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How to Save PDF with Password on Windows, Mac, and Online

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Saving PDF documents that contain sensitive information with a password is very smart. It protects your information from unauthorized access and allows you to share your document safely without worrying about your information getting into the hands of the wrong person.

So, suppose you’re looking to share a PDF file that contains information like your financial statement, a business agreement, or more; it’s advisable to save the PDF with a password to ensure only folks whom you need to access the file’s information can open and view. But the question is, how do you go about it?

Well, the good news is there are several methods to save PDFs with password. And in this post, we’ll show you how to save PDF with password, be it on Windows, Mac, or online.

Part 1: How to Save PDF with Password Using PDFelement (Windows, Mac)

Our first and best method to save PDF with a password is by using the Wondershare PDFelement software. Yes, this is because the software offers several handy features that allow users to password-protect PDF documents using modern technology.

With PDFelement, you can add different types of passwords, including Open passwords and permission passwords. Plus, it supports different password encryption levels, including 128bitAES, 256bitAES, and 128bitRC4.

You can’t go wrong using the PDFelement software to add a password to your PDF. And besides being a PDF encryption tool, it can also perform various PDF editing activities, like password protection, Bates numbering, annotation, and many more. All these take only a few clicks.

Key features:

  • Supports different types of top-level password encryption for PDF files.
  • Easily assign different passwords to open, enter, change, and print PDF documents.
  • Boasts a wide range of PDF editing functionalities.
  • Supports OCR that allows users to turn scanned documents into searchable and editable text.
  • Add signature to PDF quickly and easily.
  • Supports batch processing that allows users to handle batch PDF files simultaneously.

Here is how to save PDF with a password using PDFelement;

Step 1 Install & Launch PDFelement

Visit the official website and download PDFelement software. Then, install it on your PC and launch the program.

Step 2 Open PDF File(S)

Click Open at the bottom left side and upload the PDF file that you want to save with a password.

open pdf file from pdfelement

Step 3 Set A Password On the PDF

Click Protect from the right side of the top bar and select Set Password.

set a password to pdf

In the pop-up window that shows up, you’ll see two options; Open Password and Permission Password. The permission password allows you to set a print permission password and a change permission password.

Print permission password: Restricts unallowed persons from printing the PDF

Changes permission password: prevents unallowed persons from making changes to the document.

Type your PDF password and choose a preferred encryption level. Then, click Save to proceed.

select encryption level for pdf

Step 4 Save PDF File

Finally, click File from the top-left corner and select Save or Save As from the drop-down menu to save the PDF with a password to your PC’s storage.

save pdf with password

Part 2: How to Save PDF with Password by Microsoft Office (Windows, Mac)

Another way you can save PDFs with password on Mac or Windows computer is by using Microsoft office. Although it is not an ideal tool for handling PDF documents, it can password-protect documents, and it does the work efficiently. However, keep in mind that using this method to save PDF with a password will alter the format of your document depending on the Microsoft Office app you use in viewing it.

The following steps explain the process of using Microsoft Office to save PDFs with a password on Mac or Windows;

Step 1 Open your PDF document on any Microsoft Office app. For this guide, we used Microsoft Word.

open pdf from microsoft office

Once you open your PDF file in Microsoft word, a pop-up message will appear on your screen saying Microsoft Word convert the document into an editable form.

Step 2 Click File from the top left corner and select Info. Then, choose Protect Document and click Encrypt with Password.

set password for pdf

Step 3 Enter the password you wish to use for your document and click OK. Then, re-enter the password to confirm it and save the file.

enter pdf password

Note: The process to save pdf with password is the same on any Microsoft Office application you use. Plus, your file will be saved in a format different from PDF.

Part 3: How to Save PDF with Password via Preview (Mac Exclusive)

The built-in Preview app for Mac can also come in handy to save PDFs with a password. Yes, besides allowing quick and easy viewing of documents in any format on Mac, Preview also offers PDF password-protect capabilities, and it does the job efficiently. All you just need to do is to follow the steps below to execute the operation.

Step 1 Open the PDF document via the Preview app on Mac.

Step 2 Navigate to File at the top left corner and select Export from the drop-down menu. Then, name the PDF document and select a preferred location to save it on your computer.

choose pdf saving path

Step 3 After that, enter the password for your PDF and verify it. Then, click Save to finish.

enter password for pdf

Part 4: How to Save PDF with Password Online

If you wish to save PDF with a password using an online tool, you can employ a reliable online PDF management tool like HiPDF. HiPDF is one of the most reliable that offers all the necessary tools one might need to manage a PDF document. It does not matter if you want to convert, password-protect, merge, split, or do more on PDF; you can count on this tool to get the job done handily.

Here is how to use HiPDF to save PDFs with password online;

Step 1 Open HiPDF Password Protect online tool and use the Choose File button to upload the PDF document that you intend to save with a password.

use hipdf password protect

Step 2 Once the file is uploaded, enter the password you wish to use. Then, click Encrypt.

encrypt pdf password

Step 3 Finally, click the Download button to save the password-protected PDF document to your PC storage.

download password protected pdf file

Conclusion

The process of saving a PDF with a password does not come easier than how it has been explained above. However, keep in mind that each method works differently. You just have to choose the one that suits your requirements. In all, we recommend using PDFelement as it makes the process faster and easier.

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