3 Methods: How to Add Password to PDF

The big advantage of PDF documents have over image files like TIFF, JPG, PNG, GIF, is the ability to secure the document with password. Adding password protection to your PDF files helps to prevent contents from being copied, viewed, printed or edited by unwanted parties. For example, when you need to share a PDF file with confidential information, the safest way is to create a password. In this article, I will show you 3 ways to set password to PDF.

Way1: How to Password Protect a PDF with Adobe Acrobat

If your business already has Adobe Acrobat, the application is able to help you lock PDF with password. Following are the detailed instructions of how to create PDF password with Acrobat.

Open PDF file in Acrobat. Click File > Document Security from the menu.

When the Document Security window appears, select Acrobat Standard Security from the drop down list. When the Standard Security window appears, check the box labeled "Password require to open document". Edit or type the User Password. You can also add a password requirement for changing permissions or passwords.

When you have applied all the desired security settings, click OK button. Then a window will open asking you to confirm the password to open the document.

Way2: Set Password to PDF Online

If you are looking for online ways to lock PDF with password, pdfprotect.net can help you. But please note that the maximum file size is limited to 50MB. Upload your PDF, type your desired password, and then hit Protect! button.

Way3: Create Password for PDF on Mac with Preview

With Mac OS X, the process of adding password to PDF is quite easy. Here it is: Open the PDF document with Preview, the built-in application of Mac, developed by Apple. On the menu, click File > Export.

In the export screen, you can change the file name and location of the saved file. If you don’t change the file name or location, the password protected PDF will replace the original. Place a check mark in Encrypt checkbox. Type a password for the document twice. Then hit Save button. Done! The password protected PDF will be created.