Some pdf files come to me so that when I click on them once, the whole page is selected -- I can't copy or add anything to the doc. Now that is protected! Can I do that with Preview? How?
I can already set a password for a pdf file, which prevents adding anything to it -- text, graphics, etc. That is different from the protection/security that I am looking for.
Mac Pro, macOS 12.1
Preview just handles things differently, but it's still protected. The protected pdfs you receive could be made with Acrobat Distiller or some other paid version of a pdf creator.
Sorry for the confusion. Password protection means that when you click to change/add to a protected pdf, it asks for the password. I've got that, with enough granularity to do it OK. But, sometimes I receive pdf files that, when I click on them to change or add anything, the entire page is selected, & I'm not allowed to do _anything_ with it but print the puppy. It does not ask for a password, it simply highlights the entire page, and does not proceed.
Now that's protection. Can I/How do I do that with Preview?
It's not at all clear to me what sort of protection you are looking for. Paragraph 2 sounds like it's already doing the same as paragraph 1 ie can't copy or add anything.
In Preview you can password protect and/or encrypt a PDF. Preview does not have the granular privacy controls that Adobe Acrobat has (for example, to prevent copying or printing).
How to protect pdf files
