I was asked at work if it was possible to create PDF files that was not printable or could not be copied, i.e. Select all, copy and paste in to a document. After some research it turns out that you can. And very easily!
The World Wildlife Fund came up with it’s own filetype that could not be printed. This uses the file extention wwf and is in fact a non-printable PDF. They would like you to use their own converter when you can actually do it all with the free office suites of OpenOffice.org or LibreOffice. Both are Microsoft Office compatible and a great alternative for people who like free open source software. How far you are willing to take the free bit depends on your own point of view. Here’s a nice write-up on both -> Open Office Dilemma: OpenOffice.org vs LibreOffice
](http://www.infoworld.com/d/applications/open-office-dilemma-openofficeorg-vs-libreoffice-716)
I did this tutorial in Windows (that’s what we use at work :() but I am sure it’s the same no matter what OS you use as long as you use OpenOffice.org or LibreOffice. I would also like to remind people that there is no such thing as perfect security and, no doubt, these files can be cracked and unlocked but it should at least make it a little harder!!
Just follow the following steps:
Open the document in either OpenOffice.org or LibreOffice and select File – Export as PDF
Click on the Security tab and set a permissions password by clicking the corresponding button.
Tick the Not Permitted box in both the Printing and Changes sections. Un-tick the box next to Enable copying of content. The finished screen should look like this.
Click Export to start converting your document. Select a suitable name and location for the new PDF file. By default it’s the same folder and the same file name as the original document.
Your document is now converted. When you open this document in Adobe Reader, the default program for viewing PDF files for a lot of people when using Windows, the top of your screen will look like this:
All How To’s are welcome and have their place here. I must say though that a PDF file that can not be printed is like buying a printer that can not print. A PDF, at least in the beginning, was to allow that original formatting to be viewed and printed. It had the ability to not require you send out the orginal document or the need for the orginal program for which it was written. So, your changes creates a kind of For Your Eyes Only document which only needs to self destruct after it is read to be complete I guess. Perhaps the person at your work that requested this should be the first Guinea pig then. Again, a fine write up, but just a curios subject in a Linux forum.
IMHO, the World Wildlife Fund format (.wwf) is greenwash. It’s also a form of DRM (Digital Rights Management), which is **bad. ** The .wwf converter also adds a WWF advertisement banner to every document: last time I checked, that banner could not be removed.
Alll the .wwf format does is automatically disable the PDF print flag. You can do that yourself without using WWF’s converter. And a .wwf can actually be cracked and printed using GhostScript.
Yes, that’s silly. They’re promoting as theirs a capability that OOo has had for quite some time.
There’s no way to really impede printing/copying. If you can see it, you can print/copy it - even if it takes some additional steps.
Also, some viewers also let you disregard restrictions.
The only way I know to avoid direct copy (character cut/paste) is to rasterize the PDF. KPDF can do this, it’s what it’s “protect” tab does. Of course the copier can type the text back, but it will at least make him do some work.
You can even do this to existing PDFs using the command line tool pdftk. It requires encryption and a password to be supplied. See the allow command of pdftk.
This sort of “protection” only works when all PDF viewer apps cooperate. It is always possible to crack the password and modify the “permissions”. A “rogue” app can be used to do this. Therefore this should not be relied upon for secrecy but simply to make things a little more difficult for the casual viewer to bypass.
This is very true and mentioned in the write up. There’s no such thing as perfect security when it comes to these types of documents.
This particular case was to enable wards in our hospital to view document controlled documents on a read only basis. All printed copies are logged and registered. But this way they are accessible digitally. Someone can always run off with a copy but the same problem exists with the printed copies. A copier is never far away.
I put this How-to here because I used OSS for the job. It’s OS independent and I just thought it could be a handy thing to know for other people.
If anyone objects to it being here I have no problems in it being removed.
He was and he lost the bet of trying to print a document made in this way without resorting to cracking software that is not available in the hospital.
It served a business need and I just thought other people might benefit of this knowledge.
