Yes, I know–the security thing all over again. I probably have you booing at the title already. Well go head, but this might help you out with your PDF conversions.
How did I get back to this topic? There was an article just last month on eWeek.com reporting hacking possibilities through the exploitation of an Adobe PDF file. It’s been on the radars since July with hints that it could be possible to launch computer attacks via PDFs that are opened in Adobe Reader. Having read that, the situation seems like all the other “beware??? stories concerning security (potential attack through commonly used software).
Yet, how about a new spin on that security issue–the conversion spin: Can security features have an effect on the conversion of a PDF? The answer is yes.
While you safely secure your PDFs to ensure the integrity of the file, the same features may actually prevent you from successfully converting it. Of course, if you think about it, it makes sense that it should do so. Thus, ironically, the PDFs you’re handling may be a little too safe.
Generally, security features will exist for native PDF files only. Users can check this to be sure: open the PDF in Adobe Reader, select the Document Properties command under the File menu, and select the Security tab (in particular, content copying and extract should be allowed).
Trying to convert a secured PDF will usually result in fatal error messages, blank document conversions, documents with garbage text, encryption errors, etc.
Minor restrictions, like simple open password protected PDFs, you can solve with simple enough solutions—the password. Unfortunately our software can’t convert PDFs with more advanced security features.
From the user standpoint, it can undoubtedly be an annoyance. Yet, from the creator standpoint, the job is well done. So, if you’re having any of the above problems while converting—heads up! It may be that security thing again.
