The solution has already been proposed. Add PDF as a format for export.

Why can’t the devs just copy the export pdf menu as it is in InDesign? From Egor’s response to our request I think it’s painfully clear that the devs DO NOT understand what it’s like to be a pro user who has to deal with this limitation on a daily basis.

Oh please. What's your R&D and Tech departments getting paid for..... figure this out and just do it!

The whole edit PDF is a mess!!! As the sole designer in our department, I am in charge of all digital assets. It makes it so difficult when a co-worker makes a 'minor' change to a PDF and I don't know about it, now I have an outdated original Illustrator file.

Just set it so you Export a PDF, close the open file so you cannot inadvertently edit the PDF that is now open.

Yes I know there is a Save as Copy... option, but when you are in a fast paced environment, and you have 500 windows open, it's burdensome to look for the tiny text at the top left that says: filename.ai not filename.pdf

I would suggest removing the PDF option from the Save As dialog completely.

New and entirely separate Export menu items could be added for PDFs. I would suggest two separate menu items, within the existing Export under the File menu:

1. Export PDF...
This would open the current joboptions dialog, using "Illustrator default" as the selected set of options, followed by the save-as dialog for input of filename, location, etc. Essentially duplicates the existing "save as" implementation, allowing users to set all their own options. If user does not need to retain illustrator editing, they could turn it off here before export. Would be nice if options set were 'sticky' for the next export, and properly recorded in an action. This would also *CLOSE THE FILE* when the export is finished, or at least present the user an option either via pop-up dialog (close file or continue editing?) or on the save-as dialog via checkbox to close file after export. Or, at the very least, export the PDF with the selected options and filename without replacing the open AI file with the newly exported PDF.

2. Export PDF (illustrator default - editing preserved)
This would not open joboptions dialog, just file name 'save as' dialog. This would act as a sort of 'quick export' for illustrator default PDF, such as one would use for placing in InDesign. This function could even be duplicated with an implementation as Rick suggested, via a button somewhere in the main interface that just quick-exports a basic "illustrator default" PDF, while keeping the AI file open for continued editing. I quite like this idea.

I only suggest adding these two options, because chances are if you're turning OFF illustrator editing in the joboptions, you have a very good reason for doing so. Conversely, if you really need to retain the ability to edit the PDF in illustrator then the "illustrator default" joboptions are most likely to be the one you want.

However, I also recognize that there are users who have a very specific set of joboptions they need to use, while also retaining the ability to edit the result PDF in illustrator later.

In that light, it'd be nice for them (and others) if the user could create/add/manage custom entries to the export menu; creating a new one for each of their own most commonly used joboptions. You could even leverage CC libraries by giving users the ability to add their joboptions setups to their CC library for quick and easy use later on another illustrator installation.

YES, every pdf should be saved with "Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities", YES we should be able to set what PDF preset is default, and YES a QUICKSAVE PDF should be a tool in the tool palette (Pagemaker had this a million years ago).

Seems there are two types of users that comment here in requests: 1) you use Illustrator at a relaxed pace, when needed, but you are not trying to do a hundred+ jobs a week and are never under a lot of pressure, and 2) the rest of us.

Ok, so editable PDFs are a thing. Fine. But there is a fundamental functional design principle being violated when “Save As” can result in an un-editable document. The user expects the current document to always behave in the same way when it is saved, closed and re-opened using the feature designed for saving a natively editable document, as opposed to exporting it for use elsewhere.

The solution is clear; Save As/PDF should always maintain “Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities” with all the current document information preserved. Saving a non-editable PDF should be available separately through ‘Save A Copy’ (or Export).

The top level categorisations should support the user's intended purpose (eg. to preserve a working document), not the vague complexities of PDF configuration options.

use save a copy.....

I agree and was going to suggest the same!

I totally thought I was the only idiot that used the File > Save a copy method for my PDFs! Necessary fix to an export dialogue

Wow... thank you, at last.

I thought it was just me who found it insane to have such a dangerous 'gotcha' hidden right in the middle of everyone's every day working path!

And yeah, save us some clicks!

"a disgrace that this can happen in a program that’s over 30 years old." That applies to dozens upon dozens of these feature requests and bug reports. This. Is. Adobe Illustrator.

This is a huge issue that I can't believe only has at this time 77 votes!

I've been dealing with this for years now ever since they removed the print postscript method and I've finally had enough to make a comment for Adobe to address this program flaw. I don't know of a single Illustrator user who has not had the issue where they have 'saved as' a pdf (the current only way to make a pdf) file only to keep working on the pdf file that stays open, only later to realize they were working on the pdf and not the original .ai file. The export option would save tons of time, simplify and end this frustrating issue that everyone has had at some point.

Illustrator used to close the document you saved or exported as a PDF file. We keep finding ourselves inadvertently editing an open illustrator document only to find out it was the PDF file that was saved out. It would be nice if Illustrator would close the file when saving as anything other than a .ai file.

That is exactly what i wrote!

It's because once you save the Illustrator file as a PDF, you are now in essence working your saved PDF file in Illustrator. NOT your Illustrator file that you began with before saving it as the PDF. Does that help in making sense for the reason why it does it?

I guess the solution here would be...when you save as a PDF the PDF saves to wherever you want to save it, but your Illustrator file stay open in Illustrator. Not the PDF that you saved your Illustrator file to for another file.

When i SAVE AS PDF,
and then make some changes and hit SAVE,
the changes are then saved in the PDF and not in the AI file.

WHY????
THIS MAKES NO SENSE!!!

"Save as" should work like "Export"
And not change the your filetype you are working in

@Norbert Martin
Fair enough. It is still just a work around after all, just a far less risky one that "Save As". I am in full agreement with this feature request hence my vote for it.

@Christo Boshoff
I don't see "Save as Copy" as the missing feature, because as you said yourself, it would need at least three changes to it. And so this is not a solution at all.

I always avoid the highly dangerous "Save As" and use "Save a Copy" (Ctrl+Alt+S). I see this as the "missing" export feature everyone is looking for.

I would like to suggest that this is renamed to something like "Export As PDF". Furthermore that it defaults to .PDF instead of .AI and doesn't append the file name with "copy".

After exporting a file as PDF, it's still possible to edit its content. Many times, I forget to update the ai. file, saving the updated file only as PDF. Then, when I re-open it, its editable features are limited or else I lose the layers if its a PSD file.

I suggest there is a possibility of saving a file both as PDF and ai. or psd. simultaneously, so that it doesn't happen so often.