Acrobat DC opens previous version of file when opened

[dmylrea]

We have a weird issue with Acrobat DC PRO (and DC Reader, too) on a Mac Pro opening with stale versions of a file.

For example, using InDesign (CC 2017) say we export to PDF, save it on the desktop (or a network share does the same thing).  Open it in Acrobat by double-clicking it on the desktop.  Looks good.  Close Acrobat.  Back to InDesign to make a change.  Export again, same location, say REPLACE.  Double-click the file on the desktop and up comes the PREVIOUS version of the file!  Using PREVIEW, we can see the file itself is the correct, newer one.

If we change the name of the file, it opens correctly and shows the new version.  Rename it back to the original file name, and it opens the previous version again.  Acrobat Reader DC does the same thing (we use OPEN with... to open with Reader).  Somehow, Acrobat is caching the file and not updating its cache.

Acrobat has this behavior on 2 of the 5 Mac Pro systems in our office.

It seems there must be some sort of cache file or folder that holds these somewhere, but I've done a good bit of research and cannot find any info, apart from a post from another user that had the same issue, but no answer.

Also, we found that logging out of macOS (10.12.6) and logging back in, the file in question opens correctly.  But do the same thing (save, modify, resave/replace) and the issue happens every time. 

So, is there a cache folder for Acrobat or some other reason that this might be happening?

Thanks.

[StClairSoft]

I'm the developer of Default Folder X, and I can't see any programmatic reason why Default Folder X would cause this sort of behavior. Default Folder X doesn't cache anything, nor does it interpose itself in any way in the the actual reading or writing of files (in modern versions of macOS, it's not possible to do so because of the improved security). Default Folder X performs all of its functions using the macOS Accessibility API - the same thing used by the built-in VoiceOver feature in macOS. In some applications, that _does_ result in them executing different code internally in some cases - so if there's a bug in Acrobat, it's plausible that running Default Folder X (or VoiceOver) _could_ trigger the bug even though it doesn't normally occur. But the low-level nature of this doesn't sound like something that's susceptible - when Default Folder X does trigger a different code path in app, it's generally directly related to the user interface (since that's what the Accessibility API hooks into).

I'd appreciate any bug reports correlating or refuting Prinny's report - I'll definitely have a look and see if I can reproduce things here.

- Jon

[Prinny Laharl]

Thanks for the reply Jon. I agree that it's not immediately logical, but that is the result we are experiencing. I know our prepress operators really enjoy the functionality of Default Folder X and would love to have it back. I'll be interested to see reports from others as well.

[clussman]

I'm running latest versions of Adobe apps, no Default Folder X, and I'm experiencing this issue. Interestingly my project files are all in a Dropbox folder so I also have an altered system save (on save, the updated file syncs to the Dropbox servers). I feel like that's a pretty common setup.

Restarting Acrobat DC solves the issue but it's still annoying and led me to this thread.

2016 Macbook Pro

Mac OS X Mojave 10.14.2

Acrobat DC Build: 19.010.20064

[clussman]

I found someone else's bug report and tacked on to that. That's probably better than starting a new bug report:

BUG: Seeing out-of-date PDF in Acrobat – Share your feedback on Acrobat DC

If you're also having this issue, please vote that up.

[AcmeCoffeeRN]

I have two Acrobats of the same versions (19.021.20061) on two different Macs. One behaves like you said and the other one behaves normally. I realized what triggers this issue is after I opened a 3D PDF file sent by a vendor. Since then, only this particular Acrobat behaves abnormally. Also both of my Macs have Default Folder installed. 

Solution: Uninstall Illustrator (include deleting preferences) and reinstall Illustrator solves the issue.

[Alex Powning]

I'm having the exact same issue. Has is been solved or fixed yet? These posts are so old.

I've gotten used to NOT being able to see the most recent saved version of my file each time I save on illustrator. But it's really annoying.

Any fix yet?

Thanks!

[GreenRoof]

I've been having this same problem for quite a while. When I export a new PDF from InDesign by overwriting an existing file, Acrobat DC opens the previous version instead.

