Batch Removal of Password

Question

An unintended consequence of adding password to the PDF Form is, I cannot merge data fields to export to Excel.

Does anyone have a solution around this? I am expecting 1,000 applications. I need the information to export to Excel, which means I have to open each document and remove the password. I cannot send this form out without a password because these people would alter EVERY single field on the form to give me what "they want me to have" instead of answer the questions we have asked them.

Any Ideas? BTW the form is already live.

try67 · Accepted Answer

Assuming the password for all the files is the same you, and you have Adobe Acrobat Pro, you can use an Action to batch remove the security policies from the files you'll receive back.

adrianne_8892 · Answer

Here are the steps on how to Remove Passwords from Multiple PDFs:
Preliminary Setup:

Open Adobe Acrobat Pro and go to the Menu.
Select Preferences.
In the Preferences window, find and click Action Wizard.
Check the box for Show the Run Action Confirmation dialog box.
Under Security Method, select Password Security to ensure that you’ll be prompted for the password when starting the batch.
Click OK to save these preferences.

Steps for Removing Passwords Using Guided Actions:

Go back to the main menu and click See More Tools.
Scroll down and click on Use Guided Actions.
At the bottom, select Add and Manage Actions.
Click Action and choose New Action.
In the New Action setup:
- Go to Protection.
- Choose Add Encrypt.
- Click Specify Settings and set the Security Method to None to disable any existing security.
Click Save and give this action a name like "Remove PDF Passwords."
Run the newly saved action by adding the PDF files you wish to unlock.
When you run the action, Acrobat will ask for a password if the files are protected and prompt you to save each file as a new copy.

Take Note: When processing multiple files (e.g., five documents), Acrobat may unlock the first few automatically but might require you to manually unlock the last file.

Here are the steps on how to Remove Passwords from Multiple PDFs:Preliminary Setup:

Steps for Removing Passwords Using Guided Actions:

Sign up

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Sign in to Adobe Community

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Scanning file for viruses.

This file cannot be downloaded

Here are the steps on how to Remove Passwords from Multiple PDFs:
Preliminary Setup: