Lock PDF

[schmitzdp]

Hello,

Is there an action that locks the pdf for editing but not for printing ?
(without used the paid App PDFCrypt (https://www0.enfocus.com/en/appstore/product/pdfcrypt)

Thanks

[tdeschampsBluewest]

You can install PDFtk (https://www.pdflabs.com/tools/pdftk-server/) on your server, and use the following command, with run command app :

Code: Select all

pdftk.exe "%%InputFilePath%%" output "[Job.NameProper].pdf" owner_pw "1512!" user_pw "1234" allow Printing

Here is a quote from the documentation, for the permission

[ allow < permissions > ]
Permissions are applied to the output PDF only if an encryption strength is specified or an owner or user password is given. If permissions are not specified, they default to ’none,’ which means all of the following features are disabled.

The permissions section can include one or more of the following features:

Printing – Top Quality Printing
DegradedPrinting – Lower Quality Printing
ModifyContents – Also allows Assembly
Assembly
CopyContents – Also allows ScreenReaders
ScreenReaders
ModifyAnnotations – Also allows FillIn
FillIn
AllFeatures – Allows the user to perform all of the above, and top quality printing.

[schmitzdp]

I would have preferred to use Pitstop (if the function existed) or an application from the appstore.

[yosimo]

...I would have preferred to use Pitstop...

As an alternative to a PitStop action list, you could do this directly with Acrobat's own Action Wizard tool and a custom Acrobat action. The screenshot shows how.

[loicaigon]

Hi there,

A feature you can use is actually Certified PDF. if you certify the PDF, you at least "freeze" the PDF in a certain state. If the document is further modified, the certification will drop. And if recertified, you will have access to History about who dit it and when.
Icing on the cake, you can revert to the previous certified state.

This is not locking per say, but I think Certified PDFs are underestimated.

https://cdn-www.enfocus.com/manuals/Ref ... ertif.html

[schmitzdp]

...I would have preferred to use Pitstop...

As an alternative to a PitStop action list, you could do this directly with Acrobat's own Action Wizard tool and a custom Acrobat action. The screenshot shows how.

Is there a way to adapt it for Pitstop Server ? (Whether to lock it or certify it)

Thanks

[loicaigon]

You can definitely certify the PDF:


For password protecting documents, Is that really something you want to do at massive scale?

[tdeschampsBluewest]

Hi Loïc,

From here, we have quite a few customers who rely on PDFTK for this purpose.
They typically use it either for:

Proofing, by restricting permissions (allowing only viewing, but not printing or modifying the file — making it unusable for other print shops), or

GDPR-related reasons, requiring a password to open the file.

Having similar functionality built directly into PitStop Pro or PitStop Server would be very useful for us.

[loicaigon]

Noted, thanks!