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A
Anonymous
September 27, 2016
Question

Can't edit PDF, "This document has been signed and cannot be edited"

  • September 27, 2016
  • 11 replies
  • 161421 views

But it isn't signed.  There is a block for a digital signature, but it is not signed.

I tried File, Save A Copy; but even that copy cannot be changed.  All of the edit controls are greyed out.

    11 replies

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    Karl Heinz Kremer
    Community Expert
    Karl Heinz KremerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 28, 2016

    Open up the document properties dialog (Ctrl-D or Cmd-D), then go to the "Security" tab. What do you see there? Does it list any restrictions?

    A
    Anonymous
    September 28, 2016

    Nope!  That's the frustrating thing.  I have a feeling it's either an issue with how the signature block was added, or there's some other goofy problem and Acrobat is throwing the error it does as "close enough".  Wondering if there's any way to enable some sort of logging to see more information about exactly what it's unhappy about.

    Karl Heinz Kremer
    Community Expert
    Karl Heinz KremerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 28, 2016

    If it works with all other files, it's possible that this is indeed due to a corrupt PDF file, but without actually poking around in the PDF file, it's impossible to say what the problem is. Would you be able to share the PDF file in question? If you cannot share publicly, you can also contact me via a direct message (just click on my name in blue right above this comment to send a message).

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