where does Preview store the temp pdf files?

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linda2009 Author

Level 1

76 points

where does Preview store the temp pdf files?

there are a lot of temporary pdf files in my recent doc list, and I don't really want them anymore. I mean I don't want the files at all. I can't find where Preview stores these temporary pdf files. you know, they are previews of various things throughout time. some are confidential in nature so I want to delete them from the hard drive. when I do a search of my drive, I can't find them.

I've tried opening a few of them and selecting "move to the trash" from the menu, but it's not available on the menu.

I hope I have explained it well enough. Thank you for your time.

mac mini, Mac OS X (10.6.4), 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4 GB DDR3, 320 GB

Posted on Jul 20, 2010 11:25 AM

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Answer 1

Jul 20, 2010 3:14 PM in response to linda2009

I'm amazed they don't get deleted when you restart your computer. I'm afraid it is a bit difficult to explain exactly where they are--I just did what you suggested with this web page, and got two temp files, the original pdf and the edited version. They are here:

/private/var/folders/Rv/RvRzJO5dHda62tPNz4CIxk +TI/-Tmp-/printing.158/Preview of “Apple - Support - Discussions - where does Preview store the temp pdf ...”.pdf

/private/var/folders/Rv/RvRzJO5dHda62tPNz4CIxk +TI/-Tmp-/printing.543/Preview of “Preview of “Apple - Support - Discussions - where does Preview store the temp pdf ...”.pdf”.pdf

In order to get there you need to first use the "Go" menu item "Go to folder..." and type in

/private/var/folders

and click the go button. You will see several folders with mysterious two letter names. You'll just have to open them and then open the sub-folder until you find the one that belongs to you. You can then trash the "printing.123" (or whatever number it has), and I do mean trash it--you need to actually EMPTY the Trash after you put the folder(s) in there. The name may still show up in the Recent list, but selecting it won't open a thing.

BTW, did you try just restarting?
Francine

Francine
Schwieder

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Answer 2

baltwo

Level 9

62,396 points

Jul 20, 2010 12:05 PM in response to linda2009

if you mean the list that you get when you click on the Apple menu icon->Recent items->Documents, then those will only display until replaced by new ones. It doesn't mean they're still on your machine. Best to scroll to the bottom and select Clear Menu, then you'll only see new ones as they're created.

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Answer 3

linda2009 Author

Level 1

76 points

Jul 20, 2010 12:23 PM in response to baltwo

thank you for your reply, but
I don't mean the list - I know I can clear the list.

And, it does mean they are still on my machine, because I can open them and view them, print them, etc. They are still there somewhere. Clear Menu will just delete them from the list, it won't actually delete the file.

Does anyone know where they are stored??

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Answer 4

macjack

Level 10

111,282 points

Jul 20, 2010 12:25 PM in response to baltwo

OT - baltwo, when you get chance have a look here? Ta!
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=11950568

-mj

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Answer 5

linda2009 Author

Level 1

76 points

Jul 20, 2010 12:31 PM in response to macjack

So are you saying show hidden files and do a search?
I followed the link, but didn't see anything about the Preview files (pdf)?

thanks

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Answer 6

baltwo

Level 9

62,396 points

Jul 20, 2010 12:33 PM in response to linda2009

Then, to find where those are located, open one, CMD+click on its title, and its path (location) all the way back to the computer is displayed.

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Answer 7

baltwo

Level 9

62,396 points

Jul 20, 2010 12:36 PM in response to linda2009

That message was for me, not you. Ignore it. See my latest post. 😉

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Answer 8

baltwo

Level 9

62,396 points

Jul 20, 2010 12:37 PM in response to macjack

😉

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Answer 9

linda2009 Author

Level 1

76 points

Jul 20, 2010 1:29 PM in response to baltwo

Okay. I'm just not following that.
I have a file opened in Preview (one that I can't find on my machine), how do I CMD+Click on its Title if I don't know where it is located?? I can't click on it at the top of the screen. I don't know where I can click on the title at??

I have all hidden files showing and have done a search and can't find any of these files.

Does anyone know where Preview stores these temporary files? They are usually previews of files that have been printed or just viewed. They are not files that I saved.

Does anyone know? it's got to be a single folder, they're not going to be scattered all over the hard drive.

thanks.

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Answer 10

jsd2

Level 5

6,245 points

Jul 20, 2010 2:30 PM in response to linda2009

Hi,

I don't recall seeing such "temporary files" in my own system, either in Apple Menu>Recent Items, or in Preview's File Menu>Open Recent.

I have a file opened in Preview (one that I can't find on my machine),

From there, try going to Preview's *File Menu>Save As*
and see where Preview proposes to save it. The default is usually the original file, and the dialog window that you see should reveal its location. You can then just cancel the "Save As."

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Answer 11

linda2009 Author

Level 1

76 points

Jul 20, 2010 2:40 PM in response to jsd2

Yeah. tried that; it just opens to the Documents folder. And the "Preview" file is not there. I believe it is a temporary file of some kind, like cache or something.

some background: one way the files get created is from the internet. I am in Safari and wish to print an invoice. Instead of just printing it, I choose to open it in Preview. It doesn't look right...margins are wrong, something. so I go back and change things and choose Preview again. Another "Preview of something.pdf" gets created. All of these files can be accessed days later from the "Apple" menu, under Recent Items. I don't even have to be connected to the internet or have Safari running. I just choose one of these files from the Recent Items and it opens up. I can view it or print it or save it somewhere else on my hard drive. Try it - go through those steps to print any web page and you will find the file in your Recent Items list.

But, it is already on my hard drive, I just don't know where! Maybe it is stored within Preview's plist file, I don't know. I was just hoping someone else knew where all these files are.

I know I can Clear the Recent List, but that doesn't delete the file.

So, I guess know one knows where the files are.

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Answer 12

baltwo

Level 9

62,396 points

Jul 20, 2010 4:12 PM in response to linda2009

I have a file opened in Preview (one that I can't find on my machine), how do I CMD+Click on its Title if I don't know where it is located?? I can't click on it at the top of the screen. I don't know where I can click on the title at??

If the file's opened in Preview, at the top of its window is its title. CMD+click on that.

User uploaded file

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Answer 13

linda2009 Author

Level 1

76 points

Jul 21, 2010 10:22 AM in response to baltwo

baltwo - doesn't work for me, I can't click on it. I can when it's a "regular" pdf though. thanks for that tip.

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Answer 14

linda2009 Author

Level 1

76 points

Jul 21, 2010 10:25 AM in response to Francine Schwieder

Francine,
Thank you so much for your post. Although, for some reason, I do not have that folder, I will check there in the future.

Although I never actually found the files, Restarting the computer apparently deleted them, because when I went back to the Recent Items menu and try to open one, Preview does not respond. So they must be gone now. Thank you.

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Answer 15

baltwo

Level 9

62,396 points

Jul 21, 2010 11:06 AM in response to linda2009

Thanks for the feedback. Guess since they're temp files, they react differently. Never had a reason to track any of those down, so don't know what I'm missing. 😉 Good computing.

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