NetDocuments prints “Untrusted” watermark — certificate trust & PDF
Joe B.
Reviewed for technical accuracy
Specialities: NetDocuments & ndOffice, PDF digital signatures, certificate trust chains, Adobe/Edge/Foxit viewers, secure printing & watermarks
NetDocuments prints “Untrusted” watermark — real causes and certificate trust fixes
Technician
A few quick details so we don’t guess:
• Are you opening files via ndOffice (Word/Adobe integration) or from the NetDocuments web interface in a browser?
• When you print, do you see “Untrusted”, “Untrusted Location”, or similar text physically printed as a watermark on each page, or is it only a banner in the viewer?
• Which PDF viewer or application is putting the watermark there (Adobe Acrobat/Reader, Word, Foxit, browser PDF viewer)?
• Is the document digitally signed or encrypted, or is this just a regular PDF/Word file stored in NetDocuments?
Once we know whether the “Untrusted” watermark is coming from the PDF viewer’s security settings, a self-signed or untrusted certificate, or from a NetDocuments policy, we’ll walk step-by-step through trusting the right certificate and disabling the watermark safely.
Technician
Typical reasons an “Untrusted” watermark prints on NetDocuments PDFs:
• The viewer (often Foxit or another integrated PDF tool) marks any file from a location it considers an untrusted host with a watermark until you explicitly add NetDocuments as trusted.
• A self-signed or private certificate is being used, and the certificate chain for
netdocuments.com or the viewer plug-in isn’t trusted on that workstation, so the document source is flagged as untrusted.• Safe-mode or “protected view from the internet” is on, and your security policy says that internet/untrusted documents should display or print with a warning watermark until they’re moved to a trusted location.
• In some environments, a DLP or rights-management add-in injects an “Untrusted” or “Evaluation” watermark when the certificate trust or license check fails.
The good news: if the same PDF prints fine once it’s saved locally, we’re usually one or two steps away from fixing trust — either adding NetDocuments URLs to the trusted locations/hosts list in the viewer, or importing the right certificate into your trusted root/intermediate store.
Technician
• show extra security warnings,
• disable scripts and external content,
• and, in your case, overlay an “Untrusted” watermark when printing.
Quick checks that usually confirm this:
1) Open the same NetDocuments PDF in Adobe Acrobat (bypassing Foxit entirely) and print. If there’s no “Untrusted” watermark, the watermark is coming from Foxit’s security engine, not NetDocuments itself.
2) Look at the message bar — does it mention safe reading mode, restricted action from an untrusted location, or trusted hosts? That’s another clue that your
netdocuments.com host is not yet trusted.3) Test on a machine where IT previously configured Foxit trusted locations for
netdocuments.com or ndOffice. If those users don’t see the watermark, then updating the trusted hosts and certificates list will fix it firm-wide.
Technician
Step 1 — Add NetDocuments as a trusted host/location in your PDF viewer
1) In Foxit (or the viewer that shows the warning), go to File → Preferences → Security or the equivalent Safe Reading/Safe Mode page.
2) Look for settings like Trusted Hosts, Trusted Locations, or “Exempt these locations from security restrictions”.
3) Add your NetDocuments URLs, for example:
•
https://*.netdocuments.com• any firm-specific NetDocuments access host you use (check with IT if needed).
4) Close and reopen Foxit, then launch a PDF directly from NetDocuments/ndOffice and print again.
On many systems, once
netdocuments.com is a trusted host, Foxit no longer flags the document as coming from an untrusted location, so the Untrusted watermark disappears on screen and on printed pages.
Technician
Step 2 — Check and trust the certificate that’s being flagged
1) When you open a digitally signed or secured PDF from NetDocuments, look for a signatures or security panel in your viewer.
2) In Adobe, for example, you can right-click a signature or use Signature Properties → Show Signer’s Certificate and then the Trust tab to add that certificate as a trusted identity if your policy allows it.
3) If your firm uses a private CA or SSL inspection, confirm that the root/intermediate certificate has been deployed to the Windows Trusted Root Certification Authorities store. Otherwise, the viewer may treat the connection as untrusted and apply watermarks or restrictions.
