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Many of you may already know about the features in Adobe® Acrobat Pro® that provide document password protection for restricting viewing privileges. In addition to this, did you know that there are also password protection options to limit the printing and editing of a PDF document? This is available to us in the Document Properties of every PDF document.
As graphic artists and commercial printers all over the world move business and personal data from place to place using PDF files, many of us want to protect ourselves from unauthorized access, editing or alteration or these files. Stories of formulas, government secrets or sensitive personal data falling into the wrong hands is the stuff of headlines, bestsellers and movies, but when it occurs in real life it can become a horror of legal hassles or even worse. So what is the best way to secure a PDF?
Let’s first take a look at how to apply password protection to a PDF document using Acrobat Pro to help make them more secure. After that we will show you how to verify the password protection in any PDF file. We will also discuss a when you might want to apply password security.
How To Apply a Password
To apply a password, first open your PDF document in Adobe Acrobat Pro. Then complete the following steps to define your password settings. You can access the security protection from different menus, but the screen grabs below illustrate access from the File menu only. The password protection will not become active until you Save your PDF document.
Document Properties
Under the File pull-down menu select Properties…
Decription Tab
Select the Description tab, if you are not already there. Enter your contact information into the Author: field. This gives the user a chance to contact you for permissions.
Security Tab
Select the Security tab. In the Security Method: pop-up menu, select Password Security.
Password Security - Settings
You will see the Password Security - Settings dialog box next. Select the earliest Acrobat version that your document can be viewed in -- under the Compatibility: pop-up menu. Select the checkbox next to Restrict editing and printing of the document… In the Change Permissions Password: field, type in your password. For the Printing Allowed: pop-up menu, select None or Low Resolution (150 dpi), and for the Changes Allowed: pop-up menu select None. To finish, click OK.
Enforcement Message
While in most instances this security will protect your PDF files, there are (remote) ways to edit and print your document. Click OK to acknowledge the this message.
Confirm Password
In the following message, you will need to type your password again in the Permissions Password: field to confirm your password. To finish, click OK on all the remaining dialog boxes, and Save your document.
To check the Password Security in any PDF document, open the document in Acrobat Pro and complete the following steps.
Document Properties
Under the File pull-down menu select Properties…
Description Tab
On the Description tab, you’ll notice that will the fields are grayed out. Your contact information can be viewed, but not edited.
Security Tab
On the Security tab, you’ll notice that the Security Method now has Password Security selected.
Change Settings
If you select the Change Settings… button, you will be prompted to enter a password. The permissions as-well-as the printing and editing are secured and can only be changed if you enter a password. Click the Cancel button.
Show Details
If you click the Show Details… button, you will see the Document Security box with a detailed list of all the permission values for this document. This confirms the values; Security Method: Password Security; Printing: Low Resolution (150 dpi); and Changing the Document: is Not Allowed. Click the remaining OK buttons and you are finished.
When to Apply Security
The value of PDF documents for digital proofs and press are so vast, that their importance goes undisputed. However, let's look at a few instances where password security can help make sure our PDF documents are being used as intended.
Digital Production Proofs
Password protection of printing and editing provides the opportunity for creative professionals to protect their work. All artist can have total control of their content by password protection, especially at the proofing stage. This is where you can limit access to making unauthorized changes or unintentionally printing your document. By the very nature of what it is, a proof of concept, content, or design -- a digital PDF proof can be protected.
Contract Proofs
Commercial printers many want to password protect their digital PDF proofs for legal reasons. If a document file is being used as a contractual agreement to approve the printing process, then it may be important enough to limit the editing ability of this contract. Additionally, if the PDF document is a final high-resolution press-ready PDF, you may want to protect the printability of this document, to insure there will be no un-authorized reproductions.
Press-Ready PDF
Final press-ready PDF documents or PDF/X-1a files only need to be password protected if a creative professionals wishes to limit the access to one person or printer. In general, it would be appropriate to leave the final press-ready PDF files un-protected. This would enable your favorite printer to make last minute corrections, when you request them.
While there are many more different scenarios and opinions about PDF document protection, the scope of this article is rather small and only begins to introduce you to the concepts of password protection. In the end, no matter what you decide, it’s nice to know that you have choices and options -- and password protection of editing and printing is one of them. |
