Remove PDF Passwords

A simple and effective tool to remove passwords from multiple PDF files within a folder.

The core program can be run independently but is more effective with the Windows Explorer's Right-click Context Menu

Features

• Batch Processing: Quickly decrypt all password-protected PDFs in a specified directory.
• Customizable Output: Choose to overwrite original files or create new files with the "_decrypted" prefix.
• User-Friendly: Simple installation process and an intuitive context menu integration with Windows Explorer.
• Secure: Password is not stored after execution.

Requirements

Windows:

• This tool is designed for Windows and requires the .NET 8.0 runtime.

PDFsharpCore Library:

• This library is used for PDF manipulation. It is automatically installed by the installer.

Installation

Download:

• Download the latest binary release PDFPasswordRemoverWinx64Installer.exe from the Releases page.

Install:

• Double-click the installer and follow the on-screen instructions.

Note

What is installed?

1. The program and its dependencies in the Windows Program File or \AppData\Local\Programs directory depending on the permissions used at the time of install.
2. Creates the following registry keys for the context menu entry in Windows Explorer:

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\Remove PDF Passwords]
Icon="{app dir}\PDFPasswordRemover.ico"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\Remove PDF Passwords\command]
@="{app dir}\PDFPasswordRemover.exe" "%V"

Usage

Right-Click:

• Right-click on a folder containing PDF files in the Windows Explorer.

Select:

• Choose "Remove PDF Passwords" from the context menu.

Enter Password:

• Enter the password to decrypt the PDFs.

How to compile the source code?

The core working functionality is in the Program.cs file and the registry keys.

The remaining files are for:

• Visual Studio Code - the IDE and build
• Inno Setup - to create the installer (see https://jrsoftware.org/isinfo.php for more details)
• Git related

Compile the code as follows:

1. In Visual Studio Code open the project folder as And Folder to Workspace.. or Open Folder...
2. Then use Tools -> Nuget Package Manager -> Manage NuGet Packages for Solution... and install PDFSharpCore by Stefan Steige
3. Press: Ctrl + Shift + P
4. Select Task: Run Task (See tasks.jason)
5. Select Inno Setup: Compile Script (See PDFPasswordRemover.iss)

This should throw errors for any missing dependencies 😄 (e.g. PDFsharpCore Library:) !

Tip

Use your favourite GenAI to debug and fix the errors 😊.

When it all works the installer file PDFPasswordRemoverWinInstaller.exe is created in the .\Installer\Winx64Installer\ folder.

WARNING: Use the code with caution.

Caution

Disclaimer

• This tool is intended for legal use only. Use it responsibly and respect copyright laws.
• The author is not responsible for any misuse or damage caused by this software.

Important

Contributing

• Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit bug reports, feature requests, or p= ull requests.

License

• This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgements

• This project leverages the PDFSharpCore by Stefan Steiger NuGet package for PDF functionality.