xser
Level 1 (49 points)
Mac OS X

Q: Preview: highlights moving after saving

Since updating to El Capitan, the highlights that I apply to PDFs in Preview sometimes move when I save the PDF. Once they move, I cannot put them back. The highlights no longer correspond meaningfully to the text to which they were originally applied (see screenshot below). This makes the PDF be functionally useless.

 

Does anyone have any idea why this is happening or what I can do about it?

 

Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 2.24.33 PM.png

MacBook Air, OS X El Capitan (10.11.1)

Posted on Nov 4, 2015 11:28 AM

by xser,Apple recommended
xser xser
Level 1 (49 points)
Mac OS X
A:

I am no longer having this problem. Here is what I have done since I first noticed the problem.

 

  1. Backup
  2. Reinstall (from Apple store's local servers to insure a good copy of the OS)
  3. Setup as new (i.e., do not restore from backup)
  4. Test. (outcome: no highlighting problem)
  5. Restore from backup.
  6. Test. (outcome: no highlighting problem)

 

This suggests that the issue was with my install (which is frustrating since I have reinstalled about 5-6 times this year for a variety of problems; Who knew that reinstalling might actually create problems?).

 

I hope you all have the same or better luck!

Posted on Jan 22, 2016 6:25 AM

Close
xser

Q: Preview: highlights moving after saving

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by xser,

    xser xser Nov 24, 2015 7:48 AM in response to xser
    Level 1 (49 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 24, 2015 7:48 AM in response to xser

    I was able to reproduce the issue (and other issues: Preview: freezes every time I save and close a window, Finder tags disappear while typing them in (in Preview), and Preview: interpreting links as covering the whole page) on a new user and on a clean install (screenshots attached). So it's either a bug or my computer. But what about a particular computer would cause such widespread issues in one and only one app?

     

    How I reproduced it:

    - I was using Preview and Pages in Split View. I was highlighting a PDF in Preview and taking notes in Pages.

    - Then I closed my Macbook Air to put it to sleep until the following day.

    - Today I opened my laptop, logged in, and returned to the Split View with the PDF and my notes. Everything looked fine.

    - Then I went to mission control view to "unsplit" Split View (i.e., the two-arrow logo). Preview crashed (as it always does when it leaves Split View).

    - When I reopened the PDF in Preview, the highlights had moved.

     

    Screen Shot 2015-11-24 at 10.41.40 AM.pngScreen Shot 2015-11-24 at 10.42.04 AM.png

  • by gpalermo,

    gpalermo gpalermo Dec 3, 2015 1:01 PM in response to xser
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 3, 2015 1:01 PM in response to xser

    I have the exact same issue, and it's extremely frustrating. I have sent a bug report to Apple through the Beta program's Feedback Assistant, despite the fact that it occurs on my machine running an official release. If anyone figures out how to fix documents and annotations that have been destroyed, please speak up.

    Screen Shot 2015-12-03 at 3.55.17 PM.jpg

  • by xser,

    xser xser Dec 3, 2015 1:38 PM in response to gpalermo
    Level 1 (49 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 3, 2015 1:38 PM in response to gpalermo

    Hi gpalermo,

     

    I'm reaaly bummed to hear you're having the same problem. I hope our solution is on the horizon!

     

    Here's two things I've done to deal with this issue:

    1. Delete the annotations (hover over the annotations, right-click, choose delete [the circle backslash symbol]).
    2. Use a more powerful PDF app (like Adobe Acrobat Pro) to manually align the text and highlighting. I hope this helps.

  • by kvnvanz,

    kvnvanz kvnvanz Jan 21, 2016 7:22 AM in response to gpalermo
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 21, 2016 7:22 AM in response to gpalermo

    I thought I was the only one experiencing this kind of problem. My other problem is that when I reopen a certain file, there's a border added in the left and bottom part of the PDF. PLUS, all of the text were pushed/indented in the right because of this "border" problem. PLEASE, IF ANYONE KNOWS HOW TO FIX THIS, KINDLY TELL US.

     

    Highlight problem:

    Screen Shot 2016-01-21 at 11.16.27 PM.png

    "Border" problem:

    Screen Shot 2016-01-21 at 11.13.05 PM.png

  • by xser,Apple recommended

    xser xser Jan 22, 2016 6:25 AM in response to xser
    Level 1 (49 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 22, 2016 6:25 AM in response to xser

    I am no longer having this problem. Here is what I have done since I first noticed the problem.

     

    1. Backup
    2. Reinstall (from Apple store's local servers to insure a good copy of the OS)
    3. Setup as new (i.e., do not restore from backup)
    4. Test. (outcome: no highlighting problem)
    5. Restore from backup.
    6. Test. (outcome: no highlighting problem)

     

    This suggests that the issue was with my install (which is frustrating since I have reinstalled about 5-6 times this year for a variety of problems; Who knew that reinstalling might actually create problems?).

     

    I hope you all have the same or better luck!

  • by tkitom,

    tkitom tkitom Jul 8, 2016 9:32 PM in response to kvnvanz
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jul 8, 2016 9:32 PM in response to kvnvanz

    You aren't the only one. I have the exactly same issue.

    Did anyone solve it?

    It's really frustrating.

  • by Luis Sequeira1,

    Luis Sequeira1 Luis Sequeira1 Jul 9, 2016 2:00 AM in response to tkitom
    Level 6 (11,753 points)
    Jul 9, 2016 2:00 AM in response to tkitom

    Does the problem occur in a different user account? Does it occur in Safe Mode?

  • by SZeke,

    SZeke SZeke Aug 2, 2016 3:57 PM in response to xser
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Aug 2, 2016 3:57 PM in response to xser

    This may be a workaround: Re: How do I fix 'highlighting' problems in mac Preview document?

  • by J_J_,

    J_J_ J_J_ Aug 3, 2016 12:06 PM in response to xser
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Aug 3, 2016 12:06 PM in response to xser

    This issue is driving me crazy!!! Did anyone get a solution?

     

    Screen Shot 2016-08-03 at 3.06.12 PM.png

  • by SZeke,

    SZeke SZeke Aug 3, 2016 2:16 PM in response to J_J_
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Aug 3, 2016 2:16 PM in response to J_J_

    I posted this yesterday through a link in my post. Here it is written out:

     

    I have encountered the same problem on and off, most recently today.

     

    I wondered why problem did not always occur. I suspected it had to do with how the pdf was created. I tried this and it seems to have fixed it:

     

    1) Open pdf. Use File>Revert to... to go back to version prior to highlights. You could also delete misaligned highlights manually.

    2) Print>Save pdf

    3) It seems that highlighting in the new pdf works properly.

     

    This is not a solution, but a workaround. Unfortunately, it involves redoing all your highlights.

     

    Steve