You can easily merge PDF files online using many different tools and apps, but will they merge PDFs that are password-protected? Will the PDFs merge at all or do you need to unlock them first? If I don’t know the password, do I have to remove it? These are only some of the questions people ask when they have to merge protected files. But the fact that a PDF is secured with a password does not prevent you from merging it. Some programs may not let you violate the security protocols of the original document, but other, third-party programs do not have those same rules. This article will tell you how you can merge password-protected PDFs with many different editors.
Why Can’t You Merge Password-Protected PDFs?
Password-protected PDFs are so because someone did not want their contents to be made public. This means that unauthorized users and anyone without a password cannot access the document. Some PDF programs let users set security at various levels. So they let users decide whether to password-protect access to view the document, the ability to make changes or edit the PDF and whether to copy or print it.
But these security features can also appear when you attempt to merge them with other files. It will ask you for a password to proceed, even before the merging takes place. If you do not have the password or lost it somehow, then you are in trouble. However, one way to get around this security is to use a third-party app to perform the same function, as it does not have the same security protocols.
This means, though, that you can only bypass security features if you created your PDFs with a program like Adobe Acrobat. But a program like Adobe is the only one that will not let you bypass password protection if you try to use password-protected PDFs with any of the company’s other products and tools. Many third-party apps and combine PDF online tools also let you attach passwords to your files, but just as many also make it easy to remove those passwords.
How to Use a PDF Editor to Merge Password-Protected PDFs
The easiest way to merge protected-password PDFs is to use another application that does not recognize the password protection on your file. As mentioned, a program like Adobe will not let you edit, merge or even open a password-protected Adobe PDF, as the application will recognize and respect the security protocols. However, the easiest way to get around these protocols is by using a third-party application that will let you merge PDF files whether they are password-protected or not.
There are also no extra steps to take to merge PDFs. You can simply upload the documents or drag-and-drop them like you normally would and then merge them without any prompts or problems. However, if you do run into problems and are asked for a password when using a third-party application, you can also use a password remover, which is a feature commonly found with third-party programs.
If the third-party app you are using does feature a password remover, you can use it to remove the security from your files. If not, you can look for one online that you can use. Sometimes they come as part of a larger package, but you can also download only the password remover if the program lets you. These password removers work with any type of PDF and they work regardless of which program you used to create the PDF – Adobe, Foxit, or PDFXChange.
