Encrypting ODS Generated PDF Files

You can use ODS to generate PDF output. When these PDF files are not password protected, any user can use Acrobat to view and edit the PDF files. You can encrypt and password-protect your PDF output files by specifying the PDFSECURITY= system option. Valid security levels for the PDFSECURITY= option are NONE or HIGH. SAS encrypts PDF documents using a 128-bit encryption algorithm. With PDFSECURITY=HIGH, at least one password must be set using the PDFPASSWORD= system option. A password is required to open a PDF file that has been generated with ODS.

For more information, see PDF Security in SAS Output Delivery System: User’s Guide and Securing ODS-Generated PDF Files in SAS Output Delivery System: User’s Guide.

The following table lists the PDF system options that are available to restrict or allow users' ability to access, assemble, copy, or modify ODS PDF files. Other SAS system options control whether the user can fill in forms and set the print resolution. These system options are documented in SAS System Options: Reference.

PDF System Options
Task	System Option
Specifies whether text and graphics from PDF documents can be read by screen readers for the visually impaired	PDFACCESS \| NOPDFACCESS
Controls whether PDF documents can be assembled	PDFASSEMBLY \| NOPDFASSEMBLY
Controls whether PDF document comments can be modified	PDFCOMMENT \| NOPDFCOMMENT
Controls whether the contents of a PDF document can be changed	PDFCONTENT \| NOPDFCONTENT
Controls whether text and graphics from a PDF document can be copied	PDFCOPY \| NOPDFCOPY
Controls whether PDF forms can be filled in	PDFFILLIN \| NOPDFFILLIN
Specifies the password to use to open a PDF document and the password used by a PDF document owner	PDFPASSWORD =
Controls the resolution used to print the PDF document	PDFPRINT=
Controls the printing permissions for PDF documents	PDFSECURITY=

Note: The SAS/SECURE software and TLS libraries are included in the SAS installation software only for countries that allow the importation of encryption software.