Removing password protection and checking the extraction file permissions

Because Acrobat can’t search password-protected files, you must remove the Password Security from all files in the collection. Acrobat 6 gives you the option of using two different password protections on a PDF document. The Document Open Password restricts the opening of the document, and the Permissions password restricts the ability to print, edit, or make changes to security settings, as defined by the author in the Permissions section of the Password Security - Settings dialog box. To be able to remove Password Security from a PDF document, you not only need to have access to the Document Open password (or you can’t open it) but you also need to have access to the Permissions password (or you can’t get rid of the security permissions). Assuming that you’re armed with both passwords, follow these steps to remove the user password:

1. Launch Acrobat and open the PDF document whose password you want to remove. Acrobat responds by displaying the Password dialog box, in which you must successfully enter the Document Open password.
2. Enter the Document Open password and click OK to open the document.
3. Choose File➪Document Properties; in the Document Properties dialog box, click Security in the list box. The Security options appear.
4. Select No Security from the Security Method drop-down list. Acrobat responds by displaying another Password dialog box, where you must successfully enter the Permissions password.
5. Enter the Permissions password and click OK. Acrobat displays an alert dialog box, asking if you’re sure you want to remove security from the PDF document.
6. Click the OK button to close the alert dialog box, and then click the OK button to close the Document Properties dialog box.
7. Choose File➪Save to save your security changes to the PDF document.

Checking and editing the metadata

To check a PDF document’s metadata and, if necessary, add this information, take these steps:

1. Launch Acrobat 6 and then open the PDF file whose metadata you want to check.

2. Choose File➪Document Properties or press Ctrl+D (Ô+D on the Mac); in the Document Properties dialog box, click Description in the list box. The Description options for the file appear

3. Add to or edit the Title, Author, Subject, and Keywords text boxes as needed to make it easier to identify and find the document later.

4. Click OK to close the Document Properties dialog box.

5. Choose File➪Save to save any changes you made to the document’s metadata.

Creating the PDF document collection

The keys to creating a successful PDF document collection are organizing the files and preparing them for indexing. To organize the files, you copy or move them all into a single folder. (You can organize files into subfolders within this folder, if necessary.) Before copying or moving the files into the collection folder, make sure that you’re using only final versions of the PDF documents, which contain all necessary bookmarks, links, and form fields, and for which you’ve completed editorial review and made the final touch-up edits as well. In preparing the files for indexing, you should make sure that you’ve added the title, subject, author, and keywords metadata for each PDF document, and in the case of documents that require a user password to open, you must remove the password, because Acrobat 6 cannot catalog PDF files that are password-protected.