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Disable "Do you want to save changes before closing"

Community Beginner ,
Jan 12, 2018 Jan 12, 2018

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I'd like to know if there's a way to disable the popup that says "Do you want to save changes before closing?"?

For example, I open a multi-page pdf. I extract one page. Click the "Save" icon. "Save as PDF" window opens. Type new file name. Click "Save." Click the "x" to close the newly saved file. Then the prompt for "Do you want to save changes before closing?" pops up....WHY!?

It's the same for just simply opening and closing a file. Open file. Click the "X" to close. BOOM. stupid "save" prompt comes up. I don't have any changes to save.

This is a HUGE time-suck considering how frequently I use these functions. The previous version of the program that I had did not give me this issue. I only got the prompt to save when I'd actually make changes to the document.

This is for Adobe Acrobat Standard 2017. This is on my office computer as well, so I likely won't be able to run scripts or whatever other fancy fixes are suggested. I'll likely be limited to options already preset within the program....so really this post is directed DIRECTLY at Adobe. Please tell me there's a setting to make this awful popup go away! @adobe adobecare

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correct answers 1 Correct answer

Community Expert , May 24, 2018 May 24, 2018

Actually, it is true that Acrobat (or Reader) will not prompt you when you close a document that was not modified. If you do get the prompt, that means that something in the document was modified. You may not have modified the document, but behind the scenes, something happened that makes the document different than it was at the time it was loaded into Acrobat. This can be either due to some JavaScript calculation in the document, or due to a problem with the PDF file that was fixed by Acrobat.

...

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Community Expert ,
Jan 12, 2018 Jan 12, 2018

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Acrobat does not prompt you to save a file if you just open it and close it without modifying it.

If it does, then that means that the file was modified. There are different potential causes for that. The most common one is that you are actually dealing with a corrupt PDF file, and Acrobat fixed it for you when you loaded it. This one is very easy to verify: Open the document, close and and save it. Then open it again and close it. Does Acrobat still prompt you to save it? If not, then Acrobat fixed the bad PDF file for you in the first save operation.

If you are not dealing with a bad PDF file, then it's very likely that something inside the PDF file is modifying it. This can e.g. be a form field that shows the current date or time, or some other field that was modified when you opened the file (e.g. via a calculation script associated with that field). You can see if this is causing the save prompt by disabling Acrobat's JavaScript in Preferences (Preferences>JavaScript>uncheck "Enable Acrobat JavaScript"). Now open the document and close it. Does it still prompt you to save the file? If so, then unfortunately I am out of ideas about what it could be.

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Community Beginner ,
Jan 15, 2018 Jan 15, 2018

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Hi Karl,

Unfortunately I struck out on both of your suggestions. I'm still getting the prompt. And it happens with every pdf I have. Most of the files I'm working with right now are scans--multiple pages that I personally scanned into one pdf. But this also happens with files I did not originate; anything I've opened via email or opened from any drive on my computer still gets this prompt. Thank you for your help though. At least we've eliminated the usual suspects!

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Community Expert ,
Jan 15, 2018 Jan 15, 2018

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Did you scan the documents with Adobe Acrobat?

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Community Beginner ,
Jan 15, 2018 Jan 15, 2018

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I don't understand what you're asking? We have a large printer/copier/scanner that everyone in the office uses. I tap scan, run the pages through and then the pdf gets saved to central folder that I can access at my computer.

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Community Expert ,
Jan 15, 2018 Jan 15, 2018

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Then the software of the scanner creates the files.

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Community Beginner ,
Jan 15, 2018 Jan 15, 2018

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yes

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New Here ,
May 24, 2018 May 24, 2018

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It is simply not true to say that "Acrobat does not prompt you to save a file if you just open it and close it without modifying it".  I download invoices for my quarterly tax return from a wide range of websites, print them and then try to close them with a quick ^W.  90% of the time, this message comes up to waste my time.

Why can't there be a simple "open read-only" option?  The proportion of time that I open a PDF with the intention of editing it must be about 1/1000. 

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Community Expert ,
May 24, 2018 May 24, 2018

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Actually, it is true that Acrobat (or Reader) will not prompt you when you close a document that was not modified. If you do get the prompt, that means that something in the document was modified. You may not have modified the document, but behind the scenes, something happened that makes the document different than it was at the time it was loaded into Acrobat. This can be either due to some JavaScript calculation in the document, or due to a problem with the PDF file that was fixed by Acrobat. Without access to the documents, it's impossible to say what happened. You can try to disable JavaScript in Acrobat's preferences to see if that gets rid of the prompt. If it does, then the prompt was due to a change in the document's state caused by a script. If you are still getting the prompt, then chances are that you are dealing with a corrupt PDF file (and there is very likely evidence of that in a very brief message that pops up on the screen, but may go away before you are actually able to read it).

You can file an enhancement request with Adobe for a read-only mode: Feature Request/Bug Report Form

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New Here ,
May 24, 2018 May 24, 2018

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Right, so Adobe is modifying the document, not me, and it's doing it without asking me.  I spent this morning doing my accounts and I must have at least 20 suppliers, so printed off PDF invoices from that many different sources.  All but a couple generated the message when I closed them.  I do not believe that 90% of companies producing PDF invoices on their websites are creating corrupt PDFs.

There is absolutely no need for it to do this.  I should be able to open by default as read-only, the way Adobe Reader used to work.  If you added up all the time you are wasting across your entire user base, it must be eye-watering.  These are supposed to be productivity tools, not anti-productivity tools.

