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This has been an irritant as long as I can remember whenever I've used Acrobat on my Android smartphones. For a LONG time, the PC version of Acrobat has included a "Ssve As" feature. WHY are the full capabilities of a standard "Save As" feature NOT accessible - even as an option - in the Android version of Acrobat? It can't be because those capabilities are difficult to implement in an Android app, as all of those capabilities have always been "standard" in every other Android app (at least all I know of) from which a user might want to save a file. So WHY are those capabilities missing in Android Acrobat?
Instead of allowing me to decide "where" I want a PDF file saved on my Android devices, Acrobat insists on "dumping" every PDF file into the same (unidentified) folder on my Android device, making it difficult to locate that file again unless I retrieve it through Android Acrobat as a "Recent" file.
Originally, I assumed it was just VERY "lazy" programming at Adobe that was denying users the opportunity to easily organize the originals (or copies) of PDF files stored on their Android devices according to whatever specific categories the user may prefer (whether topical, by project name, or by client name). So, I felt sure "Save A Copy" eventually would get revised to have the familiar additional capabilities as are found in the ubiquitous "Save As" feature in other Android apps. But as I've waited and occasionally tried to look closer at the issue, I've decided it's actually a deliberate decision, rather than "lazy" programming. But I still cannot understand "WHY" this decision was made to so severely restrict users' filw-saving options?
Of course, downloaded PDF files often have inscrutable filenames and Adobe long ago recognized the retrieval problem this can cause. So - although Android Acrobat doesn't include a true "Save As" feature - if a user selects Android Acrobat's "Save A Copy" feature, then "On this device", it first presents the user an opportunity to change that PDF copy's filename before it gets saved on "this Device". HOWEVER, "Save A Copy" still does not provide the capability for the user to select a different folder location "On this device" where that PDF file copy will be saved. WHY?
Even more frustrating, when "Save A Copy" is used to save a copy of a PDF file to an online repository (Adobe, Google, OneDrive, presumably Dropbox or others), it at first seems to operate differently than when used for "On this device". After clicking on an available online repository, instead of presenting an opportunity to change the filename (as it did for "On this device"), "Save A Copy" first displays the names of (any existing) subfolders at the chosen online location. At that point, the user can click on any (or none) of those folders as the location where the file copy will be placed. After the user (did or didn't) select one of those displayed subfolders & clicks on "Save", "Save A Copy" next displays the opportunity to rename that copy of the PDF before the user again clicks on "Save", which then saves that copy of the PDF file into the earlier-selected subfolder of that online repository.
This twlls me that Android Acrobat's "Save A Copy" actually IS fully capable of placing a (named or renamed) copy of a PDF file into any folder or subfolder on "this device", but that Adobe deliberately hides all folders of "On this device" to prevent users from placing PDF files in any but the one unidentified folder Adobe has designated.
There must be a reason why Adobe went to so much trouble to build and include "Save A Copy" in Android Acrobat instead of a standard "Ssve As" feature. "Save A Copy" seems to be only only a strategically-"crippled", less-functional replacement for the more robust feature set of a standard "Save As" feature. Again, WHY??
All Acrobat users do not use Acrobat in the same way nor do they all share the same preferences or needs regarding "where" on each of their devices (or even how many copies or under how many different names) each of their PDF files gets stored.
"Save A Copy's" unusual and non-standard restrictions on file saving are frustrating and maddening. Worse, they seem completely unnecessary and without practical utility for most (or at least, casual) Android Acrobat users.
So, again, can someone explain WHY Android Acrobat's users are being so severly & annoyingly restricted from saving PDF files into whatever folder(s) on "this device" that the user would prefer over that one unidentified folder where Android Acrobat now places all of them?
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Hi @dpauldalton,
Hope you are doing well. Thank you for writing in!
There will always be differences in the workflow when comparing an app made for desktops against the one made for mobile due to multiple optimizations.
Also, the ability to save a file on online storage and their display of folders depends entirely on the permissions the other cloud platform allows for Acrobat to show.
However, I suggest filling in the feedback form: https://adobe.ly/3IUmpdU to ensure your feedback reaches the dev team directly for review and future changes.
-Souvik
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I complete agree with dpauldalton. The "save as" feature is a must. When I edit PDFs on the cloud across multiple devices, I seem to be getting conflicting versions of the file. The save-as feature is a must-have for me to maintain version control on the files I've edited. Please give us this feature for Android.
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Hi
@Mohan Mk Menon
Hope you are doing well and sorry for the delayed response.
As suggested in the previous response, you may share your feature request with the engineering team using the link https://adobe.ly/3OfU5Wl for future consideration and implementation.
~Amal