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How do you password-protect a PDF? We’ll be doing this with the PDF.Live editor, which has a lot of functions for making edits and other changes to PDFs entirely through your web browser. The PDF.Live editor also allows you to secure a PDF so that only someone who has a specific password can open and view it. We’ll be showing how you can password-protect a PDF using our online editor.
How Do I Password Protect a PDF File?
PDFs are meant to be shared and received across the web. Because of how versatile the file format is, anyone on any device can view the content within a PDF. The problem is, you can’t necessarily control who people then share your PDF with once it’s out there. However, you can password-protect your PDF to restrict who can open it and view the contents.
- Upload your PDF to the online editor.
Either drag and drop your PDF into the editor or click Select File to Edit and navigate to where your PDF is stored on your device. Once you’ve uploaded your PDF, select Edit PDF to convert your PDF to an editable document.
- Navigate to the Protect tab in the editor and select Secure Document.
Or, use the quick links to the right of the PDF.Live workspace and select Password Protect.
The PDF.Live editor organizes its functionalities in tabs on the top of the screen similar to a document editor. Security settings are found in the Protect tab. Click Secure Document to view the dropdown of options. From there, select Password Protect.
- Click the Require a password to open the document check box and enter a password.
The Password protect dialogue box will appear showing the many security options available to you. To add a password, select the checkbox next to Require a password to open the document and enter a password of your choice. You’ll need to enter it twice to ensure it’s the correct password. Click the eye to view the password you’ve typed.
- Save the document.
The PDF will not have its security settings changed until you download the new version to your computer. You can do this by selecting Home and then Download. Upon downloading the now secured version of the document, if you try to open it on your computer, you’ll see the following message:
The PDF will only open and view if you enter the password that you set in this dialogue window.
Beyond this, there are permission settings found in the Password Protect tab of the PDF.Live editor. You can add blanket restrictions to a document, encrypt the document, and change the permissions that a person has for copying information.
This is just one of the many powerful features available when using the PDF.Live editor. Experiment with what’s available to see how you can use the editor to best suit your needs.