4) For ndOffice and NetDocuments integration, make sure any required NetDocuments or proxy certificates are installed in the machine store and recognized as trusted by the PDF engine.
Once the certificate chain is trusted and NetDocuments is listed as a trusted host, the engine has no reason to mark content from that DMS as “Untrusted” anymore.
Technician
For consistency across apps:
• Make sure ndOffice is up to date; NetDocuments recommends specific settings around Adobe Protected Mode and trusted integration so PDF files aren’t treated like random internet downloads.
• In Adobe Acrobat/Reader, review Edit → Preferences → Security (Enhanced) and the Trusted Locations / Privileged Locations list. If you’re opening PDFs from NetDocuments in Adobe, add the NetDocuments URL and any ndOffice temp paths your firm uses.
• Align your policy: decide whether NetDocuments and its related URLs are treated as a trusted enterprise document source. If yes, add them to trusted lists in whichever viewers people use (Foxit, Adobe, etc.) so users don’t randomly see “Untrusted” overlays depending on which machine they’re on.
That way, whether they print from Foxit, Adobe, or the browser, documents from NetDocuments are consistently trusted and don’t pick up different watermarks or restrictions.
Technician
You might keep an Untrusted watermark:
• For PDFs opened from genuinely unknown or internet locations, where you want users to know they’re working with unverified content.
• When your DLP/rights-management solution marks drafts or external documents as untrusted until they’re reviewed and re-saved into a system like NetDocuments.
• For training environments or eval builds of PDF tools that show “Untrusted” or “Evaluation” until a license or certificate is applied.
In your case, though, NetDocuments is your trusted document management system, so you’re right to remove the “Untrusted” watermark for production filings while still keeping strong certificate validation and security warnings for truly unknown sources.
Technician
Suggested IT checklist for NetDocuments “Untrusted” watermark
• Confirm all workstations trust your SSL inspection or NetDocuments certificates (root and any intermediates) in the OS certificate store.
• In the primary PDF viewer (Foxit, Adobe, etc.), add
https://*.netdocuments.com and any ndOffice-related URLs as trusted hosts/locations.• Test opening and printing a PDF directly from NetDocuments in each viewer — no “Untrusted” banners or watermarks should appear on the printed output.
• Document that if a user ever sees an Untrusted watermark, they should not ignore it for unknown internet documents — only for documents from trusted systems like NetDocuments once IT has verified the certificate and host settings.
With that in place — plus a quick GPO or MDM push of the viewer settings — your NetDocuments PDFs should print without surprise watermarks on every workstation.
Technician
Quick recap: when NetDocuments prints an “Untrusted” watermark, the cause is usually not NetDocuments itself but how your PDF viewer treats content from that host. Fixes are to trust the NetDocuments URLs in the viewer’s trusted hosts/locations list, make sure any SSL inspection or private CA certificates sit in the trusted root store, and verify that signed PDFs from NetDocuments use certificates your environment trusts. Once those pieces are aligned, documents from NetDocuments print without the “Untrusted” overlay, while truly unknown sources can still be flagged.
If you’d like someone to review your exact PDF viewer and NetDocuments trust settings over a screen-share, just start a chat with an expert.
Quick answer: the accepted fix
Accepted fix when NetDocuments prints an “Untrusted” watermark: in your PDF viewer, add netdocuments.com (and ndOffice URLs) as trusted hosts/locations, then confirm the SSL or signing certificates in use are trusted in the OS and, if applicable, under the viewer’s trusted identities. After updating trust, reopen the PDF from NetDocuments and print — the “Untrusted” watermark should no longer appear on the pages.
Why NetDocuments documents can show or print an “Untrusted” watermark
When a NetDocuments document prints with an “Untrusted” watermark, it’s usually because the PDF engine is treating the file or its source as untrusted, not because NetDocuments itself is broken. Enterprise viewers like Foxit, Adobe, and others can mark content from untrusted locations or hosts with a visible overlay until the site or certificate is added to a trusted list. If the viewer sees NetDocuments as an unknown cloud host, or your SSL inspection proxy presents a certificate that isn’t fully trusted, the engine may show warnings and apply the Untrusted watermark when you print.
