Change Permissions
Choose whether readers may print, copy, edit, comment on or fill a PDF. Restrictions apply only with a new owner password; AES-256, in your browser.
Încărcați fișierul PDF
Despre acest instrument
Change Permissions saves a copy of a PDF with new permission settings for printing, copying, editing, commenting, form filling, page assembly and accessibility. The settings are applied only when you enter a New Owner Password: qpdf then encrypts the file with 256-bit AES. Without an owner password, every permission choice is ignored.
Eight options are listed, all allowed by default, with Allow All and Restrict All buttons. Switching off Allow Printing, Allow Modifying, Allow Copying, Allow Annotating, Allow Filling Forms, Allow Accessibility or Allow Assembly adds that restriction. Allow High-Quality Printing is not applied in this version, so printing is either allowed in full or blocked.
The password fields decide the outcome:
- New Owner Password entered: the file is encrypted and the restrictions you chose are written into it.
- New User Password only: the file is encrypted and needs that password to open, but no restrictions are applied.
- Neither: the file is saved without encryption, which removes any restrictions it had, whatever the options say.
If the PDF is already protected, type its password in Current Password. Permissions are instructions to PDF software, not a lock: readers that respect them block the actions, but software that ignores them, including this site's Remove Restrictions, can lift them from a file without an open password. To stop a file being read at all, set a user password or use Encrypt PDF; see how to password-protect a PDF. Change permissions only on documents you are entitled to manage. Processing happens in your browser tab and the file is not uploaded.
Cum se utilizează
Add a PDF
Drop one PDF on the upload area or click to browse.
Choose the permissions
Under Document Permissions, switch off each action readers should not be able to perform, or use Allow All and Restrict All.
Set the passwords
Enter Current Password if the file is protected. Enter a New Owner Password to apply the restrictions, and a New User Password only if the file should need a password to open.
Apply and check
Click Apply Permissions, download the _permissions.pdf file and open it in a PDF reader to confirm the restrictions.
Cazuri de utilizare
Issue a read-only reference copy
Ask readers not to modify or comment on a released procedure while still letting them print it.
Discourage copying from a draft
Switch off copying on a review draft so its text is not pasted into other documents out of habit.
Keep a form layout fixed
Allow form filling while blocking page edits and page assembly.
Întrebări frecvente
Why were my restrictions not applied?
They are written only when you enter a New Owner Password. With only a user password, or with no password, every permission option is ignored, and with no password at all the file is saved with no restrictions.
Can I allow low-resolution printing only?
Not in this version. Allow High-Quality Printing is shown but not applied, so printing is either allowed in full or switched off.
Do permissions protect the content?
Only against software that respects them. A file without an open password can be read by anyone, and tools that ignore the permission flags can remove them. Use an open password for confidential files.
What encryption is used?
256-bit AES, applied by qpdf, whenever you set a new owner or user password.
My PDF already has a password. What do I do?
Type it in Current Password. Without it the tool cannot read the file and asks you for it.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The file and passwords are handled by qpdf inside your browser tab and are not sent to a server.