I have very recently started working with pdfs. I need to disable printing of my pdfs based on user types. Can someone please tell me how to do this? The pdfs I need to manipulate have the following information in their Document properties: "Application = QuarkXPress 4.11 LaserWriter 8 8.7.1", "PDFProducer=Acrobat Distiller 5.0.5 for Macintosh", "PDFVersion=1.6 (Acrobat 7.0)"
How to disable printing of pdf
2007-07-19 13:26:02
2007-07-19 14:06:20
#1
In Acro Pro you can restrict printing. With the file open, go to Document properties and select the security tab. Select the Passwod Security from the pull down menu. Then select restrict printing. You will need to create a password.
2007-07-19 14:17:52
#2
For the user types you want to be able to print your PDFs, you will have to get an Acrobat Digital ID from them and then add these users and their certificate to allow them printing permissions for the PDFs you will distribute.
2007-07-20 10:59:24
#3
Sean76 & gkaiseril: Thanks for the response. I was looking at the Documment properties -> Security tab. I am not seeing any dropdown in that window. It doesn't look like anything in that is "modifiable". Where do I need to look to get access to do the modifications? What modifications should I make?Thanks !
2007-07-20 11:26:36
#4
In version 7 Acrobat, not Reader, using Acrobat's menu bar, select "File => Document Properties" and then select the 'Security tab and the "Security method:" option will be a drop down box. It is also possible to set the security restrictions in Distiller, but this will affect all created PDFs.
2007-07-26 07:28:36
#5
OK. Now I have the Acrobat Profession 7.0 installed and I am able to see the Document properties. I am also able to disable the print option of the pdf from here. But how do I programmatically disable printing? i.e. if I choose the Document Action -> will print -> What should my javascript look like? My requirement is: if (boolean x) print, else disable print. Assume I store the boolean value in request / session.Thanks for your help :)
2007-07-26 08:18:44
#6
The "Will Print" does not allow the cancellation of printing, it just provides a hook to do some other action like adding a watermark, hiding or displaying fields etc.. Acrobat's security for printing is an all or nothing option.
It should be noted that the security options and "Will Print" document option is available in the Standard version of Acrobat.
The Professional version adds the ability to create an distribute forms and other very advanced actions.
It should be noted that the security options and "Will Print" document option is available in the Standard version of Acrobat.
The Professional version adds the ability to create an distribute forms and other very advanced actions.
2007-07-26 12:35:30
#7
Does that mean I will not be able to programmatically disable printing? If yes, what are my solutions other than duplicating the templates - one with printing disabled and another one that allows printing.... Thanks !
2010-05-02 21:00:19
#8
Hello KN,
I would suggest you to try Restrict PDF program to disable PDF printing. I have used this tool a week ago and able to disable PDF printing in just few seconds.
You can download the tool from the following link:
http://www.restrictpdf.com/disable-pdf-printing.php
Regards,
Allen Solly
I would suggest you to try Restrict PDF program to disable PDF printing. I have used this tool a week ago and able to disable PDF printing in just few seconds.
You can download the tool from the following link:
http://www.restrictpdf.com/disable-pdf-printing.php
Regards,
Allen Solly
2010-05-03 02:45:03
#9
@allensolly12: Spam notwithstanding, nothing about your program is any less trivial to bypass than applying a permissions password in Acrobat, and would do nothing to help KN, who wanted a solution to change permissions based on who was opening the file - that's not possible unless the PDF is distributed using DRM.
There are mountains of completely free ways to create PDFs using non-Adobe software, and many allow open/perms passwords to be applied - but it's important to remember that it's only an illusion of security.
There are mountains of completely free ways to create PDFs using non-Adobe software, and many allow open/perms passwords to be applied - but it's important to remember that it's only an illusion of security.
2010-08-10 20:22:46
#10
@UVSAR and also gkaiseril:
Not to continue beating a dead horse, but I am very new to Adobe Acrobat 9 Professional, just having downloaded the trial version to see if it will meet my business needs. My situation appears to be similar to KN in that I want to RESTRICT the printing of the pdf downloads (which are sheet music arrangements that we are selling at www.YasudaMusic.net) to just those individuals who actually made the purchase of our downloads.
In particular, we want to PREVENT the situation where a potential unscrupulous purchaser of our pdf product should happen to e-mail our pdf as an attachment to a friend or student and that individual, who did NOT pay for our product, attempts to print our pdf. This situation, of course, means lost profits to our business.
In reading through all the security material, it would appear that the use of passwords will not work.
