How to Make Preview on Mac Save Your Edits Instead of Reverting
macOS Sequoia and Tahoe; older versions noted where they differ · Last checked · Suggest an edit
https://instructions.wiki/mac/make-preview-save-instead-of-revert
You marked up a PDF or cropped an image in Preview, closed it, and either the edits are gone or a Revert option sits where Save should be. Preview does not lose edits; it autosaves them into the original file as you work and keeps earlier states under Revert To, so a normal save usually happens silently. Once you know where the versions live, you can force a save, protect the original, or get any earlier state back.
Force a save with Command-S
Choose File, Save or press Command-S. If the menu item is gray, Preview has already written the current state to disk. Use this after a batch of edits so the file on disk matches what you see.
Duplicate before editing to keep the original
Choose File, Duplicate. A copy opens in a new window; edit that copy and press Command-S to name and save it. The original file stays exactly as it was. Do this before any edit you might want to undo later, such as cropping or resizing.
Export to a new format or a fresh PDF
Choose File, Export to save a copy in another format, such as PNG, JPEG, HEIC, or PDF, at a chosen quality. For a PDF, File, Export as PDF writes a new PDF with your annotations included.
Turn on the classic Save dialog
Open System Settings, Desktop & Dock, scroll to the Windows section, and turn on Ask to keep changes when closing documents. Preview then asks whether to save or revert when you close an edited file instead of saving quietly.
Bring back an earlier version
Choose File, Revert To, Browse All Versions. A timeline of earlier states appears; pick one and click Restore. For the most recent state, File, Revert To, Last Saved or Last Opened appears directly in the menu.
If annotations do not appear in another PDF app. Some viewers ignore Preview's annotation layer. Use File, Export as PDF and open the exported copy instead; it displays correctly in most other apps.
If Preview says the file is locked. It offers to unlock or duplicate the file. To unlock permanently, select the file in Finder, choose File, Get Info, and uncheck Locked.