Didn't set password, still my PDF file is asking for a password to open

[portrayalteam]

I have seen similar posts like that which were then "locked" for some reason. I'm having the same issues as many other users. These are documents from over 12 years ago that people have successfully filled out and sent back to me for over 10 years.

Now, they say they are security protected and require a password, but I have never placed passwords on them. They're questionnaires for clients. There's no reason to ever protect them. Should I attempt a 3rd party app that cracks the security? I really don't know what to do. For now, my workaround is just to tell people to download a copy. 😞

[Bernd Alheit]

Open the form in Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat.

[llyanestanfield]

Hello!
I have the same issue.
I created a PDF and didn't set a password; I'm in a course and now I can't access my document.
What's going on? This was an issue 10 years ago.
I thought that PDF files are the safest and now... I'm stuck??

[Amal.]

Hi there

Hope you are doing well.

What is the workflow/steps you did to create the PDF file? A small video recording of the same would be very helpful for more clarity?

Adobe Acrobat doesn't apply password to the PDF file unless it is initiated by the user.

~Amal

[llyanestanfield]

Hello, Amal!
I appreciate your quick response.
I actually used a PDF provided from Harvard Unviersity.

I'm in module 7 and I've been doing this in all the previous 6 modules:
1. I download the PDF,
2. I highlight the important parts, and
3. I save it on my computer.

All work well except for this one (1 out of 12 files).

I doubt that there's a setting on the file from the University.

Thanks so much!

[try67]

This file contains a security policy that prevents editing it in various ways, but not opening it. The form fields in it can be filled in and the file saved. Maybe those users were trying to edit it. If they got prompted for a password when just opening it then they probably used a non-compliant PDF viewer.