="../professional/graphics/spacer.gif" width="1" height="10">
Nitro PDF Professional: Create and change PDFs with the original Acrobat alternative.
Download Free Trial Buy
Overview
Features
Compare

Achieve substantial savings when you buy 11 or more Nitro PDF Professional licenses.

Volume licensing at a glance

Special offers and updates

Sign up to receive occasional email notifications of product updates and special offers.

Your email :

Certificate security for PDF files


Digital IDs let you encrypt files that can only be opened and used by people who have exchanged certificates. Certificate-based security has many advantages over password-based security: documents can be opened without the need to remember passwords, Digital IDs cannot be shared or copied easily, and the one document can contain different security settings for each recipient of a file. For example, you may grant one person editing and printing privileges, while another is limited to just viewing the file.

Getting started

Before you can receive files encrypted for your digital ID you must create your digital ID and then share its certificate with people you intend to share certificate-secured files with. You must have also received and imported another person's certificate before you can encrypt files for their use.

Note: When using certificate-based security, remember to add your own certificate as an intended recipient - if you don't you will not have access to the PDF once it has been secured.

There are two ways to secure a PDF file using certificate security:

  • Certificate Security dialog. In the Document Properties area of Nitro PDF Professional you can view security settings and manually apply security.
  • Security profiles. The re-usable security profiles allow you to save custom security settings and then apply those settings to a document with one click. Profiles can include details on the recipients you allow under the profile so its especially easy to secure documents the same way for each recipient each time.

To apply certificate security to a PDF:

  1. Do one of the following:
    • Click the Nitro PDF Button Nitro PDF icon, and then click Document Properties Nitro PDF icon. On the Security tab, in the Security method list, select Certificate security and click Change Settings.
    • On the Secure and Sign ribbon tab, in the Secure Document group, click Certificate Security Nitro PDF icon.
  2. In the Certify Security dialog, click on each contact you want to allow access to your secured file, and click Add. To restrict usage for each recipient as you add them, click the Restricted Permissions option and then choose what functionality you would like to restrict for that person.
  3. Click OK or Finish.
  4. Click the Nitro PDF Button Nitro PDF icon and then click Save to apply the security.

To apply PDF security with a security profile:

  1. Ensure that you have already created a security profile. To view and manage profiles, on the Secure ribbon tab, in the Secure Document group, click Manage Profiles Nitro PDF icon.
  2. On the Secure and Sign tab, in the Secure Document group, click the arrow below Certificate Security.
  3. Click the security profile from the list.
  4. Click the Nitro PDF Button Nitro PDF icon and then click Save to apply the security.