Suggested update/fix - Dont mark files as saved if saving to PDF with perverse editing turned off

[Glenn Wilton]

One 'feature' that really bugs me about Illustrator is that you can make many changes to a document, save it as a PDF, turn off Preserve Editing Capabilities, and Illustrator will mark the document as 'saved', allowing you to close it without prompting.

The risk is that you can easily lose work by exporting a low-res proof, and then accidentally closing without any warning or prompts that you will lose the editable file.

It would seem like a simple fix, don't mark the document as saved if saving without full editing checked.

BTW is a NOT a fan of how Illustrator does dual formats ai/pdf

[Monika Gause]

I would not expect this to happen, because different peoples' needs are different.

So maybe you want to make it a habit to save your PDFs with "Save a copy"

[Glenn Wilton]

My point is that any process that could result in the loss of data (not saving an editable file and closing) should be guarded by a prompt unless the user explicitly tells the program not to prompt them again.

Yes, save as copy works as well, but its a blind spot for users just saving and choosing pdf.

[Monika Gause]

And my point is that a lot of people use this command and know exactly what they are doing. Giving them a popup at this point would disrupt their workflow. 

Saving a PDF with Editing Capabilities turned off triggers an alert. Why should there be another one?

[Glenn Wilton]

You're saying 'some people like it this way, so it's ok' while ignoring others (me) who are saying this is an issue is missing the point.

In my previous job, this was an issue with lots of staff, working on large print jobs, some prepress/designer would save to a small pdf, then lose their work, requiring them to reconstruct the file, around once a month or so, and yes, while training to save a copy, backups, etc does help,  it's still an loophole what would be easy to fix.

If you read my post, I said "unless the user explicitly tells the program not to prompt them again", so an updated option in the preferences to warn if closing a document with unsaved editable changes, that can also be dismissed when popped up, easy fix for both sides, don't you think? 

I hear you, you're saying it's working for you, great, but it's an issue for others.

[Bobby Henderson]

In my humble opinion, people should not be making any additional edits to an Illustrator document if it has been saved in PDF format. I make changes to my original "master" .AI file and then save one or more versions of it in PDF format. The PDF files are either for clients to review or they're made to process in a RIP application for print output. If/when I delete the PDF files I'll still have my original .AI file.

Software alone can't automatically save people from making mistakes with files, especially in an environment where multiple people have access to the files. Policies or guard rails need to be in place for backing up files and protecting them. At my workplace other co-workers can access some of my art files but they have no permissions to accidentally save any changes. That's because not everyone really understands the files/folders system in the computer. Even if they do understand the file system there's always a chance their minds might drift into auto-pilot mode. They'll click "save" when they shouldn't do so.

I think Illustrator should just automatically save a backup of the previous saved version of a file when the Save command is pressed. The rival CorelDRAW app does so. However, the Autosavior plugin from Astute Graphics can do a lot more. It can save files to multiple locations, revert to previous versions of a file, show time to save reminders and more. You can get the plugin for free just by doing a trial run of Astute Graphics' suite of Illustrator plugins.

[Glenn Wilton]

I agree it's not an ideal process to edit after saving as a PDF, since you can lose content that way.

The typical issue I see is opening an AI file, making changes and edits, saving as a low-res PDF to email it to the customer, and then, when they go back to Illustrator, which might have multiple files open, they accidentally close the window and lose all their changes silently.  And it's not discovered until they go back to make changes or print the file, that they only have a low-res PDF. 

I try to drum into staff, and make a policy, AI for master artwork, PDF for sharing and printing only, procedures and traiing go a long way, but when your busy, at the end of the day, human error, high workload, and mistakes happen, and to me, it just seems crazy that you can save to pdf without editabibility, then close and not have Illustrator warn you at the point of closing.  I can't think of any other program that just lets you close a loose work.

And don't get me started on how Illustrator has two save formats, so many issues!

[Glenn Wilton]

Its actually worse tha I thougt, Illustrator remembers you PDF preset, which I had set to 'Proof' a custom preset

1. Create document
2. Add rectangle
3. Save as PDF
4. Will have 'Proof' Preset alto selected (with preserve editing off)
5. Save
6. Close
   
   And AI will close the document without any warnings, not a blip. Crazy. So even if you are in the camp of always saving PDFs as editable, if you dont check your settings and just assume its ok, you too could save a PDF with no editable ai embeded.

[Bobby Henderson]

The problem is when an open Illustrator AI file is saved as a PDF any changes that were made to the document are only baked into that PDF file. The AI file is no longer open; it's now the PDF file that is open. The AI master file will only have the previous save state of changes saved. I have to remember to save any changes to the AI file before generating PDF files.

I agree it's a battle to remember to check PDF settings when saving files. The presets I use for large format printing files are different from files I'm going to email to clients.