Applies to: All editions
Purpose
External Sharing is the default balanced profile for preparing PDFs before they are distributed outside the immediate working environment. It removes common metadata, historical, annotation, form, attachment, and active-action structures while preserving normal page content.
Default actions
External Sharing uses Preserve Quality mode and removes:
- Document information metadata;
- XMP metadata;
- Document identifiers;
- Previous or incremental revisions;
- Comments and annotations;
- Interactive forms and form data;
- Embedded files;
- JavaScript and document actions.
It does not, by default, remove:
- Optional-content layers;
- Hyperlinks;
- Bookmarks;
- Hidden/off-page text.
Automatic verification and SHA-256 calculation are enabled by default.
Why links and bookmarks remain
The profile favors normal usability. Hyperlinks and bookmarks can be legitimate navigation features and are therefore left intact unless a stronger profile or custom policy removes them.
If external navigation itself is sensitive or prohibited, use Strict Privacy or configure the hyperlink and bookmark options in Pro or Enterprise.
When to use a stronger profile
Use Strict Privacy or Maximum Assurance when the document contains high-risk residual structures, when hidden/off-page text must be removed, or when the disclosure procedure requires minimizing interactive and navigational features beyond the External Sharing defaults.