Fixing the problem means aligning certificate trust and host trust. NetDocuments relies on standard TLS certificates and integrations like ndOffice to deliver documents into desktop apps. Once the NetDocuments URLs are configured as trusted hosts in your PDF viewer and any necessary root or intermediate certificates are installed, PDFs from NetDocuments are treated like internal documents instead of internet downloads, so the “Untrusted” stamp no longer appears on screen or printed pages.
How to test if your NetDocuments “Untrusted” watermark is really fixed
To confirm you’ve fully resolved the NetDocuments “Untrusted” watermark issue, test with a couple of known documents. First, open a PDF directly from NetDocuments using ndOffice and print it from your primary PDF viewer. The pages should come out clean, with no “Untrusted” text or similar warnings in the margins. Then repeat from a second viewer or workstation to confirm the settings have been applied consistently and not just on your own profile.
If the watermark only appears when printing PDFs opened from NetDocuments but not from local folders, re-check that https://*.netdocuments.com is present in the viewer’s trusted hosts list and that the certificate chain your environment uses for NetDocuments traffic is fully trusted. Once every test PDF from NetDocuments prints normally and the same document no longer triggers security banners about an untrusted location, you can be confident the certificate and host trust configuration is correct.
NetDocuments prints “Untrusted” watermark — quick troubleshooting tips
Treat NetDocuments as a trusted source while still enforcing strong certificate validation.
Fast path: if a PDF opened from NetDocuments shows or prints an “Untrusted” watermark, don’t start editing the document. Instead, add NetDocuments and ndOffice URLs as trusted hosts/locations in your PDF viewer’s security settings, verify that your SSL or inspection certificates are installed in the trusted root store, and, for signed PDFs, ensure the signer’s certificate is trusted in the viewer’s trusted identities list. Once your tools recognize NetDocuments as a trusted system, PDFs from that DMS will print cleanly while unknown internet documents can still be flagged as untrusted.
Disclaimer: This information is AI-generated and intended for general guidance only. Certificate trust and security settings affect how your entire environment handles documents and network connections. Before changing enterprise trust lists or security policies for NetDocuments, please review them with your security team or consult a verified expert on Whizz-Tech.
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FAQ
Why does my NetDocuments PDF print with an “Untrusted” watermark?
In most environments, a NetDocuments PDF prints “Untrusted” because the PDF viewer is treating the file’s source as an untrusted location or the certificate chain as untrusted. Tools like Foxit and other enterprise viewers can overlay an “Untrusted” watermark when content comes from a host that isn’t in their trusted list or when a certificate can’t be fully validated.
Is the “Untrusted” watermark coming from NetDocuments or my PDF viewer?
NetDocuments stores and serves the document, but the visible Untrusted watermark is almost always applied by the PDF viewer or a security plug-in. A quick test is to save the same document locally or open it in a different viewer (for example, Acrobat instead of Foxit). If the watermark disappears, your viewer’s security settings and trusted hosts list are the source of the overlay.
How do I stop NetDocuments PDFs from printing with an Untrusted watermark?
First, add https://*.netdocuments.com and any ndOffice URLs as trusted hosts or locations in your PDF viewer’s security settings. Next, confirm that any SSL inspection or NetDocuments certificates are installed in the trusted root and intermediate certificate stores so the connection is fully trusted. Finally, for signed PDFs, check that the signer’s certificate is trusted in the viewer’s trusted identities list. After these steps, PDFs from NetDocuments should print without the Untrusted watermark.
Is it safe to trust NetDocuments to remove the Untrusted watermark?
If your firm has already vetted NetDocuments as a trusted document management system, it is normal to add its URLs and certificates to your viewers’ trusted lists so users don’t see unnecessary Untrusted watermarks. You should not, however, add random internet sites or unknown certificates to those lists just to make a warning go away. When in doubt, ask your security team or an expert to review the trust configuration before changing it.
Sources
- Adobe Acrobat Help — Manage trusted identities and certificate trust in PDFs
- Foxit PhantomPDF User Manual — Safe Reading Mode, trusted files, folders, and hosts
- NetDocuments Support — ndOffice and Adobe Protected Mode (integration and trust settings)
Filed under: General Printer Problems
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