How to keep Preview from destroying files?

Question

Level 1

50 points

How to keep Preview from destroying files?

I have a lot of trouble with Preview destroying my files. I want to know how to keep Preview from destroying my fiiles.

I am clumsy, so I slip, and I use scrolling software. When I slip, Preview decides I have edited my file-- I have not-- and Preview reprocesses the file and replaces the orginal with a new version. If I need the original, it is gone. If I need a text layer, and it isn't in the Roman alphabet, it is gone. If I need to avoid reformatting in Quartz due to incompatibilities with other pdf tools, it is reformatted anyway.

I think Preview used to have a setting to keep it from destroying my files, but the 9.0 update reverted my other settings, and seems to have deleted this setting. I use "ask to keep changes" under System Preferences > General, but that doesn't stop Preview. It's destroy, destroy, destroy.

MacBook Air (11-inch Mid 2013), macOS Sierra (10.12.6)

Posted on Jan 14, 2018 4:56 PM

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Answer 1

Eric Root

Level 10

685,377 points

Jan 14, 2018 6:26 PM in response to Marja E

I'm not sure this will help, but it is something you can try.

Do a backup, preferable 2 backups on 2 separate drives.

Quit Preview.

Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J. When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder. Remove the following. You may not find them all. Restart and test.

Containers/com.apple.Preview

Containers/com.apple.quicklook.ui.helper

Preferences/com.apple.Preview.LSSharedFileList.plist

Preferences/com.apple.Preview.SandboxedPersistentURLs.LSSharedFileList.plist

Saved Application State/com.apple.Preview.savedState

Credit Linc Davis for this solution.

Preview Reset automatic download - 3rd party solution

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Answer 2

Marja E Author

Level 1

50 points

Jan 15, 2018 9:45 AM in response to VikingOSX

I try to avoid this by:

(a) using System Preferences > General > Ask to keep changes and

(b) usually using Clearview in place of Preview. Skim is another option and it is free.

I still have to use Preview to check page numbering when trying to excerpt or print part of a pdf.

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Answer 3

Marja E Author

Level 1

50 points

Jan 14, 2018 5:57 PM in response to Eric Root

It's Preview. I don't have much use for File > Save there.

If I slip while using Preview, and then quit Preview without saving, then Preview tries to save my "edits" over the good original. It doesn't ask. I use "ask to keep changes" under System Preferences > General to try to stop this nonsense. It doesn't stop it.

If it freezes, and I force quit, I can sometimes protect the original. Apparently Time Machine also retains the original, but I'd just rather not have Preview overwriting things.

I mostly use Clearview, but some tasks require Preview or Skim.

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Answer 4

VikingOSX

Level 10

125,010 points

Jan 15, 2018 9:42 AM in response to Eric Root

Preview has a nasty habit of autosaving any opened PDF annotation changes. This can only be controlled through System Preferences : General. Worse, if one has a PDF standards document open, Preview, due to its aging PDF support, will autosave over it as a non-standards version — trashing the original standards integrity.

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Answer 5

tygb

Level 9

65,026 points

Jan 15, 2018 1:09 AM in response to Marja E

If preview is corrupted : Enter in user library ( ~/Library ) please use the path > Mac HD > users > Home folder > library > containers > com.apple.preview > data > library > preferences > right click on com.apple.preview.plist and move to desktop . Restart the machine from apple logo .

The easy way is create a new user account an article for it How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 6

Eric Root

Level 10

685,377 points

Jan 14, 2018 5:37 PM in response to Marja E

Clarification questions - are you seeing the changes made to the original without you having selected File/Save? If you quit Preview without saving the file, is the original still changed?

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