On some occasions, Adobe Reader is asking to save before closing, and it does so repeatedly, yet without visible changes.

  • If you keep getting a Do you want to save changes to PDF before closing? pop-up in Adobe, the app might be out-of-date.Also, a PDF won’t save changes if saving settings aren’t correct.Disabling protected mode at startup and the Acrobat JavaScript are both confirmed solutions.If you’re lucky, using our guide will get you through this issue in no time.

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Well, there are two main reasons why Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat may prompt you to save changes to a PDF file after you’ve opened it:

  • The PDF file is corrupted and Adobe Reader or Acrobat automatically repaired it without displaying a warning message over the same, which explains why the Save button is enabled (an automatic repair was performed).
  • The PDF has form fields and the NeedAppearances entry in the interactive form dictionary is set to TRUE. What this means is the conforming PDF reader generates an appearance stream for form fields in the PDF where necessary, so this enables the Save button. If the entry is set to FALSE, the conforming PDF reader won’t generate new appearance streams.

If you want to stop getting the message error, try the solutions below right away.

What can I do if PDF won’t save changes before closing?

  • Download the latest Adobe Acrobat software version
  • General troubleshooting
  • Disable protected mode at startup
  • Change saving settings

1. Download the latest Adobe Acrobat software version

Getting the same annoying message every time you try to close your PDF document is clearly frustrating. Even so, stop imagining the worst.

The issue you’re experiencing is often related to an outdated Adobe Acrobat, so don’t postpone grabbing the latest version.

All you have to do is to download the product from the manufacturer site. This simple action will save you a lot of time when going through countless troubleshooting steps.

2. General troubleshooting

Generally, Adobe Acrobat won’t prompt you to save a PDF file if you just opened and closed it without making any modifications.

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If this happens, then it means the file has been modified, either due to corrupt files, or automatic repair. To resolve this, open the document, close and save it, then open again and close it.

If it doesn’t prompt you to save again, then Acrobat did an automatic repair on the PDF file in the first save operation.

If your PDF file is not bad or corrupted, then something within the PDF file is modifying it as we mentioned earlier.

You can check if this is causing the do you want to save the changes to pdf before closing issue by disabling Acrobat’s JavaScript in Preferences > JavaScript, then uncheck the Enable Acrobat JavaScript box.

Then, open and close the document.

3. Disable protected mode at startup

  • Open Adobe Reader.
  • Go to Edit.
  • Select Preferences.
  • Select Security (Enhanced).
  • Uncheck Enable protected mode at startup and press OK.
  • Open the PDF file again and save as you do normally.

You can also respond to the do you want to save the changes to pdf before closing dialog by selecting Yes, then save the PDF file on top of itself.

This should make the Save changes dialog box go away when closing the file.

4. Change saving settings

  • Open Adobe Acrobat.
  • Go to Edit.
  • Select Preferences.
  • Select Documents.
  • Go to Save settings and uncheck both options.

Have you managed to resolve the do you want to save the changes to pdf before closing message prompt on your computer using these solutions?

Let us know by dropping a comment in the section below.

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