PDF link goes to “Cannot GET file” with a 404 error

Question

Trying to have a link open up to a PDF. I have the href="filename.pdf" - the pdf file is in the same folder as the html file. When I click on the link it opens to a new page (I have it set to open a new page) which says "Cannot GET /filename.pdf". I open the console and it says "Failed to load resource: the server responded with a status of 404 (Not Found)".

I found a solution that works but I don't understand why: This doesn't work:

<a target="_blank" class="cta-btn cta-btn--resume" href="connerschiller.pdf">View Resume</a>

But this does work:

<a target="_blank" class="cta-btn cta-btn--resume" href="../src/connerschiller.pdf">View Resume</a>

The html file is in the src folder as well.

Ok so the fix I listed above is working when I run it locally, but when I try to open the PDF link on the deployed site on netlify it says "Page Not Found Looks like you've followed a broken link or entered a URL that doesn't exist on this site."

Answer 1

If the file is in the same directory you need to use as follows:

<a href="./filename.pdf">My pdf</a>

the./ is to especify the same directory