Can I make a fillable pdf read only?

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
July 7, 2021
2 replies
3810 views

I'm trying to find out if its possible to make a fillable pdf Read Only, the same way you make a Word document Read only.

Where the file is still fillable and savable, but users don't have the ability to over write the actual file and are forced to "save the file as" when they want to save their changes after filling out the form.

This topic has been closed for replies.

Eric Dumas

Community Expert

Hi,

can you explain how are users accessing the original?

If they get it by opening a file on a server, you can right click on the file, select Properties then check the box for read only option (see screenshot). Users will have to save it under a different name.

If the file is stored on SharePoint, or sent by email, just change the properties before you upload/attach it.

Consider adding a Signature Field as it locks the file and forces to save the document.

C

Community5E9AAuthor

Participant

What has been suggested worked flawlessly. So thank you.

However, I'm wondering if there is a way the "read only" property enforeced in operating system level can we carried over and over everytime the file is "saved as" a new file.

we simply looking for a way to prevent users over writting the file everytime the make changes to it and enforce them to save it as a new copy.

try67

Community Expert

It does, but a user can easily change it manually, unless they don't have write permission to the file and the folder where it's located from a higher authority, like the network admin.

Karl Heinz Kremer

Community Expert

Save vs. save as is something you would have to enforce via file access control: You can make the file read-only on the operating system level, and that would then force a user to do a Save As. There is nothing inside Acrobat that would provide this functionality.

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