Can't fix file permissions on PDF in Preview!

Greetings kksdragons,

In order to change user account permissions, you'll need to be signed in to an Administrator account on your Mac.

Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac - Apple Support

"Convert a standard user to an administrator

1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Users & Groups .
2. If the lock at the bottom left is locked , click it to unlock the preference pane.
3. Select a standard user or managed user in the list of users, then select “Allow user to administer this computer.”

Take care.

kksdragons wrote:

There is nothing you can change in these files.

That isn't going to stop Preview from attempting it. The default behaviour in any modern Mac app is to automatically modify files. You can do this even if you don't realize it. Try this:

1. Download a new copy of the file.
2. Move the file to where you want it to live. Make sure and don't open it.
3. Change the permissions on the file to forbid you from modifying the file.

This may prevent Preview from accidentally modifying the file and tripping the PDF permissions bug. But you should still be able to open it and click the links.

I just tested this and it does seem to work. Preview still wants to modify it and will even helpfully ask if you want it to unlock the file for you. Don't do that.

In fact, I recommend keeping a backup of this file in a safe place. I just tried it on a parking permit fill-in PDF I recently downloaded. One keystroke is enough to lock the file. This is a really annoying bug.

That said, I discovered that the "index" file links work nicely on my Mac IF I open with Adobe. Cool. I have not been able to figure out how to get this to work on my iPad. I tried unzipping this file into folders on iCloud, Adobe, and OneDrive. None of the Index links work when trying to open them from my iPad. I went into Systems settings to see if I could change the program that opens PDFs but I couldn't find this option under Adobe. Maybe I was looking in the wrong place?

As for changing the app used to open the files, that's easy. Do that in the Finder. Select one of the files and choose "Get Info" from the "File" menu. In that dialog, you will be able to change the app used to open this file. If you want, you can change the app used to open all similar files.

While I'm glad I can at least access the companion files on my Mac, it is beyond frustrating that I can't get remote access to these files on my iPad. Any ideas on that front? :-).

Can you post a link to these files? Are they publicly downloadable? It seems like it should be possible.

Where did you get this PDF file?

There is a known bug in Apple's Preview where if you make any change to a PDF that has any level of password-protection, you will be blocked from ever viewing the PDF again. It is quite an annoyance for fill-in PDFs. But if this isn't a fill-in PDF, you might have made an inadvertent change and not noticed it right away. If you can download a fresh copy of the PDF, it should work. You can probably still open the PDF in other PDF viewing tools. I recommend PDF Master Editor for files that Apple Preview can't handle.

kksdragons wrote:

OK.  I downloaded a new copy of the zip file.  Saved it to iCloud.  Changed permissions on it to read only.  Unzipped.  Changed permissions on the new folder to read only.  Changed permissions to read only on the index file within.  Double checked to be sure the mods stuck.  Same problem in Preview but it works in Adobe.  Tried to change the program that opens it from Preview to Adobe in Get Info,.  I got this:

You don’t have permission to change the application for this document only. Do you want to change all similar documents to open with the application “Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.app”?

That's because the file is read-only. Change it back, since that obviously didn't work anyway. Then change it to open in Adobe.

I still am unable to get it to work my iPad.  There is no way (?) to open it in Adobe that I've found so far.

I'd gladly share the link to the zip file but I'd rather not post it in a forum.  Can I pm it to you?

No, sorry. I just thought if the file was publicly accessible, I could try it on my end.

PDF is a really difficult format. It was designed to be printed and printed only. Over the years, people have hacked it up to do all kinds of tricks. These kinds of PDF problems are a regular occurrence. What you describe sounds like something that always should have been HTML.

kksdragons wrote:

I’ve noticed most fiber artists are woefully deficient in computer technology… ;-)

The link for my problem child is: **** It’s the first link on the page.

Alas, your link has been removed. I think at this point the best idea is to just use Adobe.