pdf password feature wonked

Question

Level 1

18 points

pdf password feature wonked

My Preview PDF Password feature is wonked.

After I password protect a PDF document on my Mac, I check it by opening with the password. It opens but the first of 3 pages is blank, the final two display. I have tried Export, Export as PDF, Duplicate and Print as PDF to add Password protection and if it worked, the result is the same - blank first page. I tried different PDFs, same result.

I sent the doc to a PC with Adobe Acrobat and the document opens, but gives a message that "There is an error on the page [i.e. page 1] and may not display it correctly..." and then displays a blank first page but does the remaining 2 pages.

I sent a different password protected Acrobat document to my Mac, Preview opened and displayed all the pages. I then sent my original Preview password protected document back to my Mac, and the first page was still not displayed.

Any ideas?

macOS Sierra 10.12.6

Preview 9.0 (909.18)

Posted on Jun 13, 2018 7:11 PM

Reply

Answer 1

CarlAVII

Community Specialist

Jun 17, 2018 9:55 PM in response to 2 Tired

Hi, 2 Tired,

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities. From your post, I understand that when you use Preview to password protect a PDF, you are unable to read the first few pages of the PDF the next time you open it (using the password). I see this is happening on the Mac, which shows blank pages, as well as on a Windows PC, where an error displays on those pages. I'd be happy to help!

Based on what you've described is happening, it appears the issue occurs during the password protection phase of the process, so we want to troubleshoot Preview using the following steps. Make sure to test after each; you can stop when the issue is resolved:

Save any unfinished work and quit Preview: macOS Sierra: Quit apps. Restart your Mac next: How to turn your Mac on or off - Apple, then open Preview while holding the shift key on your keyboard.
Install updates for your macOS software, which will also update Preview: How to update the software on your Mac - Apple Support.
Try setting a password on a PDF in safe mode: Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support.
Set up a new user account, and check how Preview functions there: How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac - Apple Support.

If you're still having trouble after that, don't hesitate to respond back.

Cheers!

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Answer 2

2 Tired Author

Level 1

18 points

Jun 17, 2018 9:55 PM in response to CarlAVII

Preview not wonked, user wonked.
When I tried #3 in another user account, password protection worked! Then the proverbial lightbulb went on. The PDF that was causing the problem had recently been scanned in. I checked if the scan software needed an update, it did, I updated it and now all is good.

I was fooled because I could see all the pages of the scanned document before password protection but not after. So in the words of that great modern day philosopher: DOH!

Thank you for your help. You got me going down the right path.

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Answer 3

Eric Root

Level 10

685,233 points

Jun 15, 2018 7:12 PM in response to 2 Tired

If it works in the Safe Mode, try running this program when booted normally and then copy and paste the output in a reply. The program was created by Etresoft, a frequent contributor. Please use copy and paste as screen shots can be hard to read. Click “Share Report” button in the toolbar, select “Copy to Clipboard” and then paste into a reply. This will show what is running on your computer. No personal information is shown.

Etrecheck – System Information

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Answer 4

CarlAVII

Community Specialist

Jun 18, 2018 12:55 PM in response to 2 Tired

Hey, 2 Tired!

Thanks for following up. It's great to hear everything is working now.

Have a wonderful day!

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pdf password feature wonked

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