However, in reading what both of you have written, (i) getting an Acrobat Digital ID from each purchaser, then (ii) assigning a certificate to each buyer that gives printing permission to the pdfs that they purchase, should solve my problem.
Am I correct?
Thanks for confirming (or if not, correcting) my understanding.
Ken Yasuda
Atlanta, GA
www.YasudaMusic.net
Not to continue beating a dead horse, but I am very new to Adobe Acrobat 9 Professional, just having downloaded the trial version to see if it will meet my business needs. My situation appears to be similar to KN in that I want to RESTRICT the printing of the pdf downloads (which are sheet music arrangements that we are selling at www.YasudaMusic.net) to just those individuals who actually made the purchase of our downloads.
In particular, we want to PREVENT the situation where a potential unscrupulous purchaser of our pdf product should happen to e-mail our pdf as an attachment to a friend or student and that individual, who did NOT pay for our product, attempts to print our pdf. This situation, of course, means lost profits to our business.
In reading through all the security material, it would appear that the use of passwords will not work.
However, in reading what both of you have written, (i) getting an Acrobat Digital ID from each purchaser, then (ii) assigning a certificate to each buyer that gives printing permission to the pdfs that they purchase, should solve my problem.
Am I correct?
Thanks for confirming (or if not, correcting) my understanding.
Ken Yasuda
Atlanta, GA
www.YasudaMusic.net
2010-08-11 02:11:06
#11
In theory yes, but given your need to handle lots of customers outside your control (i.e. they won't have their own digital IDs), the only realistic solution is to use something like PDF/A served over Adobe Digital Editions: http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaleditions/
ADE is a free downloadable reader application that can display eBooks in several formats, which are protected against copying using DRM, so you can rent and sell copies with total control over who can do what and where, and all the customer needs is to create an Adobe ID for their email address - not a digital certificate.
The content itself is secured by Adobe Content Server 4, which handles all the DRM for each book and customer: http://www.adobe.com/products/contentserver/
You must however understand that while the ADE client is free, Content Server is [u]extremely expensive[/u] to run, as not only do you need to buy the software, but you need to have an active connection to a live signing server, and of course a method of taking payments and entering each customer into the ACS database. It's one of the Adobe products that doesn't display a price on the website, and the Rodeo Drive mantra applies; "[i]If you have to ask how much, you can't afford it[/i]".
ADE is a free downloadable reader application that can display eBooks in several formats, which are protected against copying using DRM, so you can rent and sell copies with total control over who can do what and where, and all the customer needs is to create an Adobe ID for their email address - not a digital certificate.
The content itself is secured by Adobe Content Server 4, which handles all the DRM for each book and customer: http://www.adobe.com/products/contentserver/
You must however understand that while the ADE client is free, Content Server is [u]extremely expensive[/u] to run, as not only do you need to buy the software, but you need to have an active connection to a live signing server, and of course a method of taking payments and entering each customer into the ACS database. It's one of the Adobe products that doesn't display a price on the website, and the Rodeo Drive mantra applies; "[i]If you have to ask how much, you can't afford it[/i]".
However, in reading what both of you have written, (i) getting an Acrobat Digital ID from each purchaser, then (ii) assigning a certificate to each buyer that gives printing permission to the pdfs that they purchase, should solve my problem.Am I correct?
2010-08-11 10:07:01
#12
Thanks UVSAR for the further clarification and for giving me an alternative option.
I discovered, after I posted my questions last night, and you confirmed today, that Adobe's digital certificates work best in a "controlled environment." As you pointed out, the majority of our buyers will not have their own Adobe digital IDs -- this is something I was questioning myself, so digital certificates really won't work.
With respect to the ADE alternative solution you mentioned, apart from the pricing issue, aka the Rodeo Drive mantra, I see another MAJOR LOOPHOLE that some cleaver buyers may attempt to exploit.
As you put it, "all the customer needs is to create an Adobe ID for their email address," and given how easy it is to create a free dedicated email music arrangement purchasing account that A NUMBER OF people can share -- using gmail, for instance, then in making just ONE download purchase of music arrangements, potential a large number of people will have access to this product. Not good for our business, obviously.
Again, this will involve a trust factor entering in...something, unfortunately, that is not as prevalent any more in today's society.
Am I incorrect in the email workings of ADE? That is, does this loophole exist?
Thanks for any input that you or any other forum experts might provide.
