Send PDF documents with secure delivery

Use Secure Delivery to select options for protecting files you plan to distribute. The options are arranged in a logical order, but you can select any or all of them, in any order. However, you should select an envelope first and sign the document as the last step, because any further changes will break the signature. If you select an envelope, the choices do not act on any opened document, but are applied to files you select as attachments.

Note Since changes can affect a signature’s validity, be sure to sign only after you have completed all modifications.

Proceed with the following steps to send PDF documents with Secure Delivery.

  1. Secure Delivery icon Click the Secure Delivery tool () in the Security group of the Security ribbon. The Secure Delivery dialog box guides you through four steps:
    1. Select envelope
    2. Add attachments
    3. Encrypt files
    4. Sign document
  2. When the documents are assembled, click Send. Your default mailing application opens with a new message that includes the file collection protected by their secure envelope. The message field contains instructions for the recipient on how to access the secured attachments.
  3. Fill in the necessary information in the e-mail message window (such as Recipients, Subject, Text, etc.) and send it.

Other steps to take before sending documents are removing document elements, saving the document to a new name to remove previous revisions and (in Power PDF Advanced only) applying redaction. You should perform these steps before using Secure Delivery.

Select envelope

  1. Click Select Envelope (Select Envelope icon) to open the Envelope panel (Envelope icon).
  2. Double-click the desired envelope, or right-click it and select Apply to display it in the Document pane.

    An envelope may contain interactive form fields to be filled in (alternatively use the Typewriter tool to add text). You can summarize the files being sent and/or explain what should be done with them. You can also modify existing envelopes or create a new envelope from a single page of a PDF or image file and define the level of security linked to it. If you do not select an envelope, any subsequent steps relate to the current document, and not the envelope and its attachments.

Add attachments

  1. Click Add Attachments (Add Attachments icon) to add attachments via a standard Open dialog box.

    Selected files are shown in the Attachments panel (both PDF and non-PDF files are allowed).

  2. Select multiple files from a single location, or repeat the action to add more files from different locations.

    You can attach a package PDF that groups a set of PDF files. PDF files can have their own security protection, others such as text or image files typically cannot; they can be protected by applying password security to the envelope.

Encrypt files

  1. Click Encrypt Files (Encrypt Files icon) to open the Security panel.
  2. Drag a security scheme to encrypt the attachments or the envelope file.

    You can change the security settings any time before you save and close the file package. You can also select Privacy to apply an Open Password or No modification to place a Permissions Password and define which actions are permitted or prohibited. See Security Properties for details.

  3. Under Certificate Security, select Interactive to place Digital ID security through the Certificate Security Settings wizard.

    Both passwords and certificates apply encryption. The Security panel also allows you to create a new security scheme.

Sign document

  1. Click this item to open the Sign/Certify panel.
  2. Drag a suitable signature scheme to sign the envelope file.

    An envelope template file, as a rule, is designed to contain a digital signature field for signing. Otherwise, you can interactively sign the envelope from the Security ribbon.

  3. Select Sign or Certify to place your default signature. In the case of Certify, you can also restrict permitted actions for the document. See Signing and Certifying Documents.