Saving without affecting the file contents

Forum|Forum|1 month ago
August 23, 2026
6 replies
67 views

Unfortunately, I could not add to this topic because it was closed.

My question is: how can I save an existing pdf file in which I make some changes without affecting anything that is not changed? Let me explain. I have a pdf file, I reorder one page without making any other changes. How can I save the new file so that nothing else in the pdf is changed? If I first create a duplicate of the file in the OS file system, then reorder the page in Acrobat, then Save (ctrl+S), I still see a slight change in file size. Does that have any impact on the integrity of the file other than the order of that one change that changed?

Where can I see the metadata for the file? In particular is it possible to see any records of the changes made? I would like to compare the original pdf with the modified pdf (with the reordered page) saved with Save (ctrl+S)

Thanks.

S

sPretzelAuthor

Inspiring

Hi Randy. I’m not sure what I’m looking for was clear to you. Anyway, “Save As” is not the solution, “Save” appears to be closer (with the caveat of file corruption, which the other thread discusses without going into the detail of what that corruption could be).

Randy Hagan

Community Expert

The good news is that no, the bump in file size shouldn’t affect the integrity of your new PDF.

“Metadata” is a pretty broad statement when it comes to Acrobat PDF files. You can see a lot of the “assigned” metadata like who authored the file and general security settings through the File>Properties… menu command. Other stuff is buried deeper, and not accessible unless you’re using tools for hand-coding files. I’d recommend against going any deeper than the Properties dialog box.

If you want to compare versions of PDF files after changes, you need to save both files — or more specifically, use the File>Save As… or File>Save As Other menu command so you can save with the result of having both files. Then you can use Acrobat’s file comparison features to see exactly where your two files match up and where they differ. My prediction is that you’ll likely find they only differ by the changes you have made, and don’t need to worry about it after you make a few of these real-time and multi-file comparisons.

Hope this helps,

Randy

S

sPretzelAuthor

Inspiring

Hi Randy,

Thanks for your reply. As far as metadata, I am probably looking for what you refer to as “buried deeper”. Save As is not being considered as it affects file contents (in the broad sense of contents). It can even change the PDF producer version!

Randy Hagan

Community Expert

It will. But at least when you Save As, the changed file should be the New One. Not the Previous One. And you should have two files you can use for direct comparison.

If you’re doing this to satisfy your curiosity, I don’t think Adobe would have any problem with you digging into the file coding as long as you don’t reverse-engineer any of it. Though I cannot speak for Adobe Systems here, because I’m not an employee and I don’t have any say — or sway — in such matters. But I’ve got to confess that if you’re worried about the integrity of your file before and after you shuffle the page order, there’s no need to concern yourself here. Really.

Randy

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