Recent documents disappear in Acrobat Reader iOS

[drshortcutify]

M “recent” folder seems to regularly clear itself, which causes me to lose the list if documents I am working on and the last page I opened in each document. Is there anything that can be done to keep the recent documents where they should be?

[MobileDeveloperCK]

Hi drshortcutify​,

The "Recent" file browser in Acrobat Reader shows the recently opened documents from different sources.

Where are the documents originally stored?  Are they stored locally on your iPad/iPhone or cloud storage (e.g Adobe Document Cloud, Dropbox, Google Drive)?

How did you open the documents in Acrobat Reader first?  For example, did you open them from Acrobat Reader's "More Locations..." and select cloud storage such as Google Drive?  Did you use the iOS 11 Files app and select "Open in Adobe Acrobat" instead?

Please let us know what you find so that we can investigate the cause of the problem.

Thank you for your help.

[drshortcutify]

hello there,

Thanks for your reply. The documents are stored in Dropbox, which is linked to my Acrobat Reader app. I access them directly from the drop down menu inside Acrobat Reader and once opened they appear under “recent”. However as I mentioned, every now and then the “recent” list is cleared.

[MobileDeveloperCK]

Hi drshortcutify​,

Have you moved the same files to other folders ore renamed them in the Dropbox app (outside Acrobat Reader) by any chance?

Another possible cause of the problem is an old defect in Acrobat Reader.

What is the version of your Acrobat Reader?  Go to Settings > Adobe Acrobat > Version.

We fixed the defect with preferences being reset in Acrobat Reader 17.12.15.  I am wondering if you are using an older version of Acrobat Reader.  Would you please update to the latest version 18.01.22 (as of February 5, 2018) to see if it works better for you?

Please let us know what you find.

Thank you.

[drshortcutify]

No I never moved the documents from their original location. Regardless, they all disappear at the same time as if the app was routinely clearing them on a regular basis.

Regarding the version... I don't actually see my 'settings'. In the menu on the left, in addition to functions such as 'comment' and 'fill & sign' I only have 'my account' and 'help'. But no 'settings'. Am I thick?

[MobileDeveloperCK]

Hi,

Sorry for the confusion.  By "Settings", I meant the iOS Settings with this icon in your iPad/iPhone's home screen.

Please check Settings > Adobe Acrobat > Version.

Thank you.

[drshortcutify]

Oh sorry! I have the latest version: 18.01.22.

I am thinking out loud but could it be that this happens every time the app updates?

[MobileDeveloperCK]

Hi,

Thank you for confirming the version number.  You do have the latest version of Acrobat Reader.

drshortcutify  wrote

...

I am thinking out loud but could it be that this happens every time the app updates?

We will investigate if there's a defect in Acrobat Reader that clears Recent upon app updates.

Thank you.

[MobileDeveloperCK]

Hi drshortcutify​,

We encountered a similar problem only once with poor network connectivity and also confirmed that Recent was not reset by app updates.

Our hypothesis is that Acrobat Reader displays an empty Recent file list when it fails to refresh metadata for Dropbox files due to network connectivity issues.

The files from the original sources (e.g. Dropbox, Local, Document Cloud) are not permanently lost.  This appears to be a temporary display glitch in Acrobat Reader.

Would you please try the following when you encounter the same problem next time?

1. Make sure that your iPad/iPhone has stable network connection (preferably, Wi-Fi, not Cellular).
2. Restart your iPad/iPhone: Restart your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support
3. Launch Acrobat Reader.
4. Go to Recent.

Do you see existing entries shown in Recent?

We will continue investigating the cause of the problem.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

[drshortcutify]

OK, I will wait for the next time the problem happens and update you.

Now, since yesterday I have another problem: the recent documents are listed, but Acrobat Reader does not remember the page I last opened. This happened twice since yesterday, and on both occasions, I opened all my recent documents, and they all opened on the first page. As I was on my wifi, I do not suppose it was an issue of poor connection.

[drshortcutify]

Hello again,

It seems like my problem has nothing to do with connection. I spent the day at home where I have a very fast and stable connection. I just opened my mobile app, and only two recent files were listed. There should be four of them. I cannot explain why some files are listed and others not. Of the two files that have disappeared one had not been opened for a while, while the other had been opened a mere half hour earlier.

I restarted my iPhone as you suggested but to no luck.

Additionally, and as mentioned earlier, the Acrobat app now quite often does not open the recent file at the page where it was last opened, but the first page. To make things worse, sometimes I spend hours highlighting and commenting a PDF file, switch to another app, and when I return to Acrobat I realise that the file was not synced/saved and that all my edits have been lost. This is all quite frustrating.

Help?

[drshortcutify]

Hi. Any news? My documents keep disappearing from the 'recent' files list. And there is no hypothesis explaining it so far if I understand correctly. Is this an admission that the mobile app is faulty/unreliable?

[defaultusotkllw2wo9]

I am having the same problem. Recent documents regularly clears. All files are stored locally in the app, no network accounts are linked so it should be independent of connectivity. Version 20.09.01. 

Please fix this. I have been a long time user and I want to keep using the app but this is very frustrating.