Apple really did do many people a favour by including the “Print-to-PDF” ability in OS X. This popular feature conveniently allows you to quickly preserve a document’s layout in a PDF format – the advantage being that the document’s layout will be preserved, and the PDF can be viewed on many computers and tablets.
If you’re using a PDF document with some sensitive information, it’s best to at least add the step of protecting the document with a password. To do this, you can either compress the document into a ZIP file, or can use an encrypted disk image in OS X. But the easiest method to password protect is to simply encrypt the PDF file, which is what we’ll be showing you how to do today!
Now, you can either choose to directly print an encrypted PDF (not that straightforward, but a simple procedure) or encrypt your PDF via Preview. Both methods are outlined below, so choose whichever your prefer:
How To Print An “Encypted” PDF
1. Select the document you want to encrypt from your browser, and select the Print option (Usually accessible by “Command + P”)
2. Select the “Print To PDF” in the Print Dialog box, and select “Open PDF in Preview.” If you’re using Google Chrome, this option is at the end of the window:
3. Once the PDF is open in Preview, press “Command + S” to save the document, or navigate to “File -> Save”.
4. In the save dialog box, check the “Encrypt” check box and enter a password for the PDF, and then save it to your desktop or wherever you would like.
This will result in the file being encrypted with the password you entered. You can now store the file wherever you want. Just remember to keep the password safe; you won’t be able to open the document without it.
How To Encrypt A PDF File Using Preview:
1. Open up the PDF file in Preview.
2. From the File menu, select “Export As PDF.”
3. In the save dialog box, click on the “Show Details” option. Here, check the “Encrypt” check box and enter a password for the PDF, and then save it to your desktop or wherever you like.
That’s it; you now have an encrypted PDF file. Any questions? Be sure to post them below in the comments.
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Shujaa Imran
Shujaa Imran is MakeTechEasier’s resident Mac tutorial writer. He’s currently training to follow his other passion become a commercial pilot. You can check his content out on Youtube
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