When we work on files related to the office automation sector, there are many types of files that we are going to find. Serve as a clear example in this case, the DOCX of Word, or the XLSX of Excel , both Microsoft programs. But we cannot ignore a format that has not stopped growing in recent years, we are referring to PDFs.
These are a type of file that are characterized, among other things, by their versatility and compatibility. They also support all kinds of content so that we can add elements such as photos, video, graphics, links, signatures, buttons, etc. In fact and thanks to the fact that its editing is not as simple or affordable as it happens, for example, with a Word file, these are even used in official documents.
At the same time, they become a type of file more than suitable for issuing invoices or estimates, since we want the recipient not to be able to modify them. It is for all this that we comment, so these PDFs are increasingly used in all kinds of environments and uses. However, one thing is that they are more complicated to edit, and another thing is that it is impossible. To all this we must add that its reading is as affordable as it happens with the aforementioned files from Microsoft’s Word editor. If to all this we add the fact that we usually share this content online, send it by mail or upload it to the web, the best we can do is protect it properly, as we will see.
Use a password when saving
Most of the programs that deal with files in PDF format allow us, when saving them, to add a password. This will be mandatory in the future so that other users can access the content of the file as such. Of course, we can always pass the password to the users we are interested in who can read the contents of the PDF.
Encrypt them with a specific program
Even for greater security, whether the PDF has a password included or not, as we have seen before, we can always use an additional protection system. Thus, we can use a specific encryption application that protects the file as such and thus no one can read its content if we share it, unless we want it, of course.
Add them to an encrypted ZIP
In the event that we are going to share or send several files of this type, another of the most interesting options that we can use is to use a ZIP file. In it we could add all these files and, in turn, add a password to the compressed file to open it. In fact we could carry out the two steps given previously for greater protection.
Add permissions
On the other hand, instead of being so strict on the security issue, another step to take is to assign permissions to the file as such. In this way, something that many of the specific PDF programs support is to specify permissions so that it cannot be modified , read, printed, etc.
