MacOS – How to disable PDF editing in Preview app

macospdfpreview

I am running OS X 10.10, Yosemite, and there is one feature which really annoys me. I know it must be useful for a lot of people but it's just not for me.

When I open a PDF document and, by habit, I keep clicking on the text while reading it. There are some areas where Preview thinks I would like to insert text.

Preview screenshot

As soon as this happens, the PDF document is marked edited in the title bar. When I close the document, it saves (or tries to save) it, changing the modify date and other side-effects such as triggering the DropBox sync etc.

I have accidentally inserted some text in many documents because Preview doesn't ask before saving the modified copy.

I would like to disable all PDF editing features unless explicitly invoked. Is it possible to do that?

Best Answer

According to me, the best way to resolve this, is to go to System Preferences -> General. Make sure "Ask to keep changes when closing documents" is selected.

General preferences panel

This will prevent accidental changes in PDF files, as well as other files when opened by other apps.