Frequently Asked Questions

Vitrium offers the ability to restrict or permit users from accessing protected content from specific countries and/or US states and Canadian provinces . This can be set in Vitrium Security's DRM Policy Settings. You may need to check your subscription to determine if you have access to this feature. 

Vitrium's system is designed to support ISO 3166 country codes as well as the US states and Canadian provinces and territories. The complete list of supported codes is as follows:

To insert a watermark in a custom placement, go to your Watermark Settings and click on the Watermark name > Placement > and select 'Custom'  from the drop-down menu

You will see these custom placement fields:

X Offset: this is the horizontal positioning of your watermark. Use a value of 0 to 1 (to represent percentages). For example, 0 (0%) represents the far left, while 1 (100%) represents the far right, and 0.5 represents the middle (50%). It is recommended to use an integer between 0.01 to 0.99. 

Y Offset: this is the vertical positioning of your watermark. Use a value of 0 to 1 (to represent percentages). For example, 0 (or 0%) represents the bottom, while 1 (100%) represents the top, and 0.5 represents the middle (50%). It is recommended to use an integer between 0.01 to 0.99.

Width: this is the width size of the box where your watermark will be placed inside (the 'box' is invisible). The measurements are in pixels. For example, if you have a longer watermark, you may want to set 300-600 pixels for the width, or for a shorter watermark, you may want to use 50-100 pixels for the width.

Height: this is the height of the box where your watermark will be placed inside (again, this is an 'invisible' box). The measurements are in pixels. For example, if you are using a large-sized font, you may want to use a larger height such as 50-100 pixels, or for a smaller-sized font, use a height 10-25 pixels.

Rotation: this is the rotation of your watermark, represented in angles. 0 = horizontal, 90 = vertical (text runs bottom to top), 45 = angled up to the right, 180 = flipped upside down (yikes, don't use this one!), 270 = vertical (text runs top to bottom)  

No, not unless the eBook reader has a built-in browser. Most eBook readers use a proprietary format, often with their own DRM capabilities.  

However, if the eBook reader has a decent web browser, it may be able to open Vitrium-protected content.

There are two reasons why this button may not appear for you or your end users:

1. Check the DRM Policy Setting that is assigned to your user in your Vitrium account and make sure that the Offline Access field has a value that's greater than 0. For Enterprise customers that integrate with an external system, you may need to check your code. 
   
   
   
2. If the DRM Policy assigned to your user appears correct and you have External Service enabled on your account, then follow these steps:
   
   
   1. In your Vitrium account, go to the Settings tab 
   2. Click on Integration Settings, ensure Enable SSO is enabled(checked).
   3. Make sure the 'Remember Me' option is enabled (checked). If it isn't, enable it and click Save Settings.
      

When you upload a video to Vitrium, your video is converted into 5 different resolutions, each with a different bitrate.

Example: A user streaming a 720p will need an internet connection capable of downloading data at 266 KB per second (2.13 Mbps). This means that if a user watches a 10-minute video from start to finish at 720p, they would have consumed 160 MB of bandwidth (266 KB/second x 600 seconds).

Yes, but there is a limitation. The PDF will get protected and converted into both secured formats: (1) protected PDF file and (2) secure web link.  However, the file attachments do not get protected and the user will be able to access them from within Adobe Reader when the protected PDF file is sent to the user. The web viewer does not show the file attachments at all. 

If the PDF attachments are an integral part of the PDF and you need them protected as well, we recommend doing one of two things:

1. Combine them into the PDF so it becomes 1 PDF with no attachments, and then upload them into Vitrium for protection.
2. Add the files separately into Vitrium for protection and send all protected PDF files (or web viewer links) separately to your users.

Yes, the Vitrium system cannot accept file names with these characters in them: 

" < > | : * ? /\

The Global Object Security (GOS) policy is a setting in Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat that controls how cookies in Adobe products behave. The default setting is to "enable global object security policy" which means that every time someone renames a file or moves a file to a different location, a different cookie is created each time. Since Vitrium Security's content security solution relies on these cookies to track the number of 'devices' that a user opens the secured content on, it is STRONGLY recommended that end users disable this feature. 

How to disable the Global Object Security Policy:

1. In Adobe, go to Edit > Preferences
2. Click the JavaScript tab
3. De-select (uncheck) the "global object security policy" field
4. Click OK

Users will only need to do this once for one computer. If they wish to open the protected PDF file on a 2nd computer (assuming they have permission to do so), then they will need to disable the GOS policy in Adobe on the other computer as well. 

To learn more about disabling the GOS check out the 'How to Support Your End-Users' guide.

Why do users need to disable the Global Object Security Policy in Adobe?

Because otherwise the user may exceed the limit that was set for them in their DRM policy and they will encounter the vc3 error message (You have exceeded your PDF or browser limit) even if they have only opened the file on the same computer.

