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How to Encrypt/Add Password & Permissions to PDF Files

ByChaknith Bin

October 20, 2024

Updated  June 1, 2025

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Securing PDF files with passwords and specific permissions is vital for protecting sensitive documents from unauthorized access and manipulation. The [POST] Encrypt/Add Password & Permissions API from IronSecure Doc provides an efficient way to encrypt PDF files with user and owner passwords while configuring permissions for printing, form filling, annotations, and more. This API ensures that the PDF is fully protected and access is controlled, making it ideal for legal, financial, or personal documents.

Pull and Start IronSecureDoc

If you don't have IronSecureDoc running yet, please follow the links below to get it set up:

The [POST] Encrypt/Add Password & Permissions API

The [POST] Encrypt/Add Password & Permissions API allows you to add security layers to PDF documents by encrypting them with passwords and setting specific permissions for various operations. Whether it's granting read access, allowing form filling, or disabling printing, this API gives you control over how your PDF files are accessed and modified.

Swagger

Swagger offers a user-friendly interface to test this API interactively. You can use it to send test requests and receive responses without writing code, making it a great tool for developers.

Steps to Redact Text with Swagger

1. Access the Swagger UI:

If your API server is running locally, you can access Swagger by navigating to http://localhost:8080/swagger/index.html in your web browser.

2. Locate the API:

Find the [POST] /v1/document-services/pdfs/encrypt API, which corresponds to Encrypt/Add Password & Permissions.

3. Input Parameters:

Provide the required parameters for the API. You can upload a sample PDF file and specify the desired permissions.

4. Upload PDF File:

In the request body, upload a PDF file as pdf_file and define the necessary permissions, such as allowing or restricting printing, form filling, and content extraction.

5. Execute the Request:

Once all parameters are set, click "Execute" to send the request. The response will return the encrypted PDF with the specified security settings.

6. Check the Output PDF:

Type in 'password' to view the PDF content.

Understanding Input Parameters

The API requires specific parameters to encrypt the PDF and assign permissions. Below is a breakdown of both required and optional parameters:

Required Parameters

Optional Parameters

API Integration: Python Example

Once you're familiar with the input parameters, you can call the API using Python or any other preferred language. Below is an example of how to integrate this API using Python.

import requests

# Endpoint URL
url = 'http://localhost:8080/v1/document-services/pdfs/encrypt'

# Headers with metadata information
headers = {
    'accept': '*/*',
    'author': 'IronSoftware',
    'title': 'ENCRYPTION DEMO 2024',
    'subject': 'DEMO EXAMPLE'
}

# Files to be sent in the request
files = {
    'pdf_file': ('sample.pdf', open('sample.pdf', 'rb'), 'application/pdf')
}

# Parameters for encryption and permissions
data = {
    'allow_extracting_content': 'true',
    'allow_form_filling': 'true',
    'allow_annotations': 'false',
    'allow_printing': 'false',
    'allow_modifications': 'true',
    'new_owner_password': 'password',
    'new_user_password': 'password',
    'save_as_pdfa': 'false',
    'save_as_pdfua': 'false'
}

# Send POST request with parameters
response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, files=files, data=data)

# Save the encrypted PDF to file system
with open('sample_encrypted.pdf', 'wb') as f:
    f.write(response.content)

print('PDF encrypted successfully.')

import requests

# Endpoint URL
url = 'http://localhost:8080/v1/document-services/pdfs/encrypt'

# Headers with metadata information
headers = {
    'accept': '*/*',
    'author': 'IronSoftware',
    'title': 'ENCRYPTION DEMO 2024',
    'subject': 'DEMO EXAMPLE'
}

# Files to be sent in the request
files = {
    'pdf_file': ('sample.pdf', open('sample.pdf', 'rb'), 'application/pdf')
}

# Parameters for encryption and permissions
data = {
    'allow_extracting_content': 'true',
    'allow_form_filling': 'true',
    'allow_annotations': 'false',
    'allow_printing': 'false',
    'allow_modifications': 'true',
    'new_owner_password': 'password',
    'new_user_password': 'password',
    'save_as_pdfa': 'false',
    'save_as_pdfua': 'false'
}

# Send POST request with parameters
response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, files=files, data=data)

# Save the encrypted PDF to file system
with open('sample_encrypted.pdf', 'wb') as f:
    f.write(response.content)

print('PDF encrypted successfully.')

Steps Explained:

• Load the PDF: The PDF file to be encrypted is loaded from the local file system.
• Set Encryption Parameters: Define permissions like allowing printing, form filling, and content extraction, as well as setting new passwords.
• Call the API: The [POST] Encrypt/Add Password & Permissions API is called, passing the necessary parameters.
• Save the Result: The encrypted PDF is saved as a new file.

The PDF file is encrypted as shown below. Type in 'password' to view the PDF content.

Chaknith Bin

  Chat with engineering team now

Software Engineer

Chaknith works on IronXL and IronBarcode. He has deep expertise in C# and .NET, helping improve the software and support customers. His insights from user interactions contribute to better products, documentation, and overall experience.