Make non-searchable PDFs

You might be wondering why you would want to make a non-searchable PDF. Think about it: PDFs are generally used for reports. There are cases where you need to show the report to other people but don’t want them to copy the information easily. Crippling it to the point of being non-searchable is not going to make it fully copy-proof, as whoever wants to get the info eventually will, but it’s one more step towards protection. The Acrobat for Legal Professionals blog explains how to make your PDF non-searchable in simple steps with Adobe Acrobat:

• Open the PDF
• Choose File>Print
• Choose AdobePDF from the printer list
• Click the ‘Advanced’ button at the bottom of the window
• In ‘Advanced Print Setup’ check ‘Print As Image’ and choose a dpi under 200 to keep good image quality
• Click ‘Save As’, type the name of your document and press OK

To automate the process just go to File>Print All Documents, choose ‘AdobePDF’ from the printer list and change the Adobe Output Folder by browsing for the folder or your choice.