How to Open Password-Protected PDF Files? (Quickly and Effectively)

Password protection and content security are of paramount importance in today's world where all content is shared primarily in the form of PDF documents. Therefore, it is obvious that we will be dealing with password-protected PDF files. Sometimes we may need to open password-protected PDF files. In such cases, it becomes important to know how to open a password-protected PDF. This article highlights effective ways to open locked PDF documents with and without a password.

Part 1. How to Open a Password-Protected PDF With Password

If you know the password of the PDF, you can easily open it with many tools. Here, we will show you how to use UPDF to open password-protected PDF on Windows and Mac and use Google Chrome to open online.

Way 1. Open Password Protected PDF on Windows and Mac

The reason that we recommend you use UPDF to open password-protected PDFs on Windows and Mac is that it is completely free to use. And it allows you to read the PDF in the way you like, edit the PDF including texts, images, and links, add annotations to the PDF, and more.

UPDF is available on Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android and has UPDF Clould to help you access and open the password-protected PDF file at any time and anywhere.

It is extremely simple to open a password-protected PDF with UPDF. You may follow the below instructions.

Step 1. Click the "Open File" Button

First, download and install the UPDF software on your system via the below button.

Launch the UPDF tool to view the home screen that enables you to open PDF files. You may drag or drop a PDF file in the home console or simply click on the "Open File" button.

Step 2. Open a Password Protected PDF

There are two types of protected PDF documents:

• First type: PDF document protected with an Open Password.

If you are attempting to open a protected PDF with an Open Password, UPDF will automatically detect it and prompt you to enter the password. You may now enter the password to gain access to your PDF.

• First type: PDF document protected with a Permissions Password.

If your PDF document is protected with a Permissions Password, you can open it in UPDF without entering any password. You can open, view, and annotate the protected PDF document directly. However, if you want to make changes to the document, you will need to enter the password when you are trying to edit the text.

That's it! It is so simple to open a password-protected PDF with UPDF. If it is what you need, you can download UPDF via the below button to test it.

Video Tutorial on How to Open Password-Protected PDF

More about this software:

Except for opening password-protected PDFs, UPDF also allows you to remove passwords, and add new passwords for the PDF, including opening passwords and permission passwords.

Remove Password from the Protected PDF File

If you think the password is unnecessary, you can choose to remove it when you know the password. To remove the password with UPDF, you can click the "Remove Security" option.

Then in the pop-up window, click the "Remove" button and save the changed file.

Add a New Password to Protect PDF

If you want to add a new password to protect PDFs after removing them, you can click "Protect Using Password", choose "Document Open" or "Permissions", then, enter your password to protect your PDF.

Just download UPDF via the below button to try all these features on your own.

Also Read: How to Remove Encryption from PDFs in Just a Few Simple Steps

Way 2. How to Open a Password-Protected PDF Online

It is also important to note that you can open password-protected PDFs online using various tools and here, we will show you how to open password-protected PDFs with the Chrome browser. Before introducing the instructions, you need to understand that online tools don't promise to give you stable performance due to the internet situation. You may follow the below steps.

Step 1. Choose Chrome to Open

First of all, you need to right-click on the password-protected PDF on your computer, then, select "Open With" and choose "Chrome".

Step 2. Enter the Password to Open

Once you choose "Chrome", you will have the password to enter a window in Chrome. You need to enter the password, then, click on "Submit" to open the password on Chrome successfully.

Part 2. How to Open Password Protected PDF Without Password

If you forgot the open password or permission password and want to open it, you have to get the password back or remove these passwords. It is difficult to find one effective way. We tested many methods and found that iSeePassword Dr.PDF is the most effective one to use.

1. First, you need to visit iSeePassword Dr.PDF's official website and click the "Free Trial" to download the software on your computer.
2. Second, double-click on the software to open it. Now, you can find there are two options: Recover Open Password from PDF and Remove Owner Password from PDF. Select the one you need. For an open password, you need to choose "Recover Open Password from PDF", click on "Add File" to upload the password-protected PDF, select the attach type, and customize the settings, click on "Start" to recover the password. Once the password is found, it will show you. Then, you can open the PDF with the password.

Part 3. Scenarios in Which You Need to Open a Password-Protected PDF

There are many situations when you may need to open password-protected PDF documents. These could arise during your day-to-day work while reading through the documentation for your company. 

Below are a few situations that may require you to open an encrypted PDF.

1. You may get a password-protected PDF document from your friends, colleagues, or other partners.
2. You may set a password for your own PDF and you need to open it.
3. It is possible that you have too many password-protected PDF files and forget the password for many files.

In all the above situations, you need easy ways to open password-protected PDF documents. 

Also Read: How To Print Password Protected PDF? 

Part 4. FAQs About Opening Password Protected PDF

Q1. How to Remove Password Protection from PDF After Opening?

To remove password protection from PDF after opening, you need to download UPDF on your computer, open PDF with UPDF, click "Protect Using Password“ > "Remove Security" and follow the on-screen introduction to remove the password protection from PDF after opening directly.

Q2. How to Open Password-Protected PDF without Password Online?

Sorry to tell you that there is no way to open password password-protected PDF without a password online. But you can follow the method we introduced above to use iSeePassword tool to open it on Windows.

Q3. How to Open Password Protected PDF file on Android?

Just make sure you have UPDF on your Android device. Then, log in to the UPDF account. Click on "All Files" to allow UPDF to access your PDF files on Android devices, choose the password-protected PDF, and enter the password to open.

Q4. How to Open Password-Protected PDF on iPhone?

You also can download UPDF on your iPhone. Then, type "+" at the bottom, choose "Files" to import the password-protected PDF, and enter the password to open it on your iPhone.

Conclusion

Many online and offline PDF editor tools can help you open password-protected PDF documents with and without a password. However, it is important to choose the best PDF tool that can meet all your requirements. For those who do not know the password, you can only choose the iSeePassword to recover the password. And if you need to open password password-protected PDF with a password, UPDF is the tool you need. Moreover, the tool is free to open password-protected PDFs and is cost-effective for all advanced features. Download UPDF today for a trial.