How to Secure a PDF from Printing and Editing Using Adobe's InDesign

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By Fiona Cameron
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Secure a PDF from Printing and Editing Using Adobe's InDesign

You designed a confidential report that you will convert to PDF. During circulation, it is important that recipients do not print or edit the report in PDF editing applications. You also want to restrict who can view the report. Follow this 17-step process to add security restrictions to a PDF document.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Adobe InDesign CS2
Windows XP

How to Restrict Reading Access of a PDF Document

Step 1

Open an Adobe InDesign document from the "File" menu or "Welcome" screen.
Step 2

Select "Export" from the "File" menu to open the Export window.
Step 3

Click the drop-down arrow in the "Save In" field. Find a destination folder to save the PDF.
Step 4

Rename the file in the "File Name" field, if necessary.
Step 5

Click the drop-down arrow in the "Save As Type" field. Select "Adobe PDF" from the list.
Step 6

Click "Save" to open the Export Adobe PDF window.
Step 7

Select "Security" from the vertical menu on the left.
Step 8

Mark the "Require a Password to Open the Document" checkbox to restrict others from opening the document without the required password.
Step 9

Type the password in the "Document Open Password" field.

How to Restrict Printing, Editing and Copying of Content in PDF Documents

Step 1

Mark the "Use a Password to REstrict Printing, Editing and Other Tasks" checkbox to prevent others from printing or editing the document.
Step 2

Type the password in the "Permissions Password" field to require that others use a password to change the document in PDF editing applications.
Step 3

Select "None" from the "Printing Allowed" field to prevent others from printing the document.
Step 4

Select "None" from the "Changes Allowed" field to prevent others from making any changes to the document in PDF editing applications.
Step 5

Uncheck the box marked "Enable Copying of Text, Images and Other Content" to prevent others from highlighting and copying any content in the PDF document.
Step 6

Click "Export." This action will open the first Password confirmation window. Retype the password you created for opening the PDF.
Step 7

Click "OK." This action will open the second Password confirmation window. Retype the password you created to restrict printing and editing of the PDF.
Step 8

Click "OK" to open the "Generating PDF" window. This action will display the progress bar to indicate the remaining time needed to export the document to PDF. The "Generating PDF" window will close automatically upon completion.