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ToniChaffin
ToniChaffin
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How do I make a Form Read Only

Apr 1, 2012 4:23 AM

Categories: Windows Tags: #acrobat #forms #form #pdf_forms #acrobat-form #fillable

I am fairly new to the world of creating PDFs, and more specifically Forms. I have created a form with a number of text fields on it and have the form in the format I wish to use. I have added the ability to allow users to fill in the boxes and then save the PDF by using the 'Reader Extended PDF>Enable Forms Fillin & Save in Adobe Reader'.

 

What I don't want to happen is to allow the user to save over the master they are opening, I want them to be forced to 'Save as....'. Apart from making the file Read Only in Windows, which I assume will work, is there a way of forcing it to 'Save as....' with Acrobat Standard X or Reader?

 

Thanks in advance

1197 Views   10 Replies   Latest reply: Bernd Alheit, Jul 26, 2012 1:12 PM
 
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  • Gilad D (try67)
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    1. Gilad D (try67),
    Apr 1, 2012 4:40 AM   in reply to ToniChaffin
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    No, you can't enforce that, but you can set the file to be read-only (in

    the file's properties). Of course, any way can change that locally...

     
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  • ToniChaffin
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    2. ToniChaffin,
    Apr 1, 2012 4:43 AM   in reply to Gilad D (try67)
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    Thanks try67

     

    If I was to set the properties in Windows for the file to be RO and the domain permissions prevent the changing of the attributes then that would work wouldn't it? They would be forced to save a copy to a location where they have R/W access???

     

    Or am I off base here?

     
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  • ToniChaffin
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    3. ToniChaffin,
    Apr 1, 2012 4:56 AM   in reply to ToniChaffin
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    I have answered the question myself, setting windows attributes to RO gives me the desired effect.


    Thanks for yous assistance try67

     
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  • Bill@VT
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    4. Bill@VT,
    Apr 1, 2012 5:22 PM   in reply to ToniChaffin
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    For normal use on a web site, the RO would not be an issue since the file is saved locally before opening. However, it sounds like you are using a network drive and do not want folks to overwrite the original. In that case your solution is probably best.

     
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  • Chris Fiset
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    5. Chris Fiset,
    Jul 25, 2012 11:20 AM   in reply to Gilad D (try67)
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    Hi,

     

    Please confirm: it is not possible to create a form (in Acrobat X) that automatically saves as a read-only PDF after being filled out by the user in Reader X.

     

    True or False?

     

    Thanks, Chris

     
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  • Bernd Alheit
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    6. Bernd Alheit,
    Jul 25, 2012 1:09 PM   in reply to Chris Fiset
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    False.

     
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  • Chris Fiset
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    7. Chris Fiset,
    Jul 25, 2012 1:27 PM   in reply to Bernd Alheit
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    Bernd: 

     

    If you know of a way to automate saving as to read-only PDF status, please share.

     

    According to try67, "You can't enforce that [i.e., force the user to save as in read-only format], but you can set the file to be read-only (in the file's properties)".

     

    Also, after hours of trying, I am unsuccessful in making this happen, so I would be very interested in your method.

     

    Chris

     
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  • Bernd Alheit
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    8. Bernd Alheit,
    Jul 26, 2012 2:29 AM   in reply to Chris Fiset
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    You can set the property of the form fields to read-only.

     
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  • Chris Fiset
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    9. Chris Fiset,
    Jul 26, 2012 9:52 AM   in reply to Bernd Alheit
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    Can you please list the steps invovled to set the property of the form fields to read-only? Unfortunately, I'm not seeing any way to do this.

     

    If I click File/ Properties ... among the 6 tabs that appear (Description|Security|Fonts|Initial View|Custom|Advanced) -- I am not seeing an option to set the form fields to read only.

     

    (On the other hand, if you are referring to setting the *file's* properties (by right clicking on the file itself) yes, I can set it to read only. This however doesn't answer my original question -- which was: is there a way to automate an Adobe form to *automatically* save as a read-only document.)

     

    The reason I need this feature to be automated is because I am needing to create a form template that will be distributed to hundreds of users. Ideally, it would be set up to save as read-only and then emailed to its destination from within Adobe Reader X.

     

    Asking hundreds of users to manually right-click on the file's properties is not a solution -- as this is a very user-unfriendly approach.

     

    Chris

     
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  • Bernd Alheit
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    10. Bernd Alheit,
    Jul 26, 2012 1:12 PM   in reply to Chris Fiset
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    Adobe Reader can't change file properties.

     
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