Acrobat keeps showing old version of file when overwritten

[johnn18401467]

Hi 

I'm having a problem when I save a PDF from Illustrator to overwrite an existing PDF Acrobat displays the old version instead of the changes made?

Anyone had this problem?

[nurpala]

Hi,

I'm having the same problem.

Does anyone have this problem?

[Luke Jennings]

Other users are reporting the same issue on the Illustrator forum. You can report it as a bug, hopefully Adobe is working on a fix.

https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator/illustrator-2020-not-saving-over-pdf-file/td-p/10858808

[SJStacy]

I'm also having this problem. But it's not just that it is displaying it as the old version, it's that it is not replacing the old version with the new version. 

[Joel_Geraci]

It's not that that Acrobat is displaying the old version, the old version is not being overwritten because the file is in use (for some reason). This also happens from InDesign. Deleting the old file first seems to work... which shouldn't be possible... but it is.

[mevrouw vanmulken]

Hello, I have the same problem as described above. Working with InDesign: exporting to PDF, acrobat overwrites the previous version but is opening and thus showing the older version. When I open the PDF directly from Finder it is showing the most recent version of the PDF. I suspect Acrobat is 'downloading' the old versie instead of the most recent one. I am working with paid version of Acrobat, updated to the latest version. I have been looking for clues in the Acrobat settings, but cannot find the solution.  I don't know if it has anything to do with this problem but since I updated to the latest versiion of Acrobart, I get a pop up message everytime I open a PDF. Message saying: ' One moment please. The document is being prepared for reading'. I would be very thankful is anyone can help me since there is a big risk of sending old pdf's to customers.... thank you, Carolien 

[mevrouw vanmulken]

Hi Joel,

The old file is indeed overwritten, it is however not shown by Acrobat. If I close the file and open the file again form finder it is showing the right, latest version. My conclusion is, the file is overwritten, but not displayed well by Acrobat. I wish I knew why and I would be thankful if anybody knows how to solve it. Thank you. Carolien 

[mevrouw vanmulken]

Hello, I have just reinstalled Acrobat and the problem seems to be solved. Also the strange message that kept popping up when opening a PDF has disappeared. Thank you, Carolien

[jani kanervat40771276]

I cannot save the corrected version of the pdf file over the old version.

My changes will not be saved. When I open a PDF file, the previous version of the save opens. The new version will only be saved if I name the document under by new name and therefore several versions are saved in the same file and this is quite annoying. Anyone know how to fix this?

[Amal.]

Hi Komeetta

We are sorry for the trouble. As described, you are unable to save the corrected version of the pdf file over the old version.

Do you have Adobe Acrobat Reader (freeware) or Adobe Acrobat DC (Paid subscription) and what is the version? To check the version of the application please use the help article: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/identify-product-version.html
Make sure you have the latest version installed. Go to Help > Check for Updates. For more information please use the help article: https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/ReleaseNotesDC/index.html

What happens when you try to save the PDF file, are you getting any error message or code? Please share the screen recording of the issue you are experiencing for a better understanding.

We are here for help, Just need more information.

Thanks

Amal

[00rhodiad]

It's an old, well-documented bug that Adobe doesn't seem concerned about. The file is saving correctly, it's not user error. Acrobat just stubbornly displays the old version of the file. (Preview correctly shows the new updated state of the file.) 

Clearly, Acrobat is reading a cached version of the PDF. There are two work-arounds:

1. Use a different filename.

2. Quit/relaunch Acrobat. 

No, this "shouldn't happen." Yes, it still does happen after 5+ years and dozens of Acrobat version updates (even just now in v. 20.12.20048.400142.)

[Saini Law]

Yep its doing it on mine too, 2 years after your original message. This is sooo annoying and could lead to clients getting incorrect paperwork. I spend the major part of my day now trying to type/save type/save on and on but wont print what is showing on the pdf. 

[Test Screen Name]

A bit late, but I wanted to add one thing. This isn't exactly the problem described, it's almost the exact opposite, but it's important to know about it.

1. Save a PDF from Illustrator, with Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities set.

2. Edit the PDF in Acrobat (or ANY OTHER APP except Illustrator). Save the edits (to a new file or the same file, it doesn't matter). Close it.

3. Open the edited PDF in Acrobat (or ANY OTHER APP except Illustrator). It shows the edits from step 2.

4. Open the edited PDF in Illustrator. It does NOT show the edits from step 2. It shows the original Illustrator file from step 1.

This is exactly what is supposed to happen and it is not a bug, but it can be very confusing. Sometimes people want to freely edit Illustrator PDF in Illustrator + something else, but this just does not work.

[Maz_Anyday]

I am having this same problem still, it happens on all PDF's - from illustrator and InDesign.

It also happens if i open the pdf directly from finder, but if i 'preview' in finder using spacebar or if i open the file in Apple's Preview app instead of Acrobat, I can see the correct up to date version. 

Really frustrating this bug hasnt been resolved 4 years on!