Reloading a PDF that changed on disk in PDF by Zaweba

If you make documents rather than just read them, you know the routine. Export a PDF from a word processor or a layout program, open it to check, spot a mistake, fix it in the original, export again, and then close and reopen the PDF to see the new version. PDF by Zaweba cuts out the closing and reopening. When another program changes the open file, the app can reload it.

Watching the file for you

PDF by Zaweba keeps an eye on the file you have open. When something else writes a new version, the app can reload it so the tab shows the up to date document. You stay where you were in the app, with the new version in front of you.

This works because the app doesn't lock the files it opens. Many PDF viewers hold on to a file so tightly that other programs can't save over it, which leads to the familiar error about a file being in use. Here, the other program can save over the PDF freely, and the app simply notices and offers the new version.

When you have unsaved changes

Reloading is easy when you have only been reading. It needs more care if you have made changes in PDF by Zaweba itself, such as comments or text edits, and haven't saved them. In that case the app asks first before reloading, so your work isn't swept away without warning.

Even after reloading, Undo goes back. If you reload and then realise you wanted the version you had, Ctrl+Z returns to it. That makes reloading safe to accept when you are unsure.

Workflows it helps

Checking exports is the main one. Keep the PDF open in a tab while you work on the source document in another program. Each time you export, the tab updates and you can check the result at once. For a brochure, a report or a set of slides being polished before sending, this speeds up the last round of fixes considerably.

It also helps when PDFs are produced automatically. Some systems write reports, invoices or statements as PDFs on a schedule. Keep the file open and you see each new version as it arrives.

Shared folders are another case. If a colleague saves a new version of a document into a folder you both use, and you already have it open, the app can bring in their version.

When two programs share a file

Be careful when you and another program are both changing the same file. If you are adding comments in PDF by Zaweba while the original program exports over it, you will be asked what to do, and you need to decide which version wins. Saving your comments to a copy is often the tidiest answer.

If a reload seems to show the old version, the other program may not have finished writing the file. Wait a moment and it will catch up.

A small feature with a big effect

This feature isn't something you go looking for in a menu. It simply makes the job of making and checking PDFs flow without the stop and start of closing and reopening files. Combined with fast opening and tabs, it makes PDF by Zaweba a comfortable viewer to keep open beside whatever program you use to make your documents.