Can google spider 'locked' PDF's?

Is google able to 'read' and spider PDF documents

[markmarkymark]

Hi All

I know that Google can spider PDF documents, although I have no idea how it does it. However, my question is, will it spider 'locked' PDF documents? By that, I mean will it be able to read and index the text of the PDF if you decide to lock the document and set the security parameters so that you can not copy text?

I have a whole load of PDF's to upload to my website but they are locked. I have set the security settings so that a user can print the document, but I would prefer that the text can not be easily copied.

So, can Google cope with this?

Thanks for your attention.

Cheers

Mark

[tedster]

As long as they are not password protected, Google can spider the pdf documents. I know of several that have been indexed.

[markmarkymark]

Tedster

Many thanks for the quick response. That was what I thought. However, I guess I was not totally clear with my question.

Just to be clear - I am not password protecting the document (i.e. you do not need a password to open the document) - but what I am doing is password protecting the security options when means that you can not select text by copy and paste. All you can do is open the document and print if you wish.

My query, therefore, is if Google can spider a document it can not 'copy' and 'Paste' (I assume that its software effectively does this?).

Mark

[tedster]

Spidering isn't analogous to copy/paste -- it's more like the steps a computer must take even before displaying the document on screen.

Also (and sorry if this is a disappointment) this kind of security is extremely easy to bypass. Commercial applications to do this are openly available at very cheap prices -- partly because so many organizations find legacy pdfs they need to edit but they've lost the passwords.

[markmarkymark]

Tedster..

Thanks again for your valuable help - I'm happy now and understand.

I also know you can get around these passwords - I just like to use them to stop the casual user nicking my stuff...if they really want it they will have it (which makes me think it must be good!).

ta

Mark

[BigDave]

All those options do is set a bit telling the client application what the wishes of the creator are. They do not put in anything that actually stops anyone from printing, copying, etc.

I suspect that if the spec were to add a noindex bit that google would respect that one.

I have my system set up to ignore the security bits in PDFs.