How to copy text from locked PDFs in macOS

AppleInsider

There are few things worse than trying to copy a string of text from a PDF, only to find that you can't highlight any text at all. Thankfully, bypassing a locked PDF is easy enough to do on Mac.

Locked PDFs don't have to leave you manually typing a wall of text.

If you've ever found yourself trying to highlight text in a PDF to no avail, then you have found yourself in possession of a locked PDF. A PDF can be locked for many legitimate reasons, such as copyright protection. However, sometimes you just need to copy a longer piece of text or many smaller pieces of text from a document that has no business being locked.

Thankfully, the solution does not involve manually typing everything out. Even better, the solution is built straight into macOS and requires very little legwork.

How to copy text from a locked PDF using Preview

In 2021, Apple introduced the Live Text feature to iOS 15 and macOS Monterey. This feature allows users to copy text from images they've captured. With the Live Text feature and macOS' built-in screenshot function, copying text from a locked PDF is a breeze.

Using screenshots and previews, you can bypass locked PDFs using only tools that come on your Mac.

1. Open the PDF you wish to copy text from


2. Take a screenshot of the text you want to copy


3. Open the screenshot in Preview.


4. Highlight the text in the screenshot, and copy it.

Just like that, you've copied text from a locked PDF with no problem. While this will get the job done using only tools that come on your Mac out of the box, there is a better way.

Using third-party apps

To cut out a step in the middle, you can use a third-party app that will directly copy text on your screen to your clipboard. In particular, CleanShot X has a feature that simply allows you to highlight an area like you would choose an area to screenshot, and all text in that area will be copied to your clipboard. CleanShot X does, however, come with a one-time price tag of $29. It can also be obtained through Setapp, alongside many other apps, for $9.99 monthly.

Third-party apps allow for a slightly quicker process, but at a price.

From there, you can paste wherever you like. And for those concerned about the privacy of the tool, all text recognition is performed on your machine. Through this method, you can cut out the step of having to actually open up a screenshot and highlight the text to copy it.

If copying text from a locked PDF is something your frequently find yourself doing, the price for any third-party app may be worth the time you'll save. For those in need of a quick solution, you can absolutely just use the tools that are already on your Mac.




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justsomeguy1

Worst article of the year?

Most of the time you can just "print to pdf" the locked PDF, producing an unlocked PDF. Then copy from that.

m68000

JustSomeGuy1 said:

Worst article of the year?

Most of the time you can just "print to pdf" the locked PDF, producing an unlocked PDF. Then copy from that.

I appreciate these how to articles.  Even if they don’t help me, they could help others.

jas99

I, too, appreciate these sorts of articles. 

I hadn’t thought of using the Live Text functionality. 

jellybelly

JustSomeGuy1 said:

Worst article of the year?

Most of the time you can just "print to pdf" the locked PDF, producing an unlocked PDF. Then copy from that.

That’s a clever solution. Thank you.   Could’ve appreciated it even more without the first sentence. 

eriamjh

JustSomeGuy1 said:

Worst article of the year?

Most of the time you can just "print to pdf" the locked PDF, producing an unlocked PDF. Then copy from that.

Most of the time.  I have PDF scans of 50+ year-old documents that don't have copyable text to begin with and aren't locked.

Some are locked.   This is a good tip.

surgefilter

A few variants of a Locked PDF depending on how it was made in Acrobat Pro.
 

Best of luck copying a fully Encrypted PDF with the Print feature turned off from Acrobat Pro.

Only real way is to screengrab and then use another app’s screenreader TXT, but then it would need laid out again if a Print document, so very little time saving.

joshuachung

JustSomeGuy1 said:

Worst article of the year?

Most of the time you can just "print to pdf" the locked PDF, producing an unlocked PDF. Then copy from that.

It only works if it allows you to print. Some PDFs restrict the print function as well.

ddawson100

eriamjh said:

Most of the time.  I have PDF scans of 50+ year-old documents theriamjh said:

If they are the result of scans then they are just images. You can't copy the text but you can put that through an OCR. You can search for "pdf to text image ocr" to find lots of tools that will do that. OCR isn't perfect but can do a decent job and may be better than having to type the entire thing again.

jeeves staub

JustSomeGuy1 said:

Worst article of the year?

Most of the time you can just "print to pdf" the locked PDF, producing an unlocked PDF. Then copy from that.

Every time I’ve tried this, the document’s security passed through to the “printed” PDF, and the effort was fruitless.