How to Password Protect a PDF

By password-protecting your PDF file, you’re using a form of encryption. What that means behind the scenes is that Foxit PDF Editor employs a mathematical key to scramble the information in your PDF file so it can’t be viewed.

Only when someone inputs the correct password will the document decrypt and be put back into its original, viewable format.

Foxit PDF Editor makes password-protecting your PDF file pretty straightforward. You can add, change or remove a password, and you can limit the actions users are allowed to take, such as editing, printing or sharing your PDF.

There are two kinds of passwords that could be applied to a PDF file: a Document Open password and a Permissions password. When you set a Document Open password, anyone who tries to open the PDF must type in the password that you specified. When you set a Permissions password, anyone who wants to change the restrictions must type the Permissions password. Please note that securing a PDF with both types of passwords, means that the file will be available to open with either password, but only the Permissions password allows you to change the restrictions.

How to password protect a PDF with Foxit PDF Editor

1. Choose Protect > Secure Document > Password Protect, or click File > Properties > Security, choose Password Protection from the drop-down list.
2. In the Password Protection dialog box, select the choices you want and set the password.

For further control over what actions users can take with your document make sure to take advantage of user permissions.

To restrict user permissions such as printing, editing, copying etc., choose from the following:

Print Allowed – enables you to choose the level of printing which users are allowed.

Print with low resolution – allows users to print at no higher than 150-dpi resolution.

Print with high resolution – allows users to print with any resolution.

Changes Allowed – defines which editing actions are allowed in the document.

Inserting, deleting, and rotating pages – allows users to insert, delete, and rotate PDF pages.

Filling in forms and signing existing signature fields – allows users to fill in forms and sign documents in existing signatures fields.

Commenting, filling in forms and signing existing signature fields – allows users to add comments, fill in forms and sign documents in existing signatures fields.

Any except extracting pages – allows users to do anything except extract pages.

Copy text, images, and other content – allows users to copy content in PDFs.

Enable text access for screen reader devices for the visually impaired – allows the visually impaired users to access text with screen reader devices.

Note: There’s no way out to recover password from the PDF if you forgot it. To keep a backup copy of the PDF that isn’t password-protected is a good choice.