PDF permissions determine how users can interact with the file. Permission settings are an important consideration for a number of reasons, including file protection. You can adjust the PDF permissions if you own the original document.
PDF permissions determine how the document is accessed and how users can interact with the file. The permission levels are designed to add security and control of PDF files you create. According to Adobe, you cannot remove permissions from PDF files without being an administrator on the file. The administrator has full control and determines the permission settings.
A file can have more than one administrator who has access to the permission settings, but the original owner is responsible for assigning these roles. The permissions levels are "read-only," "edit" and "password-protected." A read-only PDF does not allow any editing, copying or interacting with the file. The user can only open and read the content.
Advertisement Article continues below this adPDF files with editing permissions allow for changes to the content. Many files use this setting to fill in specific blocks of information, and the editing is limited to these blank spaces. For example, a job application will require editing to add user information, so the PDF administrator adds editing permissions to allow for this action.
Password-protected files often contain sensitive information. Password-protection is also used when a PDF is sold, and access is limited to a single buyer. Password-protection is not common, but it remains a useful tool for controlling access to important PDF files.
You can create a new file with free PDF programs or convert a text document to PDF with Microsoft Word or Google Docs. It's surprisingly easy to create a PDF file, and it happens by selecting "Save As" in Word or "Download" in Google Docs and choosing "PDF" as the file type. This immediately saves the PDF, but it doesn't trigger any permissions with the initial creation of the new file.
Advertisement Article continues below this adCreating a PDF file in this manner automatically makes it a read-only format. You can make basic edits by drawing over the existing content, but you can't change the text or other content.
A professional PDF management program is necessary to add or change more-involved permissions. Free and paid PDF programs are available through software downloads or web-based programs.
Programs such as Adobe Acrobat and PDF Complete make it easy to set permissions. According to PDF Complete, the program has a tab specifically for permissions in PDFs. Select this tab to reveal a drop-down menu with all the permission options and set the preferences within this menu.
Advertisement Article continues below this adWhen changing permissions on an existing file, open the file and press "Ctrl+d" to open the document properties dialogue box. Click the "Security" tab and choose "Add Security" to adjust the permissions and add a password -protect option. Again, you can only make these changes as an administrator on the original file. Acrobat and similar programs allow you to add administrators and make these adjustments within their normal settings.
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