B787-800
Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Instrument
Distraction; Human-Machine Interface; Communication Breakdown; Confusion
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance
Procedure; ATC Equipment / Nav Facility / Buildings; Human Factors
We were flight planned for the [arrival into ZZZ.] This was entered and verified in the FMC prior to pushback. We received our PDC (Pre-Departure Clearance) 30 minutes prior to push and it stated 'DIRECT ZZZ' removing the [arrival name.] This took us several minutes to decipher; since the PDC formatting for route changes is so incredibly difficult to read and understand; especially in the cockpit just prior to push with all the typical distractions going on. The filed route should not be included; just the changes. In fact the only thing a PDC with changes to the routing should be the cleared route; nothing else.The CA (Captain) was thankfully suspicious of what was eventually going to happen on departure; so we did not do a route copy after loading the new route; ensuring the [original arrival] was left in the FMC.Takeoff was uneventful and as suspected we were cleared by Departure direct to ZZZZZ to then the [arrival into ZZZ] as originally filed. So the whole event was an exercise in confusing the flight crew. Well it didn't work; since the CA was ready for ATC. Pilots 1; ATC 0.In all seriousness; the formatting of a PDC changing the routing need to be addressed. Ever since the PDC program first started in the 90s (has it been that long?!) PDCs with a changed routing have included the filed route. Why? Once a clearance change has been made the filed routing is just a distracter with no bearing on the flight anymore. I know this has been the subject of numerous reports.Reformat the PDC.
B787 First Officer reported that PDC clearances are confusing and should be reformatted.