By disabling Adobe's GOS policy, the user can then safely move the protected file from one folder to another, or rename the protected file to something else, but not reach their limit as the cookie is saved with the file on that same computer. 

Can I remove the Adobe global object security policy pop-up message?

Yes, you can remove this message but we only recommend this to Vitrium customers who DO NOT set a PDF limit in their DRM policy settings.

To remove the message on a new content setting: 

1. In Vitrium, create a new Content Setting
2. Click the Advanced Options tab
3. Check "Set Acrobat cookie policy"
4. For both Acrobat 10.0 and Acrobat 11.0+, select "No prompt and no close document" for both fields
5. Ensure all your other Content Settings are created (i.e. no print, no copy, etc.)
6. Click Save & Exit
7. Then apply this new Content Setting to all files or only those files where you do not require a PDF limit for users

This can also be done in an existing document content setting as long as the content setting has not been applied to more than 25 files. If it has been applied to more than 25 files, feel free to reach out to support@vitrium.com to get the change made for you.

Using Vitrium Security's VersionUnique API, this content setting can be changed/overridden by including this parameter:

"DocPolicyOverride":
    {
    "AcroJsGosBehaviourType": "NoPromptAndNoClose",
    "AcroJsGosUnlimitedBehaviourType": "NoPromptAndNoClose"
   }

Where:

AcroJsGosBehaviourType would apply to Acrobat v10 and earlier releases
AcroJsGosUnlimitedBehaviourType would apply to Acrobat v11 and newer releases

Definition of each Acrobat GOS policy setting:

• PromptAndCloseDocument - this will prompt the user if they don't have the global object security policy setting disabled and will close the document until they make this change. This is the default setting. 
• PromptOnly - this will prompt the user if they don't have the global object security policy setting disabled but will not close the document. You then run the risk of the user reaching their PDF limit if they did not follow the instructions.
• PromptOnce - this will prompt the user only once if they don't have the global object security policy setting disabled but will not close the document. The prompt will appear once per document, not per device. You then run the risk of the user reaching their PDF limit if they did not follow the instructions.
• NoPromptAndNoClose - this will neither prompt the user nor close the document and is only recommended in scenarios where you DO NOT require setting a PDF limit for users. When set, a new device ID/Tracking ID is generated when the user first opens the document; a new deviceId is generated if the user then renames and opens that document; and a new deviceId is generated if the user moves the document to a new folder and opens it from there. So be aware that a small device limit (1 or 2) can be exceeded by a user who simply renames or moves the Protected PDF on disk.

If you want to check out a user’s activity you need to review “User Activity Log” report in Reports tab. You can access a specific user’s activity report whether by filtering the report by the User Name or going to the Users tab and click on the report icon

This report shows the date and time when a file was accessed, what the file name is, which user accessed the file, which group the user belongs to, which method they used to unlock the file (web or PDF), which IP address they used to unlock from, what their tracking ID is (a specific ID from their application or browser’s cookie), and also which application or browser was used, what version, and what operating system they used.

If there are different Tracking IDs or different IP addresses, it means that the user has unlocked or tried to unlock the content from different devices and from different locations. Note that Secured PDF files can only be accessed in Adobe Reader or Acrobat on a desktop or Laptop so the Application shown for secured PDF content is only Reader; However, Secured web links are accessible through a browser whether in desktops, smartphones or tablets.

For the secured web documents to work offline, a copy needs to be saved in the user's browser cache. This is a quick video shows how you can save a copy on your browser cache for offline use of the secured web document (Vitrium's Web Viewer):

Basically, the web document needs to be saved in the browser’s cache (as cookies) so it can be used later when the User decides to access it ‘offline.’ You’ll notice in the video also the delete button to remove this ‘saved copy’ from the browser for when their use is done.

We highly advise for the User to clean up their browser cache soon after they’re done reading the document offline as it will eventually fill up their browser caching storage (which gets stored on the hard drive). Simply put, if they save all  the documents they have permission to for offline use, the browser cache can get quite large and it will start to slow down their computer speed for processing things.

Here’s an article online that you can read for more  clarification on the browser cache: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/browser-cache-makeuseof-explains/

Adobe Reader has certain print settings that may render your protected PDF document as 'unreadable'. Our software views this as a form 'modification,' forcing the document to lock again and hence the reason why you’re seeing 'This Document is Protected' when printing the document.

One way to resolve this is to "uncheck" the Save ink/toner field and then re-print your document.  If that doesn't resolve your printing, submit a ticket to the Vitrium support team. 

