Score:0

Save instead of Save as a copy in Evince Reader

us flag

I am currently using Evince Document Viewer Version 3.36.10 on Ubuntu 20.04. When I try to save an annotated pdf, it shows only the Save a copy option. How do I make it overwrite the current file? I have read a few similar questions on this platform but couldn't find any answers. So, is there any way to do it?

Issue on GitLab

How to save/overwrite an annotated file with Evince?

Score:1
cn flag

It is how it works. You, however, can hit "Enter", and it will overwrite (update) your current file . I also do not understand the rationale to just have a "Save" command that does not prompt when a user wants to save annotations to the currently open PDF file.

This has been filed in issue 1281 and others. In an earlier issue, a developper indicated: "It works as intended, as Evince cannot guarantee loss of some PDF features currently unsupported by Poppler, the library used to render PDF.". As such, Gnome developpers prefer never to silently overwrite a PDF: overwriting it may discard/break features in the PDF that are not supported by the library.

Score:0
cn flag
raj

PDF is a complicated format and application that generate PDFs are not always fully compatible. I have seen PDF files that display properly in some PDF viewers, but not in others (what's interesting, I have seen files that don't open correctly in Adobe Reader (!) but for example Foxit Reader displays them OK). I have seen PDF files that are displayed correctly, but are messed up in print; but when you print them again to PDF, the resulting new PDF is printed OK. There can be various issues.

Therefore, when modifying a PDF file, I would personally never overwrite the original file until I verify that the saved modified version works correctly. Maybe that's the reason behind having "Save a copy" instead of overwriting the original file. Note that Adobe Reader also has "Save a copy" and not just "Save".

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