Ken Yasuda
Atlanta, GA
I discovered, after I posted my questions last night, and you confirmed today, that Adobe's digital certificates work best in a "controlled environment." As you pointed out, the majority of our buyers will not have their own Adobe digital IDs -- this is something I was questioning myself, so digital certificates really won't work.
With respect to the ADE alternative solution you mentioned, apart from the pricing issue, aka the Rodeo Drive mantra, I see another MAJOR LOOPHOLE that some cleaver buyers may attempt to exploit.
As you put it, "all the customer needs is to create an Adobe ID for their email address," and given how easy it is to create a free dedicated email music arrangement purchasing account that A NUMBER OF people can share -- using gmail, for instance, then in making just ONE download purchase of music arrangements, potential a large number of people will have access to this product. Not good for our business, obviously.
Again, this will involve a trust factor entering in...something, unfortunately, that is not as prevalent any more in today's society.
Am I incorrect in the email workings of ADE? That is, does this loophole exist?
Thanks for any input that you or any other forum experts might provide.
Ken Yasuda
Atlanta, GA
2010-08-12 01:26:40
#13
With all public-sale DRM systems there is the potential for customers to share their details, but as every copy of an ADE ebook must be "activated", you can prevent more than one person using it at the same time and track any suspicious activity.
The only fraud-proof methods of access are those used by some banking systems, where a unique electronic USB key or credit card swipe machine must be used to log in, and this is of course impractical for other types of business. Anything else that relies on passwords, PIN numbers etc is naturally open to sharing, but as the original account holder is identified, they are often afraid of being caught - for example if you have their real identity on record from a credit card purchase, their "fake" email address isn't important.
In the online sector we all (Adobe, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, etc) expect and allow for some piracy, and build the cost of those lost copies into our pricing structures. It's also argued by some people that pirated copies, provided they aren't too common, will act as a useful advertising tool and attract some more genuine customers - especially if you have many other products on offer. We don't condone illegal file sharing and work hard to prevent it, but there is a commercial balance between the cost of stopping every last pirated copy and the profits on the entire product line.
The only fraud-proof methods of access are those used by some banking systems, where a unique electronic USB key or credit card swipe machine must be used to log in, and this is of course impractical for other types of business. Anything else that relies on passwords, PIN numbers etc is naturally open to sharing, but as the original account holder is identified, they are often afraid of being caught - for example if you have their real identity on record from a credit card purchase, their "fake" email address isn't important.
In the online sector we all (Adobe, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, etc) expect and allow for some piracy, and build the cost of those lost copies into our pricing structures. It's also argued by some people that pirated copies, provided they aren't too common, will act as a useful advertising tool and attract some more genuine customers - especially if you have many other products on offer. We don't condone illegal file sharing and work hard to prevent it, but there is a commercial balance between the cost of stopping every last pirated copy and the profits on the entire product line.
2010-08-12 06:57:08
#14
Thanks again UVSAR for taking the time in providing such a very clear explanation!
Thus far, the ADE ebook route appears to be the best alternative.
I myself am a former Academic Economist who is now an Internet Marketer working primarily in the Internet Marketing training field. In theory, I agree with what you have written regarding piracy in the online sector and how our costs should reflect this loss. I also agree with the delicate balance that you mentioned, that some piracy can actually be a good thing in that it has the potential to increase business and profits by serving as additional advertisement.
These "facts" have been seen and proven for those online businesses you listed, which, while ALL in the online sector, I would argue, fall into certain industry classifications.
I am not, however, at all entirely convinced that every online business can possibly weather piracy; it all depends on which industry classification this business fits into and also what the market structure is that this business finds itself in, in particular, whether there is a large (quasi-monopoly) firm that dominates this niche.
Let me expand on these points for just a moment.
My wife Martha is the music arranger on our husband-wife team, and quite an excellent one at that, being the arranger for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; she was also trained at one of the best music conservatories in this country in violin, at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY.
It is Martha who is quite apprehensive about placing her downloadable arrangements online without some type of DRM-protection...based on her experience with musicians (both teaching and playing in numerous symphonies) and the various music institutions and organizations over the past 35 years.
Martha is certainly not saying that ALL musicians and related institutions/organizations are thieves...but she has certainly seen enough odd things happen to and around her to give her pause.
Specifically, much of her musical arrangements are geared to be sold to the Suzuki violin, viola and cello audience. This market is structured in such a way that one teacher with their private studio may have anywhere from 15 to 45 private students or more; Martha herself has 32 private violin students (she keeps busy!).
