How do i lock a pdf from editing

If you handle or process important documents in an office or an organization where other people can access the file, leaving it unlocked means an unauthorized person can edit deliberately or accidentally. This situation can prove costly depending on the sensitivity or importance of the file. To avert such scenarios, you should lock such files from editing. You can lock PDF from editing with the help of a signature or password. Fortunately, this article takes you through a complete guide on how to PDF file from editing.

Part 1. How to Lock PDF from Editing

Wondershare PDFelement - PDF Editor is a top-rated PDF software that ensures a reliable and efficient way to work with PDF files. This program has a collection of amazing features that makes it a complete package. With PDFelement, you can do nearly every PDF task you can think of. These include create and convert, compress, print, annotate, edit, perform OCR to unlock texts in scanned images, and protect PDFs among others.

How do i lock a pdf from editing
How do i lock a pdf from editing

Step 1. Open PDF File

The first step is to open PDFelement on your computer. Once opened, click the “Open files” icon on the main window to open the file explorer window. Look for the PDF file you want to upload, select it, and click the “Open” button to import it to the program.

How do i lock a pdf from editing

Step 2. Lock PDF from Editing

When the PDF is loaded on PDFelement, go to the “Protect” tab on the toolbar then select the “Set Password” option. This will subsequently display the “Security” dialog box to allow you to set either the open document password or permission password. Because we aim to set the lock password, ignore the “Open Password” option and check the “Permission Password” checkbox. You should see that the respective password field becomes active. Enter the desired pdf lock password and then click the “Changes Permission” drop-down icon. Ignore other options and select the “No Changes are allowed” option. Once satisfied with your selection, click “Save” to let the program insert the lock PDF from the editing password.

How do i lock a pdf from editing

Step 3. Save PDF with Password

Now that PDFelement has added the lock password, you need to save the changes you have made to avoid being discarded. Simply go to the “File” menu and choose the “Save” option. You can close and open the file and see that you will be prompted to provide a password when you try to edit.

How do i lock a pdf from editing

Part 2. How to Use Signature to Lock PDF from Editing

Wondershare PDFelement - PDF Editor is a top-rated PDF software that ensures a reliable and efficient way to work with PDF files. This program has a collection of amazing features that makes it a complete package. With PDFelement, you can do nearly every PDF task you can think of. These include create and convert, compress, print, annotate, edit, perform OCR to unlock texts in scanned images, and protect PDFs among others.

How do i lock a pdf from editing
How do i lock a pdf from editing

Step 1. Open PDF File

After you have installed PDFelement on your computer, tap the icon to launch it. On the main interface, there are several icons displayed. Ignore the other options and click the “Open files” icon. This should subsequently display the file directory window. Here, select the PDF file that you want to protect from editing and click the “Open” button. Wait for the PDF file to upload.

How do i lock a pdf from editing

Step 2. Sign Document

When the PDF file is uploaded, locate, and click the “Protect” tab on the toolbar. You should see the sub-menu displayed just below the toolbar. This time around, we are going to protect our PDF from editing by applying a signature and respective password. Click the “Sign Document” option and then drag to select the location you want to add the signature on your PDF. Now the “Sign Document” window will be displayed. Click the “Sign As” drop-down icon and choose your ID or click “New ID” to add a new ID. Enter a suitable password in the password field and provide other prompted details as well. When done, click “Sign” to apply the signature on your PDF document.

How do i lock a pdf from editing

Step 3. Save PDF with Signature

When the program has added the signature to your document, you can go to the “File” then select “Save” to save the changes you just made.

How do I make a PDF read only?

On Windows, just right-click your PDF and select Properties > Read-only > OK. On a Mac computer, the process is a little more complex. Select the PDF and click File > Get Info. You can then set access rights under the Sharing & Permissions tab.

How can I lock a PDF from being edited for free?

How to Password Protect a PDF Document.
Go to the Protect PDF tool..
Drag and drop your PDF into the toolbox..
Type the password you'd like to set..
Click “Encrypt PDF” to add the password to the PDF..
Download your encrypted PDF file!.

How to lock a PDF file?

Open the PDF and choose Tools > Protect > Encrypt > Encrypt with Password. If you receive a prompt, click Yes to change the security. Select Require a Password to Open the Document, then type the password in the corresponding field.

How do I make a PDF Cannot be copied?

The "Permissions" setting controls restrictions that can be placed on the PDF file. To prevent the text and graphics from being copied from the PDF file, uncheck the "Allow text and graphics to be copied" option.