A password can be a single word, or a phrase. It is recommended that you use common characters. The more characters you use, the harder it is for an unauthorized program, or “password cracker,” to determine the password.

When you add a password to a drawing, you can choose whether to encrypt drawing properties, and you can specify an encryption type and key length.

After you add a password to a drawing and save the drawing, the password is required before any program or part of a program can read the data in the drawing, even if the drawing is an external reference. A specific password generally is required to be entered once per session.

You can attach a password to a file while modifying the file or when you save the file. You must individually add a password to each drawing you want to encrypt.

If you encrypt drawing properties, such as the title, author, subject, and keywords, then a password is required to view the properties and thumbnail preview of the drawing. If you decide to specify an encryption type and key length, you can select them from the ones available on your computer.

Procedure

To add a password while modifying a drawing

1. Click Tools menu  Options.At the command prompt, enter options.
2. In the Options dialog box, Open and Save tab, click Security Options.
3. In the Security Options dialog box, Password tab, enter a password.
4. To encrypt drawing properties, such as the title, author, subject, and keywords, click Encrypt Drawing Properties.
5. Click OK.
6. In the Confirm Password dialog box, enter the password you used. Click OK.
   WarningIf you lose a password, it is not recoverable. Before you add a password to a drawing, you should create a backup that is not protected with a password.

To add a password before saving a drawing

1. Click File menu  Save As.At the command prompt, enter saveas.
2. In the Save Drawing As dialog box, before saving the file, click Tools menu Security Options.
3. In the Security Options dialog box, Password tab, enter a password.
4. To encrypt drawing properties, such as the title, author, subject, and keywords, click Encrypt Drawing Properties.
5. Click OK.
6. In the Confirm Password dialog box, enter the password you used. Click OK.
   WarningIf you lose a password, it is not recoverable. Before you add a password to a drawing, you should create a backup that is not protected with a password.

To remove a password from a drawing

1. Click Tools menu  Options.At the command prompt, enter options.
2. In the Options dialog box, Open and Save tab, click Security Options.
3. In the Security Options dialog box, Password tab, clear the Password or Phrase to Open This Drawing option.
4. Click OK.

Quick Reference

Commands

SECURITYOPTIONS

Specifies password or digital signature options for a drawing file.