ChangeProtection

The Change Protection function provides a way to change the protection settings on a PDF document without modifying the document contents. No further options other than the input and output PDF settings are required.

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Properties

Input

The following properties specify the PDF document to be loaded and modified by the operation:

File path

Path to the PDF file.

Authentication type

PDF files can be protected using a password or a certificate. This field indicates which type of authentication to attempt when loading the PDF.

1. None
   The document is unprotected and can be opened immediately.
2. Password
   The document is protected by a password.
3. Certificate
   The document is protected by a certificate.

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Password:
Only displayed when Authentication type is ‘Password’.

• Password: Password required to access the PDF file.

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Certificate:
Only displayed when Authentication type is ‘Certificate’.

Certificate source:
Source to load the certificate from:

1. File - Load a certificate from a .pfx file.
2. Store - Load a certificate from the Windows certificate store.

File Displayed when Certificate source is ‘File’.

Certificate file path:
Path to a .pfx file containing a certificate.

Certificate file password:
Password needed to open the certificate file.

Store:
Displayed when Certificate source is ‘Store’.

Certificate:
Certificate in the Windows keystore.

Note

Note:
All passwords entered into this function’s properties will be visible in plain text in the Linx solution file and in the compiled .NET assembly.

Note

Note:
Certificate protected files are not supported by the “Fill form”, “Sign”, “Add watermark,” and “Concatenate” operations. If you need to use the operations on a certificate-protected document, first remove the certificate protection using the “Change protection” operation. The certificate must include the private key in order to be able to load the document.

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Output

File path

Path of the PDF file to write to.

Authentication type

Authentication type required to open the PDF file.

1. None
   No protection.
2. Password
   The PDF will ask for a password before opening.
3. Certificate
   The PDF will only be readable by the owner of the specified certificate.

Password:
Password required to gain user-level access to the PDF.
If you would like to allow user-level access without requiring a password, leave this field blank.

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Certificate:
The following fields are available when Authentication type is set to ‘Certificate’.

Certificate source:
Source to load the owner’s certificate.

1. File - Load the certificate from a .pfx file.
2. Store - Load the certificate from the Windows key store.

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File

Certificate file path:
Path to a .pfx file containing the signing certificate.

Certificate file password:
Password needed to decrypt the certificate file.

Store:
Certificate:
Certificate in the Windows keystore.

Add document restrictions

Specify restrictions on the PDF document.

• Allow printing: The level of printing allowed on the PDF document.
• Allow changes: The editing actions allowed on the PDF document.
• Allow copying: Enable copying of text, images, and other content.
• Allow screen readers: Enable text access for screen reader devices for the visually impaired.

Encryption

Encryption method used to protect the PDF contents.

Options:

• Standard encryption (40 bit)
• Standard encryption (128 bit)
• AES encryption (128 bit)
• AES encryption (256 bit)

Note

Note:
AES encryption is stronger than standard (RC4) encryption but is only supported by newer versions of Acrobat Reader. If the document needs to be read by any Acrobat versions prior to Acrobat X, standard encryption should be used.

• Don’t encrypt metadata: Prevents encryption of the document metadata.