Contents x
    PDF Security
    • 15 Mar 2022
    • 3 Minutes to read
    • Print
    • Dark
      Light
    Contents

    PDF Security

    • Updated on 15 Mar 2022
    • 3 Minutes to read
    • Print
    • Dark
      Light
    Article Summary

    Intro

    ancoreShare Extension allows you to control access to the report PDFs through password and permission restrictions.

    All organizations strive to protect their data from prying eyes. At the same time, they want the information to be readily available for people who need to review them. Your reports may contain confidential information, and any security breaches may lead to undesirable consequences and potential legal ramifications of data leaks.


    Enabling PDF Security

    To enable PDF security for your reports, perform the following steps.

    1. On your Sense sheet, select the ancoreShare button for which you want to enable security.
    2. On the properties panel, click Export Settings > PDF Security.
    3. Select this Enable PDF Security option to enable password protection on your report. 

    You can then define:

    Admin Password

    Users with the admin password can perform all PDF operations such as modify, copy, print, add annotations, and so on.
    (Same as for a user with all permissions enabled.)

    User Password

    Users accessing the report using this password can only perform the operations selected in the user permissions below. 

    User Permissions

    Select the permissions for actions allowed to the users. People accessing the report using the User Password will be allowed to perform only the selected operations. You can select none or multiple options from:

    • Print: Select this option to allow users to print the PDF report from any PDF viewer.
    • Modify: Select this option to allow modification of report contents by operations other than those controlled by 'fill forms, extract, and assemble.
    • Copy: Select the option to allow users to copy or otherwise extract text and graphics from the report.
    • Annotations-Forms: Select this option to allow users to add or modify text annotations, fill in interactive form fields, and, if 'modify' is also set, create or modify interactive form fields (including signature fields).

    If no permissions are enabled in this list, the user will only have permission to view the PDF report file.

    NOTE: Entering either the admin or the user password when opening your PDF report file only is connected to "all permissions" or "selected permissions" here. It has no connection to roles or other accessibility features.

    Note
    If PDF Security is enabled, the preview window will also require you to provide the password to see previews. It provides a good way for the designer to check how the passwords are working.

    Settings variations

    Here's a list of various combinations of security settings that may help you in controlling PDF access.

    No security:

    Don't enable PDF Security. The generated PDF file will open with all permissions.

    Only PDF Security:

    Enable the PDF security option, but do not provide any passwords.
    The generated PDF file will open for all with only view permission (as this is the default permission setting).

    PDF security with only user permissions:

    Enable the PDF security option, do not set any password but set some user permissions.
    The generated PDF file will open directly, but with restrictions to the selected permissions. 

    PDF security with only user password:

    Enable the PDF security option, set a user password, but don't set any further permissions (only view permission then by default).
    The generated PDF file can only be opened with the user password and it will be restricted to view permission.

    PDF security with permissions and only user password:

    Enable the PDF security option, set a user password, and enable one or more additional permissions (additional to the default view permission).
    The generated PDF file can only be opened with the user password and it will be restricted to defined permission.

    PDF security with permissions and both passwords:

    Enable the PDF security option, set both admin and user passwords, and enable one or more additional permissions (additional to the default view permission).
    The generated PDF file can be either opened with the admin password and have then all permissions. Also, it can be opened with the user password and have the respective set permissions.

    PDF security with only admin password:

    Enable the PDF security option and provide only the admin password.
    In this case, the generated PDF will NOT show the password dialog box and will open directly, restricted to the defined permissions.

    NOTE: Therefore setting an admin password only makes sense when also setting the user password.



    Next Steps:
    Was this article helpful?
    What's Next