If you want to protect PDFs then you have a lot of options, depending on the PDF editing tool that you use or the level of protection that you want. PDFs are used by many people for many different uses from sharing medical records to storing sensitive financial data, which is why it’s necessary to secure PDFs sometimes. One way to protect your privacy and data is to add a password to PDF, which follows the file everywhere and cannot be changed, unless by the user who added it.
Creating and Protecting PDF Files
You can add a password to PDF at any time, but people commonly add a password when they create the file. The process also depends on what PDF editing program you are using, since they all have different functions and tools. Most PDF editing tools let you add a password, but only to an existing file since they don’t let you create new files or PDF files.
There are a few programs that let you combine PDFs, create new PDF files, and format them any way you want, which means adding images, graphs, and text or inserting other files like Word and Excel files. When you create a new PDF file, you can access the program’s security features to add a password, either for anyone who uses it or anyone who wants to edit the file.
But, again, it depends on the program you are using. Adobe Acrobat lets you add passwords to both open the file and edit the file, which means you decide the level of protection. Another way to protect PDFs is by adding a watermark, which is another sought-after feature of PDF editors and PDFs, in general.
A watermark is a simple, anti-counterfeiting measure found on everything from currency and official documents. They work by helping differentiate between a real document and a fake. It also helps prevent someone from duplicating the file or text, since any copy will appear without the watermark, which shows it’s a facsimile and not the real document.
Creating PDFs without a PDF Creator
There are many ways you can create new PDF files without using a specific or dedicated PDF program. For example, you can create a PDF file from a Google Doc, when you download it. Google gives you several options to choose from like Word, HTML, or PDF, but the same function applies to sending your file to a printer or other hardware.
If you have a specific extension or application loaded onto your browser, you can also use it to create new PDF files. Again, not all PDF editing programs let you create new files, but they give you other tools and features like adding or removing text, converting files into other formats, and compressing large files.
