Hello! I installed Monterey 12.0.1 on my MacBook Pro (13-inch, M1, 2020) but I have problem with "Preview".
When I open a PDF files and add personal text (for example), I can't click on "Export to PDF" because the menu item is disable.
Until a few days ago, I was doing the same things with BigSur and this feature was enabled.
Can you fix?
MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 12.0
The Preview in Monterey may not have the same functionality as in Big Sur because Apple can and often does change application functionality between operating system upgrades.
If you require your annotations in a separate PDF, and Export to PDF… is not working, then you still have Option key + Save As, or Print… > PDF > Save As PDF functionality. Just change the name of the new PDF in the dialog panel.
THANK YOU, I have exactly the same problem.. I need the work and change on PDFs for my music-sheets for my IPad.
-save as (not possible)
-export as pdf (not possible)
-export: possible, but when I do that the lyriks I changed is not fixed in the PDF...
-print: same Problem
what can we do? waiting for the next update?
best wishes
Henrik
Same issue as described by all, with added note that (password) encrypted PDF's CANNOT be exported using most of the workarounds described, with the kludgy exception of opening the PDF doc in Safari (other browser) and printing as a PDF. Monterey has essentially broken a simple, but critical feature of PDF handling on the Mac.
Exactly! I have the same issue. For me I noticed it yesterday when I've put my e-signature on a .pdf file. Normally, I click "Export as PDF" whenever I've edited on the file, so that all of my edited sign or text are not editable anymore. Now when I try it, this click "Export as PDF" is faded and cannot clickable. This is very inconvenient.
I've tried to click "export" and choose the .pdf format. Again, it appears different type of .pdf files that you can tick on, which I really don't understand. After all, the sign is ok. it's not editable anymore, however not the text. This is very bad and also confusing. Please be user-friendly as usual, Apple!
The Apple recommended answer is not sufficient. The password-protected file still remains password-protected. Earlier once the file is opened in Preview and exported as pdf, it used to remain as normal pdf without the requirement of PDF. That is what is required now also.
Please understand and reply the solution accordingly.
Please stop telling us this is an intentional act by Apple to deprecate the "Export as PDF" feature when opening a PDF.
We have multiple machines here, and some are older models still running older OS's - and the feature works perfectly. Every machine running Monterey - the feature is greyed out. This was the only way to save an encrypted PDF on a Mac (other than 3rd party apps), going back many OS's.
Yes, there's Option > Save as and Print > PDF etc - none of these offers file encryption. The feature no longer works, period. No safe boot, no restart, no workaround fixes it: it's a BUG, plain and simple, and it's been reported on hundreds of times since Monterey was released, with no fix in sight.
Just got my new MacBook Pro 16" and updated to Monterey. Having the same PDF issue with Preview. I'm a realtor and use Preview to package my offers into one PDF. Now, I can't. It says the PDF is Password protected which I know it's not. Preview won't allow me to Export it. When I do the Print and Save As feature it won't even open. It asks for a password.
I use to export my PDF offer to get rid of the encryption and then combine all my other PDF's into it so it was one PDF. Then my Offer Package would be one PDF. After spending an hour to try to make it work I gave up and grabbed my old laptop that uses Mac OS Catalina and download the exact files. I did exactly what I always do and it worked fine. I was able to combine all PDF's into one without any Password protection boxes coming up. SO frustrating. Please Apple... fix it!
I agree that it would be good if Apple recognized this is a problem. I've tried a number of the workarounds suggested by others in this thread - no joy. Luckily my shop works with the Adobe Creative Suite, and Acrobat — far from my favorite app — at least has the capacity to do everything we need to do with PDFs. But having that functionality restored to working in Preview (as it did in previous Mac OS's) in Monterey would be a big help.
Terrible that Apple changed this. A lot of people work with PDFs and need to "flatten" them after filing in a fillable pdf to pass it along to someone else who doesn't open it and have the same fillable forms. Tons of other uses. Preview used to be a good way to do this, allowing one to print or export to a PDF. Not sure why they broke this.
Using Safari to open the PDF, then "print to PDF" works. Same with Chrome. This flattens the output PDF, which is no longer secured (in my testing) and pages can be extracted, or edited in acrobat.
But it is a poor workaround.
in 2020, i purchased the mbp m1 with bigsur installed. i recently updated it to monterey.
from this moment, if you open a pdf to add personal notes, there is no more function to export it as a pdf (not editable).
until bigsur, the item in the menu was clickable and i get a non-editable pdf file.
with monterey 12.01 i used a trick that simulated printing and on the downside of the pop up where you choose one of the available printers, i clicked on the drop down PDF and then I pressed "save as pdf" in the context.and the pdf generated was not editable.
with 12.1, this trick does not work because the saved pdf continues to be editable.
so i would like to have a pdf that is not editable, as it was with the previous macos.
a second reason why promotes me to make this report:
the editable file size weighs 400kb, without this possibility it weighs 30-40kb.
The text of my new feedback.
I have the same issue Print… > PDF > Save As PDF functionality is greyed out. I need to redact bank statements to file with the Court for some clients. I could not figure out how to make this work in Monterey on my new MacBook Air M1; worked previously on Big Sur with my old MacBook Air.
--> Found a work around, I placed pdf in Dropbox, then printed to pdf from the web browser Dropbox program on Firefox and saved to my computer; it stripped the security so that I can redact as I did previously.
I hope that they bring this functionality back. I reported it as a bug.
--> Found a work around, I placed pdf in Dropbox, then printed to pdf from the web browser Dropbox program on Firefox and saved to my computer; it stripped the security so that I can redact as I did previously.
Yours is not a solution because the modified file when I go to duplicate it, the duplicate file continues to have the additional editable notes.
The absence of that function does not allow you to save the changes in the file and make it uneditable.
If someone sends me a bank statement, sometimes the are "secure" documents. In order to redact some information, the security needs to be stripped off/removed first. I work with multiple accounts, so I do not have time to store everyones' ever changing passwords. I previously, in earlier OS versions, would open it with preview and either "export to pdf" or "print; pdf." This functionality no longer works, as the commands are greyed out. The only work around I have found is to upload the document to dropbox, open it on the web browser (I use Firefox), then print to pdf from the browser. I also need this functionality to "print to pdf "only select pages I need. There are other reasons for this functionality, but Apple removed it, I think on purpose "for security reasons." It is ridiculous since it is still available on earlier OS, and on some windows. Just tripping up workflow on my new M1 Mac.
You cannot save a secure document: Option key + Save As, or Print… > PDF > Save As PDF
This option is greyed out in Monterey. Apple removed this functionality. Now I have no reason to use Preview.
The only way I can strip the security is by uploading to the web version on dropbox and printing as a pdf from there using Adobe Acrobat or Preview
Has there been any update on this?
I use this feature for work multiple times a day and I regret updating.
This is extremely frustrating that I have to now take multiple extra steps to print - save as a pdf instead of just exporting
It slows down my productivity
[Bug] Export to pdf on Preview (Monterey)
