Secure PDFs?

[terrie]

Does anyone know anything about making secure PDFs--passwording the pdf and also x'ing data like social security numbers?


I need to take a look at the options within the PDF printer instance as I suspect that creating a separate set of settings might do the trick--especially for the password--but I think that x'ing out selected data might be trickier particularly if it's not a form.


What say you?




Terrie

[Andrew B.]

Which program do you use to create PDFs. I just did a quick search and all I found was reference to the new repetitive-pay-for-use version.

[terrie]

andrew: Which program do you use to create PDFs.

First...this isn't for me but one of my sister's clients is asking about it. I have Acrobat 8 installed--as does my sister--primarily to get the PDF printer instance. Neither of us actually uses Acro8 but we use the PDF printer instance all the time to create PDFs.


I did a bit of browsing last night and I found the same sort of pay-for-use options that you likely did along with instructions on how to set a password via Acro8. I've not had a chance to take a close look at the PDF printer instance options--my hope was that there was a password option within in the PDF printer instance options allowing both the generation of a PDF with a user-defined password along with the option to display a request for the password once the option(s) were set.

I suspect that I it's not that easy.



What I need to find out from my sister is exactly what/why this is a need for the client and maybe there is some alternative approach...



Thanks!



Terrie

[Steve Rindsberg]

I have Acrobat X but I think the printer driver options haven't changed much from previous versions.

Control Panel | Devices and Printers
<kvetch>What does the world look for most often? Printers, duh. So naturally MS gives this thing a name that puts it in the least convenient alpha order of the two possible answers.</kvetch>

Rightclick the Adobe driver instance, choose Printing Preferences.

Go to the Adobe PDF Settings tab.
Look for an Adobe PDF Security dropdown.
See if the options there have any effect. They LOOK like they might be what you're after re password protection (though they did exactly squat when I tried it here just now)

[terrie]

steve: <kvetch>What does the world look for most often? Printers, duh. So naturally MS gives this thing a name that puts it in the least convenient alpha order of the two possible answers.</kvetch>

LOL!!!

I think because I use Classic Start Menu (sub-set of Classic Shell ), the Start Menu the "Settings" section contains "Printers" (user chosen and I also have Control Panel, Network Connections, Taskbar and Start Menu, etc. in "Settings") which I right-clicked and choose "Create Shortcut" and Woila!!! only the installed printer instances display...'-}}




>>Look for an Adobe PDF Security dropdown.

I'd been meaning to look in the PDF Settings but not gotten around to it and in the Security dropdown there are indeed options for requiring and setting a password. I thought I could create/save a predefined set of options with a password required but I just tested it and the security settings are separate from the other PDF settings and functions at a global level--either every PDF has a password or none of them do.


I need to discuss this with my sister in more detail to see what the rationale is as it could be that some other approach would also be workable. From the little bit of searching I've done, there are options out there but I think the most viable are probably the paid options--I don't trust applying PDF passwords online...


I'll report back what I find...




Thanks!

Terrie