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Why did Preview lock my PDF after I edited it??

I'm so fed up with this issue, seriously! I've got Monetery 12.6.5, right? So, here's the deal: I download this PDF, edit it like I'm supposed to, save it, and BAM! Out of nowhere, it decides to lock up and demands a "Document Open Password."


Now, here's the kicker. It's one of those official government forms you can find on their website, all ready to be filled out and filed. But guess what? I can't even ask the owner for the password because it doesn't exist!


The funny thing is, if I use Adobe to fill it out, everything works like a charm. But I prefer using the preview option for a bunch of reasons. It helps me fix the **** WRONG presets, you know? But it's always a gamble. I fill out this form like 4-5 times a week, and every 2-3 weeks, one of them decides to go rogue and locks up on me. It occasionally happens to other PDF files as well. Beyond frustrating.


Why the heck does it lock up? What kind of password is it setting? And why does it only happen occasionally? It's beyond frustrating. I end up wasting 4-5 hours of my precious time whenever this stupid thing locks up.


NOBODY SET THE PASSWORD.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 12.6

Posted on Jun 23, 2023 6:08 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Apr 6, 2024 7:52 AM

I just had this happen (gotta love tax season). I right clicked the locked doc, and selected "open with" and opened it in Chrome and was able to see my edits. When I re-saved the PDF from Chrome it was fine.


Annoying but easy workaround, hope this helps!

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30 replies

Aug 26, 2024 10:48 AM in response to muffin21

I also faced this issue today, and apparently I kept trying until I came across this page.

I tried opening the doc in chrome as suggested by few folks, didn't work for me.


In the end, I had to unprotect the document (Check the options under File menu option <password/edit permissions>) before trying to edit, and then I made the changes and saved it (I also copied this edited doc as a backup just incase it doesn't work) and then later I protected it back. This worked and can be tried out.

Oct 8, 2024 9:02 AM in response to muffin21

Happened to me on my tax returns docs that were sent to me from my accountant. I opened with the password the accountant gave me, added my signatures with Preview, then saved the PDF. I couldn't open it with my password to check it after that.


So I opened the original again, signed it, then changed BOTH passwords in permissions. The password used to open the doc AND the owners password. After doing that I I was able to reopen after saving. I first tried only re-entering the password used to open the PDF but that didnt work. I had to change both passwords.

Why did Preview lock my PDF after I edited it??

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