is there a way to password protect a pdf that has been uploaded to a widget?

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  ngses · Member · Aug 30, 2015 at 9:34 pm

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  I want to add a weekly pdf to my page. It needs to be password protected so only parents and teachers at my school can view it. What would be the best way to do this or is there a way to do it?

  The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

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  kokkieh · Staff · Aug 31, 2015 at 9:21 am

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  Hi there. There is no way to password-protect the content of a widget, or to restrict it to certain viewers.

  The better option would be to upload it to a page or post (uploading it to a post will have the added benefit that subscribers will be notified of its publication) and then password-protect that page/posts. If you go with posts, you can use the same password every week. Then just distribute that password to the parents so they can read the post and download the PDF each week. https://en.support.wordpress.com/pages/page-visibility/

  However, be aware that this isn’t foolproof. Obviously any person with the password will be able to view that post/page, and additionally ANYONE with the direct link to the document will be able to download it, even without having the password to the page where it’s posted. There’s no way to prevent this on a public site.

  Another option might be to password-protect the PDF itself, but I’m not sure if the free version of Adobe Reader has that functionality.