Vitrium Security offers two types of secured outputs: (1) a secure web link and (2) a protected PDF file (for document conversions only). The concept of ‘saving a file’ is different for each type of output:

Secure Web Link

Although you can ‘save’ a web link by bookmarking it, you cannot download the content. The Vitrium customer can set a number of days of ‘offline access’ as part of the DRM policy setting but even if that is allowed, the user can click the ‘Save to browser’ button in the web viewer and the content gets saved in the browser’s cache or memory for offline viewing. Again, the content does not get downloaded anywhere.

Protected PDF File

Content and files that are protected with Vitrium Security are protected no matter where they reside or where they are saved – on a local computer, network drive, file sharing application, or a mobile device – the security travels with the protected PDF document. So theoretically, the user can save the file but if they save it to a public computer or shared network, the content itself cannot be viewed or accessed unless the person is authenticated. This is why Vitrium Security can be an ideal solution to combine with an existing content management or document management system.

When "Fillable PDF" forms are protected, after successfully unlocking the content, the user might need to enter data into the form(s) and save that entered data to a new file and send it back to someone. The new PDF is protected in the same way as the original PDF and the same DRM policy remains in effect.

Vitrium Security Professional and Enterprise Editions include the capability to customize the domain name that is used for protected content links. Here's what's required:

1. You (the customer) will need to create CNAMES on your end and point to the following on Vitrium's end:
   
   Example:
   Customer domain name: NewCustomer.com
   Company acronym: nc
   
   For the protected PDF:  pdf.NewCustomer.com -> nc-docs.vitrium.com
   For the web viewer:      viewer.NewCustomer.com -> nc-view.vitrium.com
   
2. Vitrium would then bind your chosen domain names to the appropriate hosted websites.
   
   
3. We also strongly recommend you purchase an SSL certificate and send it to Vitrium. A (minimum) 2048-bit encrypted SSL cert is needed and preferably for IIS 8+ (.pfx format).
   
   If this is not possible then please be sure to send both the certificate and private key.
   
   If you will only be using the web viewer, then the SSL cert just needs to have a subject name similar to viewer.NewCustomer.com or else you'll need to get a wildcard for both sites (PDF and web viewer).
   
   Ideally, Vitrium would require the SSL certificate(s) a few days prior to go-live in case there are any issues.

Contact the Vitrium team to learn more: success@vitrium.com  

In Vitrium, click on the Users Tab > Select the User > Under User Info tab, click on 'Set the new Password' and enter in the Password text field provided.

Once completed, click Save & Exit and the new password entered will be applied.

Note: It is your responsibility as the administrator to inform your User about the password (even the username) changes made. 

The following information from Vitrium's license keys are communicated back to Vitrium's main server once every 24 hours. The information is strictly summary and statistical information. It does NOT contain any specific details. It's purely top level aggregate info.

For all 3 components:

• License Key
• Component Version
• Last Admin Activity Timestamp
• Uptime

In addition, the following items depending on the component checking the license:

For content server (ServerAPI):

• Total Count of Active Documents
• Total Count of Active Folders
• Total Count of Active LoginForms
• Total Count of Active DocumentPolicies
• Total Count of Active Watermarks
• Total Count of Active StaffUsers

For EIP/auth server (AuthAPI):

• Total Count of Active Readers
• Total Count of Active Groups
• Total Count of Unique Unlocks
• Total Count of Prints
• Total Count of Unique Documents
• Total Count of Active Share Settings

For WebViewer server (WebAPI):

• Total Count of Active Documents

Yes, this is possible in Vitrium Security Enterprise. The Vitrium Server API allows multilingual support through the use of one account per language on the same server. Each account can have a custom ReaderMessages.xml, which allows Unicode text.

Unfortunately, displaying messages based on user locale is not possible with Adobe Acrobat due to the inconsistency and unreliability of Adobe sending through the user’s operating system’s locale.

Vitrium Security uses your SMTP mail server to send out email.

During installation, the Protectedpdf.es prompts for mail server information to deliver email messages.

In some situations where the email server requires authentication, the system Administrator should manually configure the email server settings. In these situations, the Administrator needs to do the following post-installation steps every time he/she runs the installer.

To manually set the mail server setting:
                1. Open Web.Config
                2. Find the <system.net><mailSettings> section
                3.  Configure the section based on this: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms164242.aspx

Along with Adobe Acrobat Reader and Acrobat Pro, Vitrium's protected PDF files also work with PDF-XChange. This PDF viewer is only available for Windows users.

A free download is available here:  https://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-viewer

• Open PDF-XChange
• Select File > Preferences > JavaScript
  
  • Ensure "Enable JavaScript Actions" is CHECKED (enabled)
  • Ensure "Enable global object security policy" is UNCHECKED (disabled)

IMPORTANT NOTE: These are the minimum requirements for self-hosting Vitrium Security. Requirements may differ for different use cases. The installed version is only available for Vitrium Security Enterprise.

The Vitrium Security software requires Microsoft IIS and SQL Server. The recommended configuration depends primarily on the volume of the content that will be protected and/or the volume of expected unlocks/views.