If Martha's downloadable sheet music is not DRM-protected in some manner, it could be very tempting for a teacher to simply attach the PDF to an email and send it to his or her entire private studio...and, of course, if this were to happen, then immediately, the opportunity for these private studio sales would be gone forever!
Martha just wants to remove this immediate temptation from the teacher.
We realize that should the teacher really want to supply their students with these arrangements, they can do so in a number of ways. One possibility is to simply scan the arrangements, saving them as new PDFs, and then sending these out via email. However, this would take a more deliberate act of larceny.
There is one additional major issue that enters into this equation.
Because of potential copyright issues with this Suzuki material, Martha was wisely advised by our IP attorneys to introduce some new "bowing and fingering" techniques in her new variations of the Suzuki arrangements that may be viewed as being quite "revolutionary" by some (perhaps initially, many) in the Suzuki community. This community is quite close and we are not sure what the consensus reaction will be.
We have done quite a bit of test marketing, and while the overwhelming majority of the over 50 Suzuki teachers that Martha talked to definitely liked the arrangements for their musicality, it is not clear in the final analysis what the market's overall reaction will be.
Again, hypothetically, because the Suzuki community is a very tight knit group, all it would take is for a small but influential subset that DIDN'T LIKE Martha's new "bowing and finger" techniques to BUY her downloadable PDF arrangements and then start sending them out via email to every Suzuki program that they know (and it could potentially be a large fraction of the Suzuki programs -- if not ALL of the Suzuki programs in the US)...and thus, effectively destroying Martha's marketing initiative, preventing her from making any money at all from her endeavors, this under the premise that Martha's arrangements are not DRM-protected.
Do I sound paranoid?
Perhaps...but perhaps not.
Let me add one additional true fact that will shed some additional light.
There exists a very large music Publishing Company (PC) that has an Exclusive Publishing Relationship with the Suzuki Association of the Americas, the name of this PC is really not germane to this discussion, but what is important is that Martha just ended a stormy three year distribution contract with this PC this past July 24, 2010. We chose NOT to renew this distribution contract because this PC (which had previously bought out Warner Brothers' Music Publishing -- the Company we really wanted to do business with) didn't properly advertise Martha's Christmas Melodies Books (the advertisements came out AFTER Christmas!! -- which obviously didn't help our sales at all!!). This PC made no ownership of their repeated errors (this happened more than once!), which is the sign of total arrogance of a monopolist, which this PC is for the Suzuki niche.
Because of this very bad relationship between Martha and this PC and because Martha's new arrangements, which focus in on the Suzuki market in a novel and fresh way (she has a tremendous number of arrangements...filling over 30 Volumes!) will be in direct competition with this PC (I believe it will seriously reduce this PC's sales), I don't believe Martha or I are being paranoid in the least.
We just want to protect all the hard work that Martha has done!
This particular segment of the music industry is fundamentally different than almost any other industry that I have encountered in all my years as an Academic Economist...having taught at several universities, and then going into the public/private sectors as Chief Economist at a Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and a large Insurance Company.
It is considerably different than the utility monopolies that we oversaw at the PUC, because even these monopolies were regulated. In this instance, for the Suzuki niche, because of their Exclusive Publishing Relationship with the Suzuki Association of the Americas, and also their Size, this PC is in essence, an unregulated monopoly, acting with pure, unadulterated arrogance.
To sum up, I think it is sufficient to say that it is very important to understand the underlying nature of the market that one is in and how it works to determine whether it makes sense to invest in DRM. Because it really is an investment, not a cost.
Thanks for hearing me rant!
Best regards,
Ken Yasuda
Atlanta, GA
www.YasudaMusic.net
(We are about 2 weeks away from launch...hopefully!)
Thus far, the ADE ebook route appears to be the best alternative.
I myself am a former Academic Economist who is now an Internet Marketer working primarily in the Internet Marketing training field. In theory, I agree with what you have written regarding piracy in the online sector and how our costs should reflect this loss. I also agree with the delicate balance that you mentioned, that some piracy can actually be a good thing in that it has the potential to increase business and profits by serving as additional advertisement.
These "facts" have been seen and proven for those online businesses you listed, which, while ALL in the online sector, I would argue, fall into certain industry classifications.
I am not, however, at all entirely convinced that every online business can possibly weather piracy; it all depends on which industry classification this business fits into and also what the market structure is that this business finds itself in, in particular, whether there is a large (quasi-monopoly) firm that dominates this niche.
Let me expand on these points for just a moment.
