Password-protect a PDF

Choosing what a password protects

Protect, in the document menu, encrypts the file and lets you decide what a password actually gates. You can require a password just to open the document, or allow anyone to view it while still requiring one to print or copy its content, a distinction PDFKit's own password protection doesn't offer.

Applying protection

Set a password and choose permissions, and Colophon saves the protected document once encryption finishes.

Removing a password

Remove Password is the inverse: it saves a decrypted copy with no password and no permission restrictions. It's available once you can view the document (entering its password first, if it has one) and it hasn't been digitally signed — decrypting rewrites the file, which would break a signature. Once removed, the document is stored unencrypted like any other.