It is recommended to set up three hosts:

• Front-end host for the Vitrium Security web applications and background processes
• Back-end host for the underlying Microsoft SQL Server database
• Back-end host for the agent content processing 

One or two hosts are acceptable for a test or staging environment, or for a low-volume setup. 

Front-End Application Host

Software Requirements

Unless otherwise specified, the following components must be installed on the front-end host prior to installing the Vitrium Security software:

• Microsoft® Windows Server 2016, or higher recommended
• Microsoft® IIS 8.5 or higher
• Microsoft® .NET Framework 4.7.2 and later
• Microsoft® ASP.MVC 4

Hardware Requirements

• GHz dual-core (or multi core) processor - recommend 8 CPU
• 16 GB RAM
• 100 GB hard disk for file storage

Note that the content conversion performance is CPU-bound and also depends on network speed to upload/download the content to/from the server.

Storage Requirements

Disk space on the front-end host is dictated by the size of the content to be processed and stored:

• For documents & images, the Vitrium file repository will need 2-4x the amount of space of your total files uploaded as Vitrium stores the original files + the web viewer files + protected PDF files 
• For video, the Vitrium file repository will need 3-6x the amount of space of your total video files as Vitrium stores the original videos + protected versions in all the different resolutions that you select in your Content Settings 
• For audio, the Vitrium file repository will need 2x the amount of space of your total audio files as Vitrium stores the original audio files + protected versions. 

Vitrium recommends using a SAN or NAS or network share for storing the raw and/or protected content and web viewer converted files (the "repository") in anything but large volume environments. The repository can be located anywhere.

Back-End Database Host

Software Requirements

Vitrium does not recommend running the database on the same server as the Vitrium Security software.

• Microsoft® Windows Server 2016, or higher recommended
• Microsoft® SQL Server 2016 or higher

Agent Host(s)

Vitrium recommends setting up a separate agent host for protecting content in medium to high volume environments so that this processing does not affect content unlocks and/or admin processes.

Software Requirements

• Microsoft® Windows Server 2016, or higher recommended
• Microsoft® .NET Framework 4.7.2

Hardware Requirements

• GHz dual-core (or multi core) processor - recommend 4 CPU
• 8 GB RAM 
• 125 GB hard disk (50 GB for operating system + 75 GB for processing)

Note that the content conversion performance is CPU-bound, and also depends on network speed to upload/download the content to/from the server.

Load Balancing

The Vitrium Security software is designed to be load balanced for scalability, redundancy, and ease of maintenance. Session state is persisted all the way to the database so any of the front-end servers can randomly serve requests and perform the security handshake. To set this up, install as many front-end application servers with the same configuration. All of these servers should point to the same SAN or NAS or network share for the content repository and to the same back-end database server.  And, the back-end database server can leverage Microsoft SQL Server’s built-in clustering for scalability, redundancy and ease of maintenance.

No, copy and paste will work regardless if it is disabled in content settings. Applications that read content aloud need direct access to the content. Accessibility mode overrides the copy/paste content setting, 

Navigate to the Vitrium dashboard and go to Settings > Content Settings > Advanced Options. Ensure the feature 'Disable Image Optimization in Web Viewer' is enabled.

After doing this, refresh the content. If there is no discernible improvement please follow the instructions below to continue troubleshooting. 

If you are using Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Microsoft Edge navigate to this page for instructions on how to disable hardware acceleration in your browser.

If you have uploaded a PDF file to Vitrium and the images in the web viewer appear distorted, grainy, or have lost some of their original quality compared to the original file, then you may be able to resolve this by optimizing the original PDF file in Adobe.

Try Adobe's built-in optimization tool in Adobe Acrobat and refer to the following screenshots for our recommended settings.

Alternatively, if you use Adobe InDesign to create your PDF content, click here to review our suggested PDF Export Settings in Adobe InDesign.

Recommended Settings in PDF Optimizer in Adobe Acrobat

Open Adobe Acrobat and navigate to Tools > Optimize PDF. Change the Settings to Custom and update the image settings:

Navigate to fonts and ensure 'Do not embed any font' is checked.

Navigate to Transparency and select medium resolution first. If the conversion fails, revert to high:

Navigate to Discard Objects:

Navigate to Discard User Data and ensure the following is correct:

Finally navigate to Clean up:

If you tried these settings and it still did not help resolve the distorted images, then please submit a ticket to the Vitrium team and include your original PDF file and a screenshot of the distorted image, if possible.

If your document is over 100 pages on Windows or Macbook and a user selects print; after the 100 pages print they will need to click on the 'Continue' button to print the next 100 pages until the entire document prints. This rule applies for  documents larger than 20 page on Android or iPhone. This is a browser limitation - not Vitrium's - due to memory issues.