Over the years, PDFs have been notorious for security weaknesses unsurprisingly, numerous ways to bypass a password are available. In fact, before setting permissions on a PDF file, you might ask if doing so is worth the effort. For instance, while you may not want users to fill in forms, why is there no way to allow comments on forms alone. Similarly, the combinations of allowable changes seems inconvenient. For example, why restrict printing to 150dpi, a resolution that is low, but still allows printed pages to be scanned and enhanced? The inability to print in high resolution seems trivial compared to the ability to print at all. Together, options can be as strict as allowing a user only to view the file, or as loose as allowing any user to alter the file at will, or something in-between.įigure 1: The Security tab in the PDF Options window offers a casual grade of security with a variety of options.ĭating from a less security-conscious era, the reasons for these restrictions may seem arbitrary today. After the second password is entered, three kinds of permissions are available: Printing, Changes, and Contents. To set them up, begin by entering a password to open the exported file, and a second one to alter the permissions (in other words, how the files can be used). PDFs have their own system of passwords and permissions, which are available from File | Export As | Export As PDF… | PDF Options | Security (Figure 1).

Both are available from tabs on LibreOffice's PDF Options window when exporting to PDF. Today, if you need security, you have two choices: passwords and permissions for casual security of digital certificates or GNU Privacy Guard (GPG) keys for serious encryption. However, over the years, the PDF format has added security features.

PDFs date from a less security-conscious era than our own.

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