Guide
Lock a fillable PDF form on Mac
Send a client the forms you completed for them as static copies they can review but not change, including government XFA forms that will not open in Preview.
Published
01
Open Lock PDF
Open PiBye and choose Lock PDF in the sidebar.
02
Add your forms
Drop one or more filled-in PDF forms onto the page, or choose Choose PDFs.
03
Find the locked copies
PiBye saves each locked copy beside its original as “(static).pdf” and shows it in Finder. Any form it could not convert is listed with the reason.
04
Check and send
Open the locked copy, confirm every answer reads correctly, then send it to your client for review. Make any corrections in the fillable original and lock it again.
Why lock a form before a client reviews it
When you complete forms for a client, they need to check the answers before anything is filed. A fillable PDF stays fillable after you send it: a client can retype an answer, clear a field or press Reset Form without meaning to, and some viewers show fields differently or not at all. Their corrections should come back to you, not into the file.
A locked copy has the answers printed into the page like any other text, so everyone sees the same finished form. The usual workaround is to print the form and scan it back in, which loses quality and searchable text.
What Lock PDF changes
Typed answers, checkboxes, radio buttons and dates are drawn into the page content. The fillable fields are removed, along with Save, Reset Form and Print Form buttons, which hold no answers.
The locked copy is saved beside the original with “(static).pdf” added to its name. The original file is not changed.
Government forms that will not open in Preview
Some government forms, including many Canadian immigration (IRCC) forms, are Adobe LiveCycle (XFA) forms. Outside Adobe Reader they often show only “Please wait… If this message is not eventually replaced…”.
PiBye lays these forms out itself and saves a static copy that opens in Preview and any PDF viewer, so a client can review a completed form without Adobe Reader, and you can keep it for the file. If a form cannot be laid out, PiBye lists it with the reason and leaves it unchanged.
Do not submit a locked copy to IRCC
IRCC forms with a Validate button are 2D barcode forms. IRCC says you must always click Validate, whether you apply online or by mail. For online applications it says “Do not print the 2D barcode form” and to upload the form to your account; for paper applications it says to print the form including the barcodes on the last page.
A locked copy has no working barcodes, so it is not the file IRCC processes. Fill and validate the form in Adobe Acrobat Reader and submit that file. Use Lock PDF for the copy your client reviews and for your records.
Limits
A locked copy is not password protection or encryption. Anyone with a full PDF editor can still change a page, as with any PDF.
Lock PDF runs on your Mac and does not upload forms. Check each locked copy before sending it, especially long XFA forms with repeating sections.