unlock password protected pdf

[Deirdre784]

Thanks for all the advice, happy to try anything! Very frustrating though as I don’t know why it has a password in the first place 🙁

[familydar]

If you're sure you never passworded the file, it may be a software glitch.  The following is just a hunch based on some old M$ money files that I created and definitely weren't passworded, but the later version of M$M that I installed on a new computer thought they were.  The answer was to install the old version of M$M on the new computer and they worked fine.

If you're using a different pdf viewer from the one you were using when you saved the file you're trying to open, or even if you're not (because lots of software gets updated unbeknown to us), you might have some success trying a different viewer.  If you're on a different computer now, do you still have the old one that you could try a copy on?  Or access to an old computer that may still have an old pdf viewer installed?

Best of luck!
Jane :-)

[Deirdre784]

That's interesting Jane, thanks. I can't guarantee 100% that I didn't set a password but am sure that if I had to, it would have been one of two basic passwords which I've tried several times now, and it keeps saying 'check password' then 'incorrect'.

I've tried opening it on the family desktop which I probably used at the time, rather than my ipad (now replaced by a laptop), but same issue. No other copy found. File saved to onedrive. Have tried saving a copy, but no luck without the password.

I've tried the 'smallpdf' suggestion from Andy J2022 but that failed too - said it was strongly encrypted and would take 1.2 million years to remove 

Have more or less given up now, but when I send the new application later it will be interesting to see if I get the chance to save a copy.

[andrewalston]

Is it possible that you used one of your "standard" passwords, but at the time you had CapsLock unexpectedly ON?

It was always unusual characters which caused problems when I worked with multinationals. People get used to typing passwords using the positions of the keys, and they can be different in other countries. Sometimes the required characters were not even present on the keyboard in use!

[Deirdre784]

Thanks Andrew, I hadn’t thought of that, so will try it now. Have to admit that the strong encryption message in the unlock website made me think it was a randomly generated one with loads of numbers and letters 🙄

[Deirdre784]

Sadly that didn't work Andrew, but I have given in and submitted the application now. Typically, now that it's too late to amend the new one, it suggests you save a copy and that it will be password protected using the numbers from your date of birth I've saved this new copy with the password included in the file name 

[Gadget]

Sadly that didn't work Andrew, but I have given in and submitted the application now. Typically, now that it's too late to amend the new one, it suggests you save a copy and that it will be password protected using the numbers from your date of birth I've saved this new copy with the password included in the file name 

That's what mine were, Deirdre  - not mine but another member of the tamily's.

[Deirdre784]

Sorry Gadget, was that what you meant in reply 2? I’m afraid that I didn’t try that as i was assuming (i do that too much!) that it would have been set by me.

[Gadget]

I think it's the default for password protected.