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 12, 2023 Feb 12, 2023

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I love smart people like you. The explanation that the guy above keeps giving in every topic that asks this same question is a little misguided. If Adobe is modifying the files behind the scenes then it should save it itself or at least prevent the end user from having to save it themselves, it makes no sense. The user can only modify a file in Writer, not in Reader. If even in Reader the file is being modified, it's not by the end user and should NEVER prompt the user to save the file. This feature is incredibly ANNOYING and frustrating. It's a WORST practice, not a best practice. Errors and issues do happen with most applications, so we can understand as long as the developers are honest and not try to hide the issue under the carpet with excuse answers.

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Community Expert ,
Feb 12, 2023 Feb 12, 2023

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"The user can only modify a file in Writer, not in Reader."

 

Not correct. E.g. users can add comments. 

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 12, 2023 Feb 12, 2023

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Ok, that makes sense. However, if the change is not being made by the user (such as adding a comment, which I believe is one of the few things that can be changed in Reader, though that is not relevant for this argument), then the user SHOULD NOT be asked to save the file. It's very annoying, it's very frustrating and it's counter productive. There are "millions" of files that users need to open daily, if we need to click Don't Save in each one, we'll go nuts. Not because it's time consuming, but because it's non-sensical too (no change, no save). If something else is changing the file without the user being aware, that something is responsible for saving the file too without the user being aware. Hopefully that is a basic logical principle that everyone can agree on.

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New Here ,
Mar 15, 2021 Mar 15, 2021

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incorrect info.  Adobe (at least my adobe) asks that annoying message if I scroll down or up withou modifying the PDF

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New Here ,
Aug 17, 2022 Aug 17, 2022

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I'm jumping on this old thread because I think it might be the source of problems with digital signatures.

I work in an environment where people sign pdf's digitally with personal cards. Oftentimes the signature becomes invalid due to (allegedly) changes to the file after it was signed. Thus happens when there where no changes to the files.

I don't know of course if that is the reason, but would like to check this off. Thanks

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 12, 2023 Feb 12, 2023

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That's very possible. The files that act up for me are PDF's from medical clinics that are digitally signed by doctors. So entirely possible.

This doesn't happen with my PDF's generated in Latex.

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New Here ,
Nov 26, 2020 Nov 26, 2020

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Hi Karl,

I experience this issue and I know that my PDF has javascript. The Javascript converts all dates in the document from the PDF creator's server into my laptop's timezone. Is there any way to disable the "Do you want to save changes" prompt in this situation? For example, could the javascript alter the document status from "dirty" to "clean" after converting the dates?

Or is there a way to make the dates automatically display in each user's timezone based on their computer's locale, without using javascript? I have not found anything in my searches that works correctly.

Thank you

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Community Beginner ,
Sep 30, 2021 Sep 30, 2021

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Same issue with me.  All I do is open and immediately close the file and I am being asked if I want to "save the changes".  This is the reason I came to this forum.  If something is happening behind the scenes, as you suggest, it's irrelevant.  As long as the user does not know why he/she is being asked, there is no reasonable way to answer the question and therefore absolutely no reason ask it.  Put another way:  "Do you want to save the changes to xfile (that you are unaware of and for which there is no explanation)?"  Okay, user...answer that!  Literally no reason to ask.

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LEGEND ,
Jan 13, 2018 Jan 13, 2018

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One can use the document's "dirty" property to "false" and prevent any prompt for saving. Note this is not available to Reader.

You should be able to edit the document level scripts within the PDF or for any action within the PDF. Depending upon which directory and what access you have been granted to that directory, you should be able to save your edited PDF.If you cannot, then you need to contact the individual responsible for maintaining that PDF.

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Community Beginner ,
Jan 15, 2018 Jan 15, 2018

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Thank you for your response, however your notes are a bit above my head and I don't understand what/how to do this.

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New Here ,
Oct 17, 2018 Oct 17, 2018

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The only thing I have figured out to reduce this problem isn't going to help people who are just looking at a file one time.

However, if you are opening and re-opening the same file, here is what you can do.

Save and replace the file (which involves hitting enter 3 times, then the left arrow and enter again to confirm that you want to replace the file).  The next time you go into the file and just look at the file and close it, you will not get the annoying box asking "Do you want to save changes to file XXX before closing?"  

This is a really frustrating problem, and it's extra frustrating to be told that we have modified a file when we've definitely only opened it.

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New Here ,
Mar 18, 2020 Mar 18, 2020

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I was just having this problem today, and attempting fixes based on this and other threads. I had just completely given up, when I noticed my pages weren't printing with great resolution, so I unchecked the "Save Print/Toner" checkbox on the Print pop-up window. AND THAT STOPPED THE "SAVE" PROMPT! 😄  Though it could be the combination of that and some of the other various settings I checked and unchecked in my troubleshooting. But I kept getting the prompt until the Save Toner was unchecked.

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New Here ,
Mar 31, 2021 Mar 31, 2021

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ah!! thank you for this! I've been wresting with this same issue for over a week. I print off pdf'd invoices by the hundreds per week and for years I've never once had this pop up. It seemed so random and was so irritating. As soon as I read the words "Save print/Toner" i knew that was the problem!  Since the prints are for internal use only and don't need to be pretty I thought it was smart to save on toner. I switched that on for the first time ever right around the time the pop up started so i knew that had to be it. I tried all the other recommended fixes i found online with no change. Switching off the Save Toner feature and we are back in business! thank you a bunch for sharing! 

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New Here ,
Sep 06, 2021 Sep 06, 2021

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ouch!.. changing registry files didn't really work for the dialog asking to save file, it's still there.. i must have tested it on previously saved files. but the ticked option to save ink/toner when printing is cleared though. 
and adobe forum doesn't provide a way to delete comment as well. guess i'll stick to using Foxit to view documents.
sorry. 

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New Here ,
Oct 20, 2022 Oct 20, 2022

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THIS!!! Thank you SO much. This was the fix I have been looking for. Who knew printing settings would change the PDF.

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