0

I sounds weird, but I'm failing to find an option to make Adobe Acrobat Reader open PDF files read-only.

By read-only I understand no write lock on file system.

There are similar questions where people want to get rid of editing/commenting/collab toolbars and all those bells and whistles that waste screen space, but these are not helpful in my case:

Pressing Ctrl+H removes toolbars but the file stays locked.

There's no relevant command line parameter either.

Big picture

I'm developing a document, my sources are in DocBook format.
The PDF is generated via XSL-FO using RenderX XEP and DocBook stylesheets.
I make an edit to my sources then I render the PDF.
Finally, I open it in Acrobat Reader to see the result.
I make the next editing while, obviously, looking at what I'm having so far.
However, I'm having to close the Adobe Reader every time before the rendering, and it gets annoying.

I'm using Adobe Acrobat Reader version 2022.003.20258, but I believe the problem is decades-long so the version does not matter much.

Updated per comments:
I'm on Windows;
I'm already using an alternative PDF viewer, but it does not seem to be a good option for me as the documents I'm working on are Section 508-compatible (Read Out Loud etc.)

  • 1
    I assume you are a Windows user. Read only mode is not the solution. Acrobat simply opens the file in exclusive mode which prevents other programs from modifying it. This is a common problem by Acrobat known by all users who generate PDF files. The simple solution is not to use Acrobat. Instead use a PDF viewer like Sumatra PDF which allows changing the PDF file while viewing it. – Robert Oct 14 '22 at 21:26
  • With the Issue being Acrobat on Windows always taking Exclusive Mode & no alternative viewer being suitable , I would solve that Issue like this : EITHER (1) Make a copy within the generator (eg with name xyz.pdf make , a copy xyz_readonly.pdf) and view that instead. Always overwrite this readonly copy when making new revisions. OR (2) Make a copy in Windows Explorer (Eg select xyz.pdf , ctrl-c , ctrl-v to generate a quick copy) & use this readonly copy to view & Delete this readonly copy when making new revisions. The Exclusive Mode Issue will not interfere ! – Prem Oct 15 '22 at 07:39

0 Answers0