{"id":4981,"date":"2026-03-04T10:40:03","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T15:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cutheme-docs\/?p=4981"},"modified":"2026-03-04T11:07:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T16:07:37","slug":"how-to-replace-a-media-file-in-cutheme-without-breaking-anything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cutheme-docs\/2026\/how-to-replace-a-media-file-in-cutheme-without-breaking-anything\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Replace a Media File in cuTheme (Without Breaking Anything)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"w-screen px-6 cu-section cu-section--white ml-offset-center md:px-8 lg:px-14\">\n    <div class=\"space-y-6 cu-max-w-child-5xl  md:space-y-10 cu-prose-first-last\">\n\n            <div class=\"cu-textmedia flex flex-col lg:flex-row mx-auto gap-6 md:gap-10 my-6 md:my-12 first:mt-0 max-w-5xl\">\n        <div class=\"justify-start cu-textmedia-content cu-prose-first-last\" style=\"flex: 0 0 100%;\">\n            <header class=\"font-light prose-xl cu-pageheader md:prose-2xl cu-component-updated cu-prose-first-last\">\n                                    <h1 class=\"cu-prose-first-last font-semibold !mt-2 mb-4 md:mb-6 relative after:absolute after:h-px after:bottom-0 after:bg-cu-red after:left-px text-3xl md:text-4xl lg:text-5xl lg:leading-[3.5rem] pb-5 after:w-10 text-cu-black-700 not-prose\">\n                        How to Replace a Media File in cuTheme (Without Breaking Anything)\n\n                    <\/h1>\n                \n                                \n                            <\/header>\n\n                    <\/div>\n\n            <\/div>\n\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Uploaded a PDF last year and just spotted a typo? Need to update someone\u2019s bio photo?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the old version of our theme (cms), you could delete the file and upload a new one with the same name. That doesn\u2019t work anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Deleting and re-uploading on cuTheme creates a new URL, which can break links on your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, use <strong class=\"myprefix-text-bold\">Smart Media Replacement<\/strong>. It lets you update the file while keeping the original URL exactly the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"why-this-is-so-helpful\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why This Is So Helpful<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Replacing media using this method allows you to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Replace media files while keeping the original URL<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Preserve all existing links (internal and external)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, you can update the file without breaking your site!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It works for PDFs, images, Word documents &#8211; basically any file type uploaded to the media library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"how-to-replace-a-media-file-step-by-step\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Replace a Media File (Step-by-Step)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>1. In the dashboard, go to <strong class=\"myprefix-text-bold\">Media \u2192 Library<\/strong><br>2. Click the icon at the top left to view your library in list mode<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"366\" height=\"238\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cutheme-docs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/media-icon.png\" alt=\"screenshot of media library list view icon\" class=\"wp-image-4982\" style=\"width:300px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cutheme-docs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/media-icon.png 366w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cutheme-docs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/media-icon-320x208.png 320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 366px) 100vw, 366px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>3. Find the file you want to replace.<br>4. Hover over the file name and click <strong class=\"myprefix-text-bold\">Replace<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"928\" height=\"228\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cutheme-docs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/replace.png\" alt=\"Replace file screenshot\" class=\"wp-image-4985\" style=\"width:500px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cutheme-docs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/replace.png 928w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cutheme-docs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/replace-512x126.png 512w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cutheme-docs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/replace-320x79.png 320w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cutheme-docs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/replace-768x189.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 928px) 100vw, 928px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>5. Select your new file (with a matching filename)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"important-requirements\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Important Requirements<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Before replacing a file, make sure:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong class=\"myprefix-text-bold\">The filename is exactly the same<br><\/strong>If the original is &#8220;document1.pdf,&#8221; the new file must also be &#8220;document1.pdf.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong class=\"myprefix-text-bold\">The file type is the same<br><\/strong>You can\u2019t replace a PDF with a Word document, or a PNG with a JPG.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong class=\"myprefix-text-bold\">Image dimensions match (images only)<br><\/strong>The width and height must be identical to avoid layout issues.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s it! No broken links. No re-embedding. No hunting through pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"questions\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Questions?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If you have questions about replacing your files, <a href=\"https:\/\/itsjira.carleton.ca\/servicedesk\/customer\/portal\/5\/create\/668\">please get in touch <\/a>\u2014 we\u2019re happy to help.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This feature uses the <strong>Smart Media Replacement<\/strong> plugin. For more information, visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/smart-media-replacement\/\">WordPress plugin page<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Update your files while keeping the original URL exactly the same.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-tips-tricks"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cutheme-docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cutheme-docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cutheme-docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cutheme-docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cutheme-docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4981"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cutheme-docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4996,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cutheme-docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4981\/revisions\/4996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cutheme-docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cutheme-docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cutheme-docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}