Lesson 2: Five Fundamental Points to Remember When It Comes To PDFs.

How you manage PDFs can have huge implications on how you share, protect and track your documents. As a startup founder, you wear multiple hats- from pitching investors to collaborating with your team members. Proper document management is key. Here are five essential tips that will help you make the best use of your PDFs.

Flattening a PDF (and why it is important)

What Is Flattening a PDF?

Flattening entails merging all elements of a particular pdf into one layer only. This is particularly important for forms so that the document displays uniformly regardless of the type of device or software being used.

Is there Free Software That can be Used For Flattening a PDF?

Although Adobe Acrobat Pro has an extensive range of tools that enable one to flatten their pdf files, there are free alternatives like ‘Compress Pdf’. However, these may lack some functionalities present in Adobe Acrobat Pro.

Steps On How To Flatten a PDF:

1. Save a copy of your original non-editable flattened pdf file.
2. Open Adobe Acrobat Pro
3. Go to Advanced > Print Production > Flattener Preview
4. Set the Raster/Vector balance
5. Select Convert All Text To Outlines
6. Deselect Clip Complex Regions
7. Click Apply to flatten the PDF.
8. Close the flattener preview dialogue box and print the document.

Pro Tip: Most online PDF viewers, like Orangedox, don’t support embedded PDF forms so flattening ensures your documents are correctly previewed online.

How to Password Protect a PDF

PDFs that are password protected may deny unauthorized entry, but they are not necessarily safe from being hacked or shared. Instead, consider using a document-securing platform, like Orangedox, for more robust document protection.

Password Protecting a PDF A Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Launch your Adobe Acrobat software
2. Go to File then select Protect Using Password
3. Select the desired security settings
4. Save your protected PDF file.

Orangedox offers better security than conventional password protection since it guarantees that only intended recipients can access the file, and cannot easily be cracked with a password cracker.

How to Track Views and Engagement

Using document tracking services, like Orangedox, you will be able to keep a record of who accessed your Google Drive documents (or PDFs), when they were viewed, and for how long they were viewed. This is very important in terms of understanding engagement levels as well as ensuring proper audience targeting.

Tracking PDF Views a Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Upload your PDF on Google Drive.
2. Create an Orangedox link that can be tracked.
3. Share it with others and monitor viewership via the Orangedox dashboard.

This functionality is highly useful for understanding which recipient is interested in your material as well as compliance with document sharing policies.

How to Make a PDF Self-Destruct

You can apply Digital Rights Management (DRM) or a secure document service like Orangedox to make your PDFs self-destruct or stop access after a while.

Steps to Create a Self-Destructing PDF

1. Share your PDF using Orangedox
2. When needed simply disable access to the document

This feature is ideal for sensitive documents that should only be accessible for a short period of time.

How to Restrict Printing

Effective Ways How To Restrict Printing and Editing of PDF Documents

Disabling printing and editing of a PDF can be problematic, especially when the document has been downloaded. Once a document has been downloaded you effectively lose control on how it’s used, including copying of text and images from the document and allowing printing. The best way to share the document online is to use a tool like Orangedox, this will provide a higher degree of control over printing and copying of document data.  

Steps to restrict PDF printing:

1. Select your PDF using Orangedox .
2. Set an optional password and publish the pdf online
3. Prevent downloading, making it impossible to edit the document and making it almost impossible to print.

Pro Tip: Using a service like Orangedox ensures that unauthorized viewing is prevented by maintaining a log showing every user who viewed the document.

Mastering PDF management with these tips ensures your documents are secure, trackable, and efficiently handled. Orangedox offers a range of tools that go beyond basic PDF sharing, making it an invaluable tool for startup founders.

Start your 14-day free trial of Orangedox Virtual Data Rooms and see what Orangedox can do for your business.

Orangedox provides one-click create virtual data rooms that are directly synced with your Google Drive folders.