Don’t Miss! How to Lock a PDF from Editing Securely

Locking a PDF from editing is an ideal solution when it comes to ensuring the security of PDF files. It prevents unauthorized changes to PDF and makes sure that sensitive information in your file stays safe. In this article, we will shed light on why and how to lock a PDF from editing with or without password. It covers paid and free methods, suitable for people with different needs.

 Cisdem PDFMaster

An All-Inclusive Solution: Lock PDF from Editing Securely!

• Lock a PDF from editing, copying, printing with password protection.
• Create a digital signature to prevent PDF from unwanted editing.
• Convert PDF into images, making it difficult to edit.
• Provide more protection methods: add watermarks, redaction.
• Support locking multiple PDF files from editing at once.
• Main features: edit, convert, create, encrypt, decrypt, compress.
• Available on Windows and Mac.

Free Download macOS 11 or later Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7
 Earlier than macOS 11, click here

Why Lock PDF from Editing?

The reasons for locking a PDF from editing can be varied from person to person. Here we list several common situations where you may need to lock a PDF:

• Protect your work from copyright infringement.
• Maintain your own content in PDF unchanged when working with a team.
• Restrict unwanted people from opening, editing, copying, printing, etc.

How to Lock a PDF from Editing?

Now that you are aware of why lock PDF from editing, read on to learn how to carry on this activity with appropriate software.

There are a great number of PDF tools available on the Internet, both online and offline. Since the PDF you want to lock probably contains valuable content, it’s better to choose a dedicated offline application to lock it, which offers a higher level of security.

An All-in-One Solution --- Cisdem PDFMaster

Adhering to the principle of enjoying the best service for the least money, Cisdem PDFMaster is the first choice to lock a PDF from editing. It is well-reviewed due to its abundant features, affordable price and high security. Organized in a straightforward way, this application displays 5 main features when opening it, including PDF Convert, PDF Create, PDF Compress, PDF Encrypt and PDF Decrypt. 

Using the PDF Encrypt feature, it enables you to lock a PDF from opening, editing, copying, printing and more by adding an open password or permission password. Plus, it supports locking plenty of PDF files at a time. Besides password protection, you can also protect your PDF files against unwanted edits by creating a digital signature.

How to Lock a PDF from Editing on Windows and Mac?

• Download and install the program of Cisdem PDFMaster on your computer. Right click to run it.
  Free Download macOS 11 or later Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7
   Earlier than macOS 11, click here
• Go to Editor > Security > Set Passwords.
• Choose the restrictions applied to the PDF files as you want, then enter the password.
• If you hope to set the same password for multiple PDF files, click Batch to import more PDF files.
• Continue with Encrypt. Choose an output folder to store the locked PDF files.

Another Method:

You can also attempt to create a digital signature using Cisdem. It is a highly secure way to stop other recipients from any alterations and edits once a PDF is signed. To get a more detailed guide, you can refer to this article: https://www.cisdem.com/resource/create-a-signature-for-pdf.html

Alternative to Cisdem: Adobe Acrobat Pro

Adobe Acrobat is undoubtedly the most authoritative software in field of PDF, as Adobe is the founding company of PDF. But a host of people have complained about its high subscription price and complex interface, as a result, they turn to other PDF applications, like Cisdem PDFMaster. If you have installed and subscribed to Adobe Acrobat Pro before, or are still eager to master more PDF skills using Acrobat Pro, follow the guide below to lock a PDF from editing.

How to Lock a PDF from Editing in Adobe Acrobat Pro?

1. Right click on the PDF file and open it with Adobe Acrobat Pro.
2. Go to Tools tab and select Protect feature.
3. Choose Protect Using Password.
4. In the pop-up window, check Editing and type the password.
5. Click Apply and now your PDF is locked from editing.

How to Lock a PDF from Editing for Free?

If you’re on a budget and looking forward to locking PDF from editing for free, this part is made for you. Here shows you 3 different methods to do this job.

Lock PDF from Editing in Preview Mac

Preview is a picture and PDF viewer that comes with macOS operating system. A big benefit of this application is that you don’t have to pay any cost for all features it provides. It helps you to view, comment, annotate PDF, as well as locking a PDF from opening, editing, printing, etc.

How to Lock a PDF from Editing in Mac Preview?

1. Open your PDF with Preview on your Mac.
2. Go to File and select Edit Permissions from the drop-down.
3. Enter and verify your open password.
4. Click Apply and save your PDF on Mac. When you open the PDF again, it prompts you to type the password.

Lock PDF from Editing in Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge is a commonly-used browser regardless of the device you’re using. It makes it easy to view, highlight, draw and print PDF, but it doesn’t have built-in features to help you lock a PDF from editing. Still, you can attempt to do this by utilizing a third-party add-on extension.

How to Lock a PDF from Editing in Microsoft Edge?

1. Launch Microsoft Edge on your computer. 
2. Hit the 3-dot icon at the top right and choose Extensions.
3. Select Open Microsoft Edge Add-ons website in the new pop-up.
4. Enter the keyword like lock PDF in the search bar. Choose one appropriate add-on from the search results and click Get to install it.
5. Open this add-on, click Choose a file to upload your PDF.
6. Enter a password and click Protect File Now to password protect your PDF.

  Something Wrong: 

When testing, we encountered few problems, for instance, this add-on had been downloaded repeatedly before it was added into Microsoft Edge extension successfully. Besides, after entering the password, it takes a long time to protect the PDF, which may suggest a failure.

Lock PDF from Editing Using Online Tool

Using online tools is also a good choice you can try to lock PDF from editing. They normally provide the same features as the desktop ones with file limits. If you’re merely on the outlook for occasional use, you may well find that a free online tool will fill the bill. Here we take AvePDF as an example to show you how to lock a PDF from editing online free.

How to Lock a PDF from Editing Online Free?

1. Go to AvePDF website, choose Protect > Protect PDF.
2. Drop your PDF into the online service directly.
3. Select one level of protection as you need.
4. (Simple mode) Enter a password and confirm it. Click LOCK to apply the password protection.
5. Alternatively, tweak the permissions settings as per your requirement (Advanced mode), then click LOCK.

  Something Disappointing:

You can utilize this free online tool to lock a PDF from editing once per hour. And the file uploaded cannot be larger than 128MB. Most importantly, there is the possibility of information leakage after uploading your file into web-based service.

Additional Part: Can You Lock PDF from Editing Without Password?

Though setting passwords is an efficient method to lock PDF from editing, some people consider it difficult to manage them as the number of passwords increases. Therefore, we have collected two other solutions that don’t require passwords. 

• Use a DRM product, like Locklizard. It gives you the right to decide who can open a PDF file and what they can do with this PDF without entering passwords.
• Convert a PDF into an image-based PDF file, look like a scan. It aims to make a PDF non-editable since there is no actual text content but only images embedded into the PDF file. But to be honest, it is not a safe method, because it does not add any security on the document, and many PDF tools provide OCR technology to auto recognize text.

Which Method Is Better?