I cannot rearrange pages of a PDF in Preview

high sierrapdfpreview

Trying to learn how to use my camera, I downloaded this PDF manual. Once I opened it in Preview, I noticed that the pages were not in the right order, so I tried moving them in the left-side drawer to reorder them. But Preview wouldn't let me.

I usually have no issue reordering pages of a PDF by dragging them around. But for some reason, I cannot rearrange this document (I can't rotate the pages either).

I checked, and the file isn't locked and I have read and write permissions.

Why can't I reorder the pages of this PDF file?

Best Answer

The PDF is, somehow, locked against editing.

Here is the workaround I found, to achieve the desired result without having to use a third-party app. The idea is to duplicate the PDF from Preview in a way that will remove the restrictions.

Open the PDF and chose File then Print. In the dialog, chose size and orientation, then click on PDF on the bottom left, then Print to PDF.

Open the new file. It can now be modified at will, like any unlocked PDF.