The only way to fix it is to quit Acrobat and then relaunch when opening the new PDF file. I don't always remember to do this, which creates problems especially if I'm creating an accessible PDF, when there are so many things to check, and I think I've gone mad becuase the fix I've just made in InDesign is not showing up in what I thought is the new PDF. In fact I'm still looking at the old version. Grrr. Why is this not fixed after so many years of people raising the issue??!!

[michaelm56656252]

I just suffered from this problem for several days with a single particular file. It was a broken pdf that trailed off in the middle into blank pages, but I simply could not get rid of it, no matter how many times I deleted the file or stopped Acrobat Pro. I'm running a Mac with macOS 12.6. Eventually I notice an additional program, "Adobe Acrobat Synchronizer" running in the background. I forced that to quit and the problem was solved.

[mikethemacguy]

Still happening in September 2023! Has anyone submitted a bug report we can vote on?

[Alex Powning]

Still happens with mine too!

--

powning@gmail.com
fredricsgraphics.com
203.254.4455

[Rhiannon Prepress]

We are still seeing this in 2024, over six years after the problem was initially reported. After overwriting a PDF file with a new version, Acrobat continues to open the old version until it is relaunched. It's a significant problem for us when we are going back and forth with changes. We should not have to relaunch the app just to open an updated file. 

[Rowtype538600]

100% issue for me also, although i dont think its always done it, as create PDF's with the exact same file nameing every day.

[Giovanni22846570mald]

Hi,

I think I have the same (or similar problem).

I have 2 pdf documents.  I am reading the first pdf document and since I have to refer to the "second" pdf document for understanding of the first, I've created an "attachment" in the pane of the first pdf  document (for easy opening). I thought this was just a kind of link to the second pdf, but when I double-click in the pane it open an old version of the second pdf.

Regards,

Giovanni

[Rowtype538600]

Still have the same issue, driving me mad, some people have said "just save as a new name"

Nope why should i changed how i have been saving file for the last 33 years.

Adobe please fix this issue

[S. S]

Hi @Rowtype538600,

Hope you are doing well. Sorry for the trouble!

You might want to uncheck the checkbox "Use Page Cache," from Preferences-> Page Display.

Acrobat tends to save a cache of the page to save time in rendering the file when you open it next time. 

Disabling this checkbox should be a good step, in forcing Acrobat to render the file every time, thus resulting in fresh rendered version of the file.

Hope this helps.

-Souvik

[Rowtype538600]

Many thanks for the reply, i shall try this asap

[Giovanni22846570mald]

Hi,

Do not know if it is related to the same issue, but if I open a pdf attachedment from a pdf document it shows the older version. However, opening the pdf directly (not from the pane of file attachment) it show the latest version.

Regards, 

[S. S]

@Giovanni22846570mald, you might want to try the steps shared above and check if the issue is fixed for you.

@Rowtype538600 Sure. We are on standby in case you need further assistance.

-Souvik

[Giovanni22846570mald]

Hi,

Just tried. I un-check the "use page cache". The file opened from the attachment pane is always the old version.

[S. S]

@Giovanni22846570mald Would you mind sending a sample file with me?

This will help me test the behavior and get this forwarded to the dev team. 

You can share it as a private message. To do so, click on my profile name followed by the blue "Send Message" button on the next page.

Thanks,

Souvik

[Rowtype538600]

100% has not solved my issue (crazy)

[S. S]

@Rowtype538600 I have forwarded this to the dev team. 

Please allow me some time to get this investigated and get back to you.

Thanks,

Souvik

[mikethemacguy]

Many thanks @S. S - I've had this issue for many years and researched it ongoing - you're the first to mention the page cache setting. I've turned it off on both my macs. While I can't verify 100% that it worked (yet) because it is a ramdom occurance - I'm pretty confident this was the problem. Thanks and I'll continue to monitor it.

[S. S]

Hi @mikethemacguy Thanks for the kind words.

I will be on standby in case you need further assistance.

-Souvik

[GreenRoof]

Thanks for the suggestion. But this has not fixed the problem for me.