Dealing With Copied Content in PDF Format

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   eugbugposted 4 years ago

   How do I refer to content in PDF format when I'm submitting an infringement report? The files don't have a URL as such and can only be opened with e.g. Acrobat Reader, or in a browser, using it's support for viewing PDF files. Is it ok to just use the URL from SERPS, which isn't in simplified  https format and has other info added?

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   theraggededgeposted 4 years ago

   I've always found that PDFs online always have a url. If you right click on the document does it give an option to 'copy address'?

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      eugbugposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Do you mean in the list of search results? That's what I did, but it's a big long convoluted address which presumably includes additional info about the search. It seems to work ok though when I copy it into a new tab and go to the address. If I just click on the link in search results it gives me the option of opening and viewing in the browser. When opened in the browser, the URL is a local one on my C drive because the file is downloaded to a temp directory.

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         bravewarriorposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         Eugene, I think Bev is referring to the document itself. Try right clicking on the opened pdf to see if you have the option of copying the address.

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            eugbugposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            Where would I click? The problem is that once I open the file, it's on my computer, so the URL points to a directory on my hard drive. I can't open the remote file because PDFs are downloaded to a directory before opening.

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               bravewarriorposted 4 years agoin reply to this

               Hmmm. That is a conundrum. Perhaps Bev will come back and expound on her comment.
               
               That said, I Googled "how to find the origin of a pdf file posted online" and found this link: https://cybertext.wordpress.com/2012/07 … created%20(3).
               
               And here's another one that may help you find if and from where the text in the pdf was taken: https://superuser.com/questions/1382541 … ing-the-pd
               
               Let me know if these links help.

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                  eugbugposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                  Ok, thanks. I think the URL listed in SERPs seems to work. It starts with Google.com and there's a long string of stuff after that. So it's probably a link to the entry in the search results, rather than the actual PDF itself.

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               theraggededgeposted 4 years agoin reply to this

               When I click on a pdf, it opens in my browser. So right click brings up the menu...
               
               

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                  eugbugposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                  I don't have that option on right click and the URL at the top of the screen gives the link as an address on my hard drive.
                  
                  

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                     theraggededgeposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                     Try a different browser?

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                        eugbugposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                        I tried opening the link with Chrome, but it didn't do anything. Maybe it needs an add-on for PDFs, but it didn't tell me. Microsoft Edge immediately started downloading the file and there was a kink on the bottom of the screen to open it. When I opened the file, the result was the same as with Firefox. The URL was a folder on my drive and no option to copy the link on right click.

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                           bravewarriorposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                           Perhaps clear your cache and restart your computer. There's got to be a way to get to the origin of the stolen content. I know you've had articles stolen by schools and/or trade schools. Are their firewalls so strong as to make them immune to plagiarism?

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                              eugbugposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                              I submitted the link from search results so hopefully at least that will get the content de-indexed. I also emailed the University.
                              
                              Edit: I forgot about the three dot menu on each search result. Clicking that showed details of the URL.

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