Automatically close an open PDF when exporting an updated PDF
Jul 20, 2012 11:47 AM
Tags:I would like the ability to have InDesign instruct Adobe Acrobat Pro to close the existing PDF of the document I'm trying to export an updated version of.
I have my preferences pane set to launch the PDF file in Acrobat after export. Currently, if I try to export to PDF while a PDF of the same name is already open, I get this:
If you split out "permission errors" from "files in use" as two separate errors, it would then be an easy next step to have the dialog box function as such:
"There is a PDF of this same name currently open in Acrobat. Would you like to close that file? [yes] [cancel]"
As it is, if I have multiple windows up and the old PDF is buried behind them, I forget and re-export before closing the old one. When I encounter the error shown above, I'm required to click [OK], switch over to Acrobat, close the open PDF, switch back to InDesign, and then go back through the standard exporting procedures.
Perhaps the coding is more difficult than I've simplified it in my brain, but since so many of the Adobe programs work in concert with one another and have inter-connectivity, it seems like it would be easy to query Acrobat first to check if it is indeed open there, and if it is, then execute a simple close command. Since we're saving over the existing file, there would be no need to ask the user if they'd like to save the file prior to closing.
#streamline
