Does File Degrade From Viewing Only

Question

1. Assuming that the hardware is brand new and proven 100% functional, does anybody know if Adobe Illustrator's files will degrade only from viewing them without making any edits, changes, resavings? Or for that matter, is there any adobe product that will cause file degradation only from viewing it without making any edits, changes, or resaving? My lead at work says that it will but I disagree with this.

2. Also, when copying a file (e.g. .pdf, .jpg, or .mp3), then making a copy of the copy, and then making yet another copy of the last copied file, and then repeating this process multiple times, would it ever cause the last copy to degrade? My lead also says yes, but I disagree. The way I explained this is that when we copy files, we're duplicating 0s and 1s, and as along as there is no hardware or software damage or issues, the last copy will always be the same as the original file.

Jacob Bugge · Accepted Answer

Daniel,1) The long answer is no.2) The long answer is no.JPEG (.jpg) is a lossy format, which means that every time you save, as opposed to copy, the image will degrade. This causes the well known dirt often seen on JPEGs.

Test Screen Name · Answer

What will always degrade is editing a JPEG and saving it, or saving it without editing. Video may be similar.

(Some people put around myths like "on maximum quality the JPEG isn't degraded but that's false).

Of course, one rarely wins an argument with one's boss (short or long term).

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