I cannot rename a PDF file saved to my computer

[mhs505]

I cannot rename a PDF file saved to my PC. The file closes whether I'm using File Explorer or MS Word to try to rename it. I use Windows 10 and Adobe Acrobat Reader. This has been a problem for months.

[try67]

You can't rename a file that's open in Reader. You have to close it first.

[mhs505]

The PDF file IS in fact closed and is saved to Dropbox and shown in my Folders in both File Explorer and Word. If I am able to name the PDF in the first place, I should be able to rename it as well. Again, this has been a problem for many months, and is still an aggravating problem today.

[jane-e]

@mhs505 wrote: I use ... Adobe Acrobat Reader

Are you creating the PDFs with Word? If you don't have Acrobat Pro and don't have PDFMaker, then you have a Microsoft PDF that Adobe had nothing to do with in the creation. You are only using Reader to view the Microsoft PDF.

Try this: Quit Reader and Quit Word. Then try to rename the PDF in Windows File Explorer. 

I don't use DropBox, but can you rename it there?

I moved your post to Adobe Acrobat Reader for you.

Jane

[mhs505]

I am not creating the PDF in Word. I am downloading existing PDFs into Adobe Acrobat Reader. Then, I'm saving the PDF file in File Explorer for easy access in the future.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is fully updated.

Reader and Word are not open.

I have for at least 20 years been able to rename PDFs in File Explorer, and within my Word folders. I have been experiencing the problem I posted about today for at least 6 months. Why?

This isn't rocket science.

[Abambo]

Close the preview pane. that may cause the problem. If you can't rename a file and all apps are closed, check in the task manager for zombie processes. 

If all this does not help, you should post in a Microsoft forum. This may be an OS problem.

[Abambo]

Additional tip: try renaming immediately after a reboot.

[ade_0559]

You can rename your pdf files by saving as new files. I did it and it worked.

[AnandSri]

Hello!

I hope you are doing well.

As our Product Expert correctly mentioned, you need Adobe Acrobat to save a PDF with a different name, as this feature is not available in the free Acrobat Reader. For more details, please refer to this article:

:link: Saving PDFs

As suggested, close the app, restart your computer, and try renaming the file through Windows Explorer.

Let us know if you need any further assistance.

Thanks,

Anand Sri.