Remove password from PDF: It asks for owner password but...

[fvnet]

Hello, just switched my subscription from Acrobat Pro to yours and so far so good.

I have this issue though. Our monthly payslips in pdf format are protected with a simple password (128bit) that is our VAT number. You enter it and the pdf opens.

However if i would like to remove completely the

565656.pdf

protection of this pdf it asks for owner password which is unknown.

If I use the PDF unlocking feature of another PDF editor, it completely unlocks it immediately without even asking the open password

How about implementing also similar in your software?

Take this pdf that i am uploading for example 565656.pdf .
The password is 565656. The change permissions or owner password is 565657
the other PDF editor unlocks it immediately. PDF-Xchange plus doesn't

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, fvnet

I am sorry to say that we are beholden to respect the security on these files where possible, even if others choose not to. PDF-Xchange has no plans in place to change that stance.

Kind regards,

[fvnet]

Thank you for your reply which is well noted.
I personally remove passwords from my monthly pay slips and archive them.
Possibly you could consider letting the end user to decide the fate of the security of documents. You could just provide the tools.
Standing stiff to one's stance isn't always the best option.

Best Regards from Greece

[Sean - PDF-XChange]

Hi fvnet,

The security of documents is always in the hands of the document owner. If the owner has not given a user the password — there is presumably a reason for them not doing so, and that reason/security should be respected.

Kind regards,

[fvnet]

Hello,
PDF monthly payslips are auto created by HR payroll software and locked to open with employees VAT number as password. There is no option to find the owner's password since there is no owner actually (probably the initial developer of the payroll software had embedded it somewhere in the code)

Therefore we resort to third party online tools to remove that (indeed) useless password and not our beloved PDF-Xchange editor which we are so fond of and hence our recent purchase of the Plus version with 3 years maintenance.

Sincerely

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, fvnet

Perhaps there is a misunderstanding here. If you know the password for the document, you certainly can remove it from the file, simply open the document properties (Ctrl_D) and change the security method to "no security". This will allow you to save the file without the security, assuming you know the password in order to remove it.

image.png

The form of removal we will not be considering is when you do not have the credentials on hand. If you do not know the password, if you do not have the certificate that was used for securing it locally available, it becomes a breach of the security standards put in place to circumnavigate it.

Kind regards,

[fvnet]

Hello,
This is exactly the issue that I am describing.

I know the pdf password, I am being asked to enter it at opening, I can open it and print it or whatever.

When i try to set the security to no security it asks for owners password which we are all unaware of.
See attached

sc01_05072120.jpg

We need to resort to that other online pdf tool to remove the password and security completely.
We do it actually fairly often not only for me, many employees are of older age and we are receiving calls that the file does not open etc they don't understand that they need to enter their vat as pass

[Sean - PDF-XChange]

Hi fvnet,

Thanks for that - I understand the difficulty and frustration you're experiencing, but I'm afraid there is no way to resolve this issue using PDF-XChange Editor, unless you have the owner password for the document in question. In other words, I'm afraid the issue here is with the document, rather than with our software. I'd suggest you talk to your payroll team and ask them to take a look at the issue, as it appears to affect many users and apparently doesn't serve any useful purpose. Sorry we couldn't help you this time.

Kind regards,