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Correct answer Dov Isaacs

If the PDF file was protected by someone else, you need to get the password from that “someone else!”

 

If you set the password and have forgotten it, you are pretty much out of luck. The idea behind password protection is in fact to provide protection. It wouldn't be effective protection if there was a “back door” to bypass that password protection! The PDF specification doesn't provide for such a “back door” nor does Adobe provide some secret mechanism for retrieving a password.

 

Sorry!

 

1 reply

Dov Isaacs
Dov IsaacsCorrect answer
Legend
January 29, 2021

If the PDF file was protected by someone else, you need to get the password from that “someone else!”

 

If you set the password and have forgotten it, you are pretty much out of luck. The idea behind password protection is in fact to provide protection. It wouldn't be effective protection if there was a “back door” to bypass that password protection! The PDF specification doesn't provide for such a “back door” nor does Adobe provide some secret mechanism for retrieving a password.

 

Sorry!

 

- Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
J
Judy5EF4Author
Participant
January 29, 2021
Thank you I actually did that exact thing right before you responded. 👍
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