My wife Martha is the music arranger on our husband-wife team, and quite an excellent one at that, being the arranger for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; she was also trained at one of the best music conservatories in this country in violin, at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY.
It is Martha who is quite apprehensive about placing her downloadable arrangements online without some type of DRM-protection...based on her experience with musicians (both teaching and playing in numerous symphonies) and the various music institutions and organizations over the past 35 years.
Martha is certainly not saying that ALL musicians and related institutions/organizations are thieves...but she has certainly seen enough odd things happen to and around her to give her pause.
Specifically, much of her musical arrangements are geared to be sold to the Suzuki violin, viola and cello audience. This market is structured in such a way that one teacher with their private studio may have anywhere from 15 to 45 private students or more; Martha herself has 32 private violin students (she keeps busy!).
If Martha's downloadable sheet music is not DRM-protected in some manner, it could be very tempting for a teacher to simply attach the PDF to an email and send it to his or her entire private studio...and, of course, if this were to happen, then immediately, the opportunity for these private studio sales would be gone forever!
Martha just wants to remove this immediate temptation from the teacher.
We realize that should the teacher really want to supply their students with these arrangements, they can do so in a number of ways. One possibility is to simply scan the arrangements, saving them as new PDFs, and then sending these out via email. However, this would take a more deliberate act of larceny.
There is one additional major issue that enters into this equation.
Because of potential copyright issues with this Suzuki material, Martha was wisely advised by our IP attorneys to introduce some new "bowing and fingering" techniques in her new variations of the Suzuki arrangements that may be viewed as being quite "revolutionary" by some (perhaps initially, many) in the Suzuki community. This community is quite close and we are not sure what the consensus reaction will be.
We have done quite a bit of test marketing, and while the overwhelming majority of the over 50 Suzuki teachers that Martha talked to definitely liked the arrangements for their musicality, it is not clear in the final analysis what the market's overall reaction will be.
Again, hypothetically, because the Suzuki community is a very tight knit group, all it would take is for a small but influential subset that DIDN'T LIKE Martha's new "bowing and finger" techniques to BUY her downloadable PDF arrangements and then start sending them out via email to every Suzuki program that they know (and it could potentially be a large fraction of the Suzuki programs -- if not ALL of the Suzuki programs in the US)...and thus, effectively destroying Martha's marketing initiative, preventing her from making any money at all from her endeavors, this under the premise that Martha's arrangements are not DRM-protected.
Do I sound paranoid?
Perhaps...but perhaps not.
Let me add one additional true fact that will shed some additional light.
There exists a very large music Publishing Company (PC) that has an Exclusive Publishing Relationship with the Suzuki Association of the Americas, the name of this PC is really not germane to this discussion, but what is important is that Martha just ended a stormy three year distribution contract with this PC this past July 24, 2010. We chose NOT to renew this distribution contract because this PC (which had previously bought out Warner Brothers' Music Publishing -- the Company we really wanted to do business with) didn't properly advertise Martha's Christmas Melodies Books (the advertisements came out AFTER Christmas!! -- which obviously didn't help our sales at all!!). This PC made no ownership of their repeated errors (this happened more than once!), which is the sign of total arrogance of a monopolist, which this PC is for the Suzuki niche.
Because of this very bad relationship between Martha and this PC and because Martha's new arrangements, which focus in on the Suzuki market in a novel and fresh way (she has a tremendous number of arrangements...filling over 30 Volumes!) will be in direct competition with this PC (I believe it will seriously reduce this PC's sales), I don't believe Martha or I are being paranoid in the least.
We just want to protect all the hard work that Martha has done!
This particular segment of the music industry is fundamentally different than almost any other industry that I have encountered in all my years as an Academic Economist...having taught at several universities, and then going into the public/private sectors as Chief Economist at a Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and a large Insurance Company.
It is considerably different than the utility monopolies that we oversaw at the PUC, because even these monopolies were regulated. In this instance, for the Suzuki niche, because of their Exclusive Publishing Relationship with the Suzuki Association of the Americas, and also their Size, this PC is in essence, an unregulated monopoly, acting with pure, unadulterated arrogance.
To sum up, I think it is sufficient to say that it is very important to understand the underlying nature of the market that one is in and how it works to determine whether it makes sense to invest in DRM. Because it really is an investment, not a cost.
Thanks for hearing me rant!
Best regards,
Ken Yasuda
Atlanta, GA
www.YasudaMusic.net
(We are about 2 weeks away from launch...hopefully!)