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Answered

Didnt set password, still my PDF file is asking for a password to open

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
July 31, 2018
26 replies
397011 views

I have several PDF files that I used to be able to open, but now, they are asking for a password. I did not create a password for any of these files. Has anyone encountered this problem before? If so, how do I resolve it? Thank you.

Correct answer ~graffiti

I've seen this recently and it was fixed in Reader using a patch. Make sure you have the very latest update.

In Reader use Help>Check for updates.

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Neill23393911eou8

Participant

[abuse removed by moderator]

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Kathy23249204yvwb

Participant

It is beyond annoying. Adobe Acrobat is almost worthless to me, as every document needs a password that I don't know. The only workaround is to print the document and scan it myself. A huge amount of unnecessary work. I really wonder why I paid for this program which does very little to help me in my business.

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Test Screen Name

Legend

Where are these files from, Kathy?

And when does it ask you for a password - for example

- when you open it (so you can never see the file)

- after it is open for no obvious reason

- when you click EDIT

- when you click something else

- some other time?

K

Kathy23249204yvwb

Participant

Example-documents from Forms Simplicity, a real estate program for agent. The document opens but the password request is when 'edit' is requested. Thanks!

Thanks!!

Be Safe, Be Strong, Be Kind, Be Well. We are all in this together.

Kathy McDowell, P.A.
[Moderator deleted private information. Please do not post private information like e-mails and phone numbers]
I will never send wire instructions via email. If an email with wire instructions appears to be from me, it is fraud. Be very cautious.

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McManis223516124ztu

Participant

It is good (or is it?) to know that I am not alone in this situation. However, given this is an ongoing problem for close to two years, this is not good. Have there been any updates as to this issue? A suitable work around would be appreciated while this is being "fixed."

Given that my annual subscription is about to be re-newed, I might reconsider given this issue.

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true157F

Participant

Take your files to a Mac, open in Preview, export as a PDF and the password will be removed!

Might not be the best work around, but it works!! 👍😎

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Rebeca22739934c5l7

Participant

This does not work for me. I'm on a mac. I can export the pdf but the password issue remains. I also can't go to print- save as...it only allows me to save as PostScript. I've tried Preview. I'm beyond frustrated.

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Angie22057585cv9e

Participant

Adding another voice to the list of frustrated users. This issue was opened over 3 years ago and still no resolution.

PDFs that I've been able to edit and have never put a password on are suddenly requiring passwords. I can't merge files because they are password protected with these "ghost" passwords. Downloaded clean copies of forms and am still getting the same issue.

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defaultrexem57d9jmf

Participant

This is still an ongoing problem. I have tons of old reports for work that we cannot combine or edit. This just started recently for us as we updated to the newest version of Adobe Acrobat Pro. The software we use to generate quality reports are all locked by a password. Old and new. The developer of the software has no idea how this is happening. This is definately an Adobe issue with no fix in sight. We've been reduced to printing out the reports and then scanning them back in to make a fresh digital file. It's ridiculous and wasteful.

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Suryaprakash5C11

Participant

Screenshot_2021-09-08-17-08-13-047_com-nextbillion-groww.jpg

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Vira5C94

Participant

Yes. It continues to happen...it's annoying. When I need to edit the pdf file, I have to start over creating a new one. My coworkers are experiencing the same issue. Hopefully Adobe can fix this problem.

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StijnBln

Participant

hi,

I had the same problem,

what I did was; 'open the pdf' and then 'export as pdf' again now, I dont know why but now the program doesn't ask for a password anymore. maybe this helps. 🙂

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default060mqhgyygxy

Participant

Hi,

He doesn't give me the possibility to "export as pdf"...I'm thinking to change for Foxit, she can do nothing with Acrobat because of this problem.

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StijnBln

Participant

Hi,

I work on mac and i opend the pdf in 'Preview' from mac, there i had the option to export to pdf again. (this worked for me)

don't know anyting about windows, so can't help u 😞 if u work with that.

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default060mqhgyygxy

Participant

So...do we find a solution about this problem?...because one of my users got the samething...

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Lucvdbr

Participant

I had the same issue, due to policies applied by the ICT dept:

(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\DC\FeatureLockDown)

it is caused by the "protected view" settings in preferences ... Security (enhanced)

So if you enable protected view , certificate encrypted pdf's do not work any longer..

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marife5EE1

Participant

i had same issue .. cant remember i put password on pdf file!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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BillUMD

Participant

It turns out that the program I was using was an educational version of software, and to prevent reverse engineering of exported documents, the program, Vectorworks, added a password to prevent the file from being modified. Using the full commercial version of the program I have at work, the password protection did not appear on the exported document, although I did have the option of protecting it.

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