Restrict permissions / protect document (ManagePermissions)

Objective

Apply a user password and a list of permissions to a PDF document (for example, allowing or disallowing printing, content copying, modification, etc.), generating a new protected file.

Parameters

Catalog of available permissions

• Allow printing
• Allow low-quality printing
• Allow content modification
• Allow content copying
• Allow modifying annotations/forms
• Allow use by screen readers (accessibility)
• Allow document assembly

Result

Operation status (Error / ErrorMessage) via PDFToolsStatus.

Functional details

• The source document must not already be protected/encrypted. This functionality does not support unlocking or re-modifying the permissions of a previously protected document: if the source file is already protected, the operation fails with an explicit error. To change the permissions applied to a document, a new file must be generated from its original, unprotected source.

• How RestrictPermissions works: while it remains false (its default value) — even if no permissions object is passed at all — there is no intent to restrict anything: the resulting document is protected with the given password but with all permissions enabled. Only when RestrictPermissions = true are the individual permissions honored literally: those set to true remain enabled, and those set to false (explicit or untouched) remain denied.

• To restrict permissions (for example, denying printing and copying while leaving the rest enabled, or denying absolutely all of them), setting RestrictPermissions = true is essential; otherwise, any value set on the individual permissions is ignored and the document ends up with all permissions enabled.

• "Allow printing" and "Allow low-quality printing" are two independent permissions (as defined by the PDF standard): the first enables printing at any quality, the second enables printing only at low resolution. To fully block printing, both must be set to false; leaving either one true (for example, only "Allow low-quality printing"), the viewer may still offer the print option, even if only at reduced quality.

• Permission-based PDF protection is not a tamper-proof restriction: the PDF standard relies on the viewer used to open the file honoring those permissions; it is common for different viewers or other tools to behave differently given the same set of permissions.

Usage examples

Protect a document only with a password, without restricting any permission (all enabled):

&PDFFileSource        = "C:\Documents\report.pdf"
&PDFFileTarget        = "C:\Documents\protectedReport.pdf"
&PDFPassword          = "Secret123"

&PDFToolsPermission.RestrictPermissions = false

&PDFToolsStatus = &PdfToolsUtils.ManagePermissions(&PDFFileSource,&PDFFileTarget,&PDFPassword,&PDFToolsPermission)

Protect a document denying printing and copying, allowing the rest (no password):

&PDFFileSource        = "C:\Documents\report.pdf"
&PDFFileTarget        = "C:\Documents\protectedReport.pdf"

&PDFToolsPermission.RestrictPermissions = true

    &PDFToolsPermission.AllowAssembly         = true
    &PDFToolsPermission.AllowCopy            = false
    &PDFToolsPermission.AllowDegradedPrinting = false
    &PDFToolsPermission.AllowFillIn          = true
    &PDFToolsPermission.AllowModifyAnnotations = true
    &PDFToolsPermission.AllowModifyContents  = true
    &PDFToolsPermission.AllowPrinting        = false
    &PDFToolsPermission.AllowScreenReaders   = true

&PDFToolsStatus = &PdfToolsUtils.ManagePermissions(&PDFFileSource,&PDFFileTarget,&PDFPassword,&PDFToolsPermission)

Protect a document denying printing and copying, allowing the rest (with password):

&PDFFileSource        = "C:\Documents\report.pdf"
&PDFFileTarget        = "C:\Documents\protectedReport.pdf"
&PDFPassword          = "Secret123"

&PDFToolsPermission.RestrictPermissions = true

    &PDFToolsPermission.AllowAssembly         = true
    &PDFToolsPermission.AllowCopy            = false
    &PDFToolsPermission.AllowDegradedPrinting = false
    &PDFToolsPermission.AllowFillIn          = true
    &PDFToolsPermission.AllowModifyAnnotations = true
    &PDFToolsPermission.AllowModifyContents  = true
    &PDFToolsPermission.AllowPrinting        = false
    &PDFToolsPermission.AllowScreenReaders   = true

&PDFToolsStatus = &PdfToolsUtils.ManagePermissions(&PDFFileSource,&PDFFileTarget,&PDFPassword,&PDFToolsPermission)

Error and warning messages