Skip to main content
AJ- monster
AJ- monster
Inspiring
October 19, 2017
Answered

Protected document still lets me copy and paste from it

  • October 19, 2017
  • 3 replies
  • 6377 views

I have protected my PDF document to allow only printing, form filling and signing.

Although the edit/copy function is greyed out, it still allows me to copy and paste the contents to a Word document by using the Ctrl+ C  Ctrl+V functions.  This is surely a major flaw!

How can I prevent this from being allowed?

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer AJ- monster

this is very odd because I could copy and paste from the original but not the copied document.

I've since copied the original and saved it again as is and I can't copy but I can copy the original!  bizarre.

The only thing I've done is copy the secured to a new file!  oh well the issue has resolved itself even though I've done nothing different.

Thank you for your perseverance!

3 replies

N
nakedandfamous
Participant
August 10, 2020

Hi, there.
I'm having the same problem. The only way it prevents copy/pasting is if I disable the printing option. Otherwise, copy/paste is allowed. I send the pdf to several colleagues. All of them can copy/paste from it. 

K
Kim27204276kymu
Participant
November 18, 2022

I am having the same problem. The only way I can prevent it is if I disable the visually impaired reader options.

AJ- monster
AJ- monsterAuthorCorrect answer
Inspiring
October 20, 2017

this is very odd because I could copy and paste from the original but not the copied document.

I've since copied the original and saved it again as is and I can't copy but I can copy the original!  bizarre.

The only thing I've done is copy the secured to a new file!  oh well the issue has resolved itself even though I've done nothing different.

Thank you for your perseverance!

try67
Community Expert
try67Community Expert
Community Expert
October 19, 2017

Did you make sure the "Enable copying of text, images and other content"

box is NOT ticked?

Be aware that many non-Adobe applications do not enforce these

restrictions. You're only guaranteed it will work when using Adobe software.

On Thu, Oct 19, 2017 at 2:05 PM, AJ- monster <forums_noreply@adobe.com>

AJ- monster
AJ- monsterAuthor
Inspiring
October 19, 2017

The checkbox was not ticked and the properties say copying is not allowed, yet it still allows me to copy and paste.

https://www.screencast.com/t/CezTGhbHd

AJ- monster
AJ- monsterAuthor
Inspiring
October 19, 2017

If you are the creator of the file, and you haven't closed Acrobat between setting the security and checking, then Acrobat remembers that you are the owner and grants all permissions when the file is reopened (part of the recent-files cache).


actually I thought that solved it, but when i closed down acrobat and reopened after some time, I can still copy and paste the document

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices