I’ve got a secured PDF from a client and I can’t select any text to copy it. Tried opening it in a couple of viewers but no luck. Anyone know a way around this?
I agree, that restriction is annoying. Honestly, if you can open the file, try Microsoft Word or Google Docs; both are ordinary programs and usually ignore the copy restriction, so the text becomes selectable. If it needs a password to open and you do not have it, there is no legitimate way around that, and I would not bypass the security.
Is it asking for a password to open, or just blocking copy? If its just blocking copy, that’s a permissions flag and easy to work around. Print it to a new PDF (Microsoft Print to PDF) and the new file is usually unlocked. Or run it through a PDF to Word converter and copy the text from the docx.
If you have permission, ask the client for an unlocked copy, or print it to PDF and run OCR in Adobe Acrobat if printing is allowed. I’d avoid uploading a client document to random “unlock PDF” sites, as it may contain sensitive info.
If the client has authorized you, ask them for an unlocked copy or the permissions password, honestly that is the cleanest route. I have also asked clients to paste the needed section into an email when it was only a few lines. Avoid uploading a confidential client file to random websites or trying to bypass its restrictions.
@ashley.cardiff Opening it in Word is such a great idea for stressful security lockouts! It usually keeps the page layout and margins pretty neat when Im reviewing vendor contracts. Do you usually do this on a Windows computer or a Mac?
@cameron2002 Printing to a new PDF works for me most of the time, but if the client’s file is a scan there’s no real text to copy, so you would need OCR instead. If it needs a password just to open, ask the client. Keep a backup of the original before you change anything.
Could be two different problems: either copying is locked in the permissions, or it’s actually a scanned image with no real text at all, try selecting a word first to check which one it is.
if the client set copy restrictions, i’d ask them for an unlocked copy or the password first. if it’s just a scanned document, run OCR in PDFcap and export the recognized text, but make sure you’re authorized to handle it. is it asking for a password when you open it, or does it just block selecting?