About Justin VanAlstyne Expertise I have a full working knowledge of Adobe Acrobat 5.0 - 7.01. I have experience in creating interactive PDFs, embedding multimedia, web-based forms, creating presentations using PDF, advanced prepress preparation, PDF web optimization, color management, and using PDF as a soft-proofing tool. I do not have a lot of experience using Acrobat`s advanced Javascripting features, though a lot of custom functionality can be built into a PDF this way.
Experience
Past/Present clients Marsh, Inc. (http://www.marsh.com), Impel Corp (http://www.impelcorp.com), Home Properties (http://www.homeproperties.com)
Expert: Justin VanAlstyne Date: 8/23/2004 Subject: passwords and what not
Question Hello Justin. Many thanks for the assistance.
I have a password protected document which prohibits editing.
If somebody has another Adobe product that can write, then they must input the password in order to edit? Correct.
To secure the document, security, password...and restricted editing. Will this password be reflected on other adobe products that can write?
Thank You
A.J.
Answer Hey A.J.,
A password protected PDF file could be edited using the full-version of Acrobat depending on what the PDF file's security settings are.
When creating a PDF, or when securing it, you have a number of options that let you choose exactly what is allowed, or is not allowed, without a proper password. For example, you can set it so that the PDF can only be opened with a password, or it could be set so that the PDF cannot be edited or changed but read. All of these options can only be changed or set using the full version of Acrobat. Acrobat Reader will not let you mess with the security settings of a PDF (either to set it or unlock it).
Things get a bit more complicated depending upon what level of compatibility/security you desire. When securing a PDF, you have the option of choosing which password encryption scheme Acrobat should use. Choosing the most recent version (Version 6) will give you the highest level of encryption (tougher for an unauthorized viewer to crack), but it cannot be opened by older versions of Acrobat (5, 4, etc.).
The best way to totally secure a document is to use the Digital Signature and Certification tools in Acrobat 6 Pro. This allows you to complete encrypt a document and disallow any changes to it. A similar effect is achieved with the password method above, except this is more secure. There is no password to be cracked, just a secure digital signature.
Most respectable 3rd party PDF viewers will uphold the password-restricted rights of a PDF. However, you should be aware that there are "hacker" tools that will allow an unauthorized user to bypass the security settings in the PDF (unless you used the digital signature with 2048-bit encryption).
No other Adobe applications, besides Acrobat, can edit and re-save a PDF file. Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign all open PDFs, and all enforce passworded security options to an extent.
I hope this helps. Write back if you have any other questions.