Latest was when submitting a write-up of one of my blogs to some possible future collaborators / publishers / institutions. I don’t want to write a stranger and then see my hard work issued in someone else’s name. Although I tend to trust most people I also feel like not making copy/paste too easy and effectively impossible to 99.9% of the folks out there who wouldn’t be able to think of a way around this security.
have read the notes mentioning that this is not a can NOT copy/print
the PDF how-to…but rather how-to make it more difficult for some
folks to print/copy the PDF…
reminds me of my dad’s wise words: Locks are only to keep honest people out.
(because a door lock (for example) is no barrier to some folks,
and neither will this how-to keep a determined, suitably knowledgeable
and equipped individual from misusing the PDF’s information…)
–
DenverD
CAVEAT: http://is.gd/bpoMD
[NNTP posted w/openSUSE 11.3, KDE4.5.5, Thunderbird3.1.8, nVidia
173.14.28 3D, Athlon 64 3000+]
“It is far easier to read, understand and follow the instructions than
to undo the problems caused by not.” DD 23 Jan 11
On 2011-03-26, Dexter1979 <Dexter1979@no-mx.forums.opensuse.org> wrote:
>
> Thanks for the reply. Nice to know I’m not alone in liking the feature…
>:)
On 2011-03-27, DenverD <DenverD@no-mx.forums.opensuse.org> wrote:
> have read the notes mentioning that this is not a can NOT copy/print
> the PDF how-to…but rather how-to make it more difficult for some
> folks to print/copy the PDF…
It is nothing. Certainly not a protection.
Merely a request that the document may not be copied or printed. It only
works if the viewer (i.e. Acrobat Reader) reads and honours these requests.
Lots of PDF readers don’t bother with it, in my experience.
Want to remove those silly flags ?
Open the PDF with Document Viewer, Okular or most of the other PDF viewers
you can easily find.
Print to a new PDF.
End of “protection” (annoyance, really).
We don’t honour DVD encryption that tries to refrain us from viewing it’s
contents on our preferred device.
So why would we accept such a limit for reading a document?
If I am given a document to read, why would I be forced to do so on a
monitor, rather than on paper, or from a file format supported on a device
that has no PDF capability?
On 2011-03-27 22:45, Rikishi42 wrote:
> On 2011-03-26, Dexter1979 <Dexter1979@no-mx.forums.opensuse.org> wrote:
>>
>> Thanks for the reply. Nice to know I’m not alone in liking the feature…
>>
>
> Well, now there’s 2 of you. Enjoy the company!
>
>
Such a feature is needed wherever you access restricted documentation; but
in such places they also control what software you can have on the computers.
You can not install anything yourself, so these things work, as there is no
software available to break the controls.
Forget about plugging an usb memory stick: the bus may have no wires
connected, and the box is locked and alarmed.
There are such things as fonts designed so that OCR do not work, too.
Needles to say, manage to bypass the restrictions and you are fired.
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 11.2 x86_64 “Emerald” at Telcontar)
On 2011-03-27 23:03, Rikishi42 wrote:
> If I am given a document to read, why would I be forced to do so on a
> monitor, rather than on paper, or from a file format supported on a device
> that has no PDF capability?
So that you do not take private patient data and sell it to the press, for
instance.
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 11.2 x86_64 “Emerald” at Telcontar)
On 2011-03-27, Carlos E. R. <robin_listas@no-mx.forums.opensuse.org> wrote:
> On 2011-03-27 23:03, Rikishi42 wrote:
>> If I am given a document to read, why would I be forced to do so on a
>> monitor, rather than on paper, or from a file format supported on a device
>> that has no PDF capability?
>
> So that you do not take private patient data and sell it to the press, for
> instance.
That is the good case.
… so that you do no take confidentiel criminal information and give it to
the press, is another instance.
In our case it means you don’t take a controlled copy of a document and create your own printouts. We have a document that is on every ward and all copies are version controlled and kept up to date. This way people have access to it on their pc without being able to print and keep a copy in their office.
It is interesting to see that this how-to created a bit of a discussion… Been a interesting read so far… Thanks everyone!
I am a newcomer to this forum, so I am not sure whether I understand your question correctly. Are you asking for a PDF component?
youcan try a free trial of this PDF component to re-edit it according to your own requirements.
it’s pretty great.
it i got your point, i have a good news for you: Yiigo also offers many free trials of different plugins dealing with Pdf documents.
i do hope it will be helpful.
