Way to protect pdf
Client asked if there was a way to protect pdf documents from getting copied and pasted into another document and then edited. I did not know of a way to protect it. Advice?
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You couldn't have put it better, Dave.
All that is necessary is to print the document to image files, then OCR the image files to get the text out. Good OCR programs even obligingly extract and place images, using a page editor format of your choice.
Yes, Adobe lets you put a password on PDF files, but it only protects that particular PDF file -- not any image copy made from it.
All that is necessary is to print the document to image files, then OCR the image files to get the text out. Good OCR programs even obligingly extract and place images, using a page editor format of your choice.
Yes, Adobe lets you put a password on PDF files, but it only protects that particular PDF file -- not any image copy made from it.
You can set permissions on a PDF file to disallow various capabilities, such as Content Copying. Here's a screenshot of the Document Restrictions Summary as shown in Acrobat (via File>Properties>Security):
However, it is not going to stop a motivated person. Bottom line — if you can see it, you can copy it. For starters, you can simply re-key it. A more advanced user can OCR it when it's on the screen. You could put password protection on it, but I'm sure that will raise other issues with your client. Regards, Joe
However, it is not going to stop a motivated person. Bottom line — if you can see it, you can copy it. For starters, you can simply re-key it. A more advanced user can OCR it when it's on the screen. You could put password protection on it, but I'm sure that will raise other issues with your client. Regards, Joe
Yikes! A lot happened while I was writing my reply offline. :)
I have 'printed' PDFs to my PDF printer driver... often reduces the size of the document while keeping all of the original content.
I have 'printed' PDFs to my PDF printer driver... often reduces the size of the document while keeping all of the original content.
Well done! I have got to add that trick to my arsenal!
Yes, printing to PDF print drivers can help in many ways — works nicely, as long as printing is allowed. :)
Discussed at these EE threads:
https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/29028209/Need-to-print-a-print-protected-PDF.html
https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/29052990/Remove-Password-From-PDF.html
https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/29055530/Small-PDF-with-password-protection-remove-password-keep-it-small.html
Discussed at these EE threads:
https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/29028209/Need-to-print-a-print-protected-PDF.html
https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/29052990/Remove-Password-From-PDF.html
https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/29055530/Small-PDF-with-password-protection-remove-password-keep-it-small.html
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