finish, then try again
"Too many PDF requests. Please wait a while and try again."	PDF preparation is limited per person (10 per hour), per link (20 per hour) and per project (30 per hour); a PDF that is already ready does not count	Wait and try again
"The download was interrupted. Please try again."	The connection broke while the file was being sent	Try again
"File storage is unavailable right now. Try again in a few minutes."	File storage did not answer	Try again in a few minutes
"Confirm your e-mail address to download this document."	The link requires a confirmed e-mail address	Confirm your address on the link page, then download
An image shows as `[description — https://…]`	The image is not attached to the document but linked from another site	Attach the image to the document and replace the link