Document Recovery: How to Recover Adobe Files?

Want to recover Adobe files? If you have lost/closed without saving Adobe files, check out this article and recover unsaved/deleted Adobe files in a breeze.

Lora

By Lora / Updated on April 3, 2024

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What kind of files are Adobe files?

Adobe Inc. is a computer software company that is mainly engaged in the development of multimedia production software, such as Adobe Acrobat, Photoshop, Adobe Premier, Adobe Illustrator, etc.

When people refer to Adobe files, broadly speaking, they are talking about files generated using Adobe’s products; while narrowly speaking, they are referring to Adobe Acrobat files.

Adobe Acrobat is a tool to view, create, edit, share, and sign PDF (Portable Document Format) files.

pdf-files

There are quite an amount of users looking for methods to recover Adobe files, which refers to recovering PDF files. They found no way to restore their deleted/lost PDF files.

   
   
   
       

Can you restore deleted files?

       

I accidentally deleted a folder of pdfs on the document cloud that I had annotated. Is there any way to recover those documents?

       

- Question from Adobe Support Community

   

You might be suffering from the same dilemma and trying to find ways to recover PDF files. Then, is it possible to recover Adobe files? And how to recover deleted adobe files?

Can Adobe files be recovered? Where do deleted Adobe files go?

Yes, and no, in some ways. If your files were uploaded from your local drive to the Acrobat document cloud, and there are file copies on the local drive, then computer-inbuilt features and third-party tools can help you recover them.

But, if you don’t have any file copies other than the file on the Acrobat document cloud, you are out of luck.

When deleting a file from the Acrobat document cloud, it will ask: “Are you sure you want to delete?” which means the files will be permanently removed.

delete-file-from-acrobat

Adobe Acrobat is only designed to help users view, edit, share, etc., the files, but not store them, so there are no “recover” or “undelete” options in the app.

But what if your file copies on the local drive were also lost? Don’t worry; this one is fixable. Now, check the following methods to restore deleted PDF files.

How to recover Adobe files?

Since your Adobe PDF files were removed from both the document cloud and the local drives, you need to seek help from inbuilt tools and backups. If there are no available backups, turn to professional Windows data recovery apps for help.

Firstly, unlike Acrobat, Windows offers a second chance for users to repent their deletion. Users can head over to the Recycle Bin when they want to undo their deletion. As long as it is not emptied, it will be easy to recover deleted files from Recycle Bin.

If failed, check the following approaches of how to recover deleted Adobe files.

Method 1. Head towards the File History

How to restore deleted PDF files if the deleted files are not in Recycle Bin? File History is a good option. It allows users to back up C: drive files and restore them whenever possible.

The disadvantages are also prominent – it only stores the files from C: drive. In addition, you must have enabled it in advance.

Step 1. Start Control Panel by inputting its name in the Windows search box > System and Security.

system-and-security

Step 2. Click File History.

file-history

Step 3. Click Restore personal files.

restore-personal-files

Step 4. Select the PDF files you need > click Recover.

restore-deleted-file

Thus you can restore deleted PDF files. Also, you can recover a whole deleted folder on desktop using this app.

Method 2. Restore previous versions of Adobe files

Another helpful feature is the Previous Version. The system automatically creates restore points when you make significant changes like installing/uninstalling new apps/updates, in case you regret or need to convert back.

Thus, if the PDF files were lost/deleted/damaged/corrupted, you could revert the parent folder to an earlier status, thus getting the files back.

Notes:✎...
You can also find previous versions of Word documents using this tool.

Step 1. Press Win+E and start File Explorer/This PC > find the folder which contains the lost Adobe files.

Step 2. Right-click this folder > click Restore previous versions > choose a preferred version > Restore. Or, you can click Open to view and select versions first.

previous-version-restore

In this way, you can successfully recover PDF files from previous versions.

Method 3. Recover Adobe files effortlessly without backups

Both the above methods require backup to some degree; moreover, they can only restore data from the C: drive, which is pretty demanding and inconvenient.

Except for users who have lost files from the desktop/documents, there are still a significant number of people seeking help to recover files from external hard drives.

So, how to recover deleted Adobe files under all-inclusive situations without backups?

Given this, users are in need of a comprehensive tool. Among the eligible apps, MyRecover stands out for its unique features and advanced scanning tech.

Using this app, you can effortlessly recover deleted and missing files from both internal and external hard drives, including HDD, SSD, SD card, USB, etc.

Recover over 200 types of data, e.g., pdf, doc, xlsx, ppt, jpg, png, mp4, zip, etc. 
Select files to retrieve during scanning. 
Keep the original format, filename, and path of the deleted files when recovering. 
Support Windows 11/10/8/7/Server.

Don’t hesitate to download and use this efficient Windows data recovery utility to perform an easy PDF document recovery.

Download SoftwareWin 11/10/8/7/Server
Secure Download
Notes:✎...
Quick Scan detects deleted files, while Deep Scan searches for missing files. 
The target drive (where you choose to store the recovered files) is better to be different from the source drive.

Step 1. Install and run MyRecover > Hover the mouse over the drive saved deleted files before, and click Scan.

select-location-to-scan

Step 2. Search or filter the wanted PDF files by extensions, filenames, Type, Date modified, etc., if you can still recall.

scanning-drive

Step 3. Go to Deleted files > navigate to the original location > and select the PDF files> click Recover x files

select-pdf-files-to-restore

With the help of this powerful app, you can also recover deleted Word documents.

Related suggestions

Users who need to recover Adobe files can find several feasible methods in this post. Inbuilt tools like File History and the previous versions can be of great help.

If you are out of luck that you didn’t make any backups, you might as well choose the excellent Windows data recovery tool – MyRecover to help you out.

Except for solutions to restore deleted PDF files, some related suggestions are ready as well.

  • Do not delete Adobe files from the document cloud readily.
  • Copy PDF files to Adobe document cloud instead of using the only copy on the cloud.
  • Do not empty the Recycle Bin in a rush or too frequently unless it is running low on storage space.
  • Once you find data loss occurs on your drives, stop using the affected hard drive immediately.
  • Please back up your important files using professional data backup software and save them in different places.
Lora
Lora · Editor
Lora is an editor of AOMEI Technology. She is also a tester and editor of AOMEI Data Recovery Tools. -- "Keep testing, write the most useful tutorials for helping people recover the lost data for Windows and phones" is the most meaningful thing for her. Dedicated to creating helpful tutorials, she hopes her tutorial can assist users to effortlessly solve data loss problems on their personal computers and mobile phones.