Tech Tip – How to Secure PDF’s and Add Hyperlinks on a Mac

I love my Mac! I’ve never owned a PC and so I have nothing to compare it to, but I’d never use anything else. My Mac has always been a great tool for me.

But there is one issue I have with Mac that is something all Mac users deal with if they use PowerPoint (ppt) to create products to sell. (I’m speaking specifically to TeachersPayTeachers and Currclick publishers). We can’t create hyperlinks with ppt! Which is a total bummer!

Another complaint I hear a lot is, how can we secure our files without having to purchase or subscribe to Acrobat, which is really pricy? Well, I’ve found a solution to both of these issues.

I do have a subscription to Acrobat Pro, but will let it expire when its time is up.

Before I continue, I want to emphasize how extremely important it is to secure your work. First, you want to protect your own content. You don’t want someone to be able to copy and paste what you’ve worked so hard creating and make something similar.

Second, many of us use clipart that is copyrighted. Most of these amazing clip artist will state in their terms of use something about “flattening the images so they can’t be lifted”. You might ask, what does this mean? It means, if you don’t secure the file, someone can come in and copy and paste their clipart into a new file and use it without permission.

I know I don’t want someone stealing my products and using them without permission. I’m pretty sure you all feel the same. When we use clipart from these artist, we are agreeing to their terms. If you’re not securing your files, you are in breech of those terms. I’m not here to preach to you! But to educate you about this important topic. I was unaware of these things when I first starting selling and I just want to share what I’ve learned. And, as a Mac user, there are simple and affordable ways to keep these terms.

I’ve read how some will save all their ppt slides as JPEGS, but I don’t like the quality of the images and I wanted something better. I’m not saying this is a wrong way of doing things. I just haven’t found a way to save my slides without the quality going down. If you know how to fix that, I’m all ears :)

Watch the tutorial below to learn how to secure your PDF files and add hyperlinks using PDF Editor. The most important criteria for me was that I could add hyperlinks and combine files.

There is also a PDF Editor Pro version, if you’re interested in that. With it, you can create forms, and even secure your files and more. I don’t see a need for it personally, but some of you might. You can upgrade to Pro at any time if you feel you need more options. They also offer a free trial, which is nice if you’re unsure about using this program. And for you PC users, they offer a version for you too :)

By the way, I’m not affiliated with PDF Editor, I just think it’s a really cool program, a nice alternative to Acrobat, and I wanted to share :)

I’d love to know what you think about this topic. Have you heard of PDF Editor? If so, how has it worked for you? What have you been using to secure your files?

I hope this helps some of you!