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wendyw96849110
Participant
June 11, 2020
Answered

acrobat pro dc deleted source files

  • June 11, 2020
  • 4 replies
  • 4010 views

combined multiple files (two jpgs from my desktop) into a pdf. was not paying attention to settings and did not see that "delete source files" option was checked

 

cant find these source files anywhere-not in my recycle bin, not in cloud or cloud deleted files folder.  searched my entire c drive...nothing

 

where are these files and is there a setting within acrobat to redirect deleted files

 

tia

    Correct answer Test Screen Name

    If they are deleted, they are gone. You must use your own backups to recover lost files. 

    4 replies

    Participant
    May 24, 2025

    Just FYI it's 2025 ... 5 years later... and adobe has done nothing to resolve this problem.  Thanks a lot adobe.  Love deleting months of work with a single click because your advice is just to back up files - as if your hindsights 20-20 solution is worth anything at all.  No adobe - we the users should not duplicate or triplicate every file we ever encounter on the off chance it gets deleted by an app run astray.   You should take some responsibility for the error - given that the users upon whom it's inflicted without consequence all PAY for the service you are supposed to provide.   There's no world in which deleting everyones files without a trace or any possible way to cmd z undo drag and drop out of the trash .... is a luxury service that users are all raving to pay top dollar for.   It's more like the kind of egregious bug and total apathy that leads to class action lawsuits against your company for the reckless and indifferent behavior.  When people operate on the assumption that you have to delete something twice to delete it - because that's the way it works in case you've never used a computer.... you can't just plop a "accidental self destruct" button where people are pretty likely to hit it.  Especially given how often combining pdf files requires trying once and trying again because your service can't handle performing it with hundreds of files at a time without stalling out and taking forever or crashing entirely.  But in the end... you delete those hundreds of files .... and then say next time back it up - as if the act of merging the documents to create a duplicate portfolio containing all of them WASNT the literal act of attempting to create a duplicate copy.    Next time hire someone other than David Blane to design your service features you freakin losers.  

    Participant
    November 13, 2024

    I can confirm that this bug still exists in the latest version November 2024 (OS = Windows 11)

    I actually turned on the feature to 'Always Delete Source Files After Combining', and purposefully did not complete the combine (as I wanted to do a check), but the files were deleted anyhow. They did not appear in the recycling bin. Tried file recovery using a third party app, and again using deep scan, and nothing recovered. 

    This is really disappointing not only because this is a long standing bug, but it just indicates to me that Adobe don't care, or lack the organisation to address this issue. 

    What should have happened is that the files used in the aborted combine should not have been deleted. 

    At the very least, if the files were deleted by Acrobat in error, those 'deleted' files should exist in the recycling bin, giving the user the option to restore them. 

    I do not agree with the accepted answer of "If they are deleted, they are gone. You must use your own backups to recover lost files" - no offence intended to the poster, but I find this answer to lack any relevance. 

    Test Screen NameCorrect answer
    Legend
    June 11, 2020

    If they are deleted, they are gone. You must use your own backups to recover lost files. 

    Handsumguy
    Participating Frequently
    April 18, 2023

    Backups do not magically occur with every stroke of a key much less run every moment before you use Acrobat's combined files.  There is simply no opportunity to run a backup.  This is a new feature inserted into Acrobat and if you have been using Acrobat for eons and combining files, user beware.

    try67
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    June 11, 2020

    Where did you see such a setting?

    JR Boulay
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    June 11, 2020

    Acrobate du PDF, InDesigner et Photoshopographe
    try67
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    June 11, 2020

    I guess this is a new "feature". A very bad one, if you ask me, especially if it deletes the files for good (!).