General ⇒ Protect the LaTeX File

[meena]

Hi all,

I wrote my Ph.D. thesis in Latex. I want to protect my latex files so that only I can modify those files but others can see and read the contents. This must work irrespective of the computer. Looking for suggestions.

Thank you,

best regards,
Meena

[daleif]

huh??? what does this have to do with latex?

If they can read the files, they can copy it and thus make their own version they can alter. So I don't quite understand the question.

[meho_r]

LaTeX files are just simple text files and I cannot think of a way to lock them down in the manner you need. You can do that with .pdf files, but there are simple ways to remove any security from .pdf files too. Same applies to .doc, .odt and other formats: you can make them read-only, locked with a password etc., but it's too easy to crack their security these days. And, at the end, even if you provide others with printed material, they can scan it and copy its content using OCR software.