Troubleshooting pdf expiry

Setting a PDF to expire after a specific date or after a number of days is a very popular and useful feature. There are 2 common ways to make a PDF document expire; using a DRM (Digital Rights Management) System or using PDF JavaScript.

While a DRM system works extremely well for PDF expiration and is the most secure, it can be unsuitable for those seeking to use standard PDF readers. It is for this reason that All-About-PDF also offers the ability to use PDF Javascript to make a PDF documents expire.

When you set an expiration date on a PDF using All-About-PDF, it injects JavaScript into the document which is then interpreted when the document is opened by the reader. This leads to 2 main limitations:

  • the document reader must support JavaScript

  • the document reader must have JavaScript support enabled

If after setting an expiration date on your PDF, it still doesn’t appear to work, please check the following points:

PDF Reader Must Support PDF Javascript

It is important to understand that not every PDF reader supports PDF Javascript and for even those that do, the support may be limited. You can find which PDF readers support JavaScript here.

On mobile devices (Android and iOS), the default PDF readers do not support JavaScript and the user must use alternative apps such as PDF Expert for iOS and Xodo for Android.

PDF JavaScript Support Must Be Enabled

If you or your user are using Adobe Reader on Windows or macOS, you must also make sure that JavaScript support is enabled by following the instructions below:

  1. Launch Acrobat or Adobe Reader.

  2. Select Edit>Preferences.

  3. Select the JavaScript Category.

  4. Check the 'Enable Acrobat JavaScript' option.

  5. Click OK.

If you know any other PDF readers that work well with PDF Expiry, please let us know via the Contact form.