Digital Signature

A digital signature acts as a traditional handwritten signature that can be used to authenticate the identity of a user as well as the document content. It stores information about the signer along with the date, time, and state of the document when it was signed.

Place a signature

Before you sign a document, you need to draw a signature field where the signature is placed, get a digital ID, and create the signature.

1.    Choose Protect > Sign & Certify > Place Signature.

2.    Press and hold the mouse button down, and then drag the cursor to draw a signature.

3.    In the Sign Document dialog box, choose a digital ID from a drop-down menu. If you can’t find the specified digital ID, you will need to get a certificate from the third-party provider or create a customized digital ID.

4.    (Optional)To create a customized digital ID, choose New ID from drop-down menu. In the Add Digital ID dialog box, choose A new digital ID I want to create now, and click Next. In the next step, select the location to store the digital ID file. Click Next to type your identity information such as name, organization unit, e-mail address, etc. to be used when generating the self-signed certificate. In Use Digital ID for, choose one option as needed. Click Next to specify the storage location and password for your new digital ID file. Confirm your password and click Finish. The New ID option will not be available if the IT manager has configured and restricted digital IDs to sign PDF files across the company.

5.    Choose an appearance type from the menu. There are two types to choose, one is Standard Style, and the other is to Create New Style for your signature. Please refer to Create signature appearance. You can view your signature in Signature Preview panel.

6.Input the text or select an option from the drop-down list to specify your location and reason to sign the document in the Text For Signing group. Please note that Location and Reason fields are available only when the signature is defined to include the corresponding option in its appearance type. For the Reason field, Foxit Reader will save your custom reasons for you to choose from the drop-down list easily in future uses. 

7.    Input the password in the Password field, and click Sign. In the Save As dialog box, specify the location and file name of the signed document.

Note: By default, the document is signed after you place the signature and then you will not be able to move or resize it. To change the setting, please uncheck the Sign the document immediately after the signature is placed option in File > Preferences > Signature.

Create signature appearance

You can set the appearance of your digital signature by selecting different options in Sign Document dialog box. For example, a signature can include an image of your handwritten signature, a company logo, or a photo, date and so on. Furthermore you can create dynamic signature appearance to user for different purpose. A signature appearance also includes information that helps others verify your signature, such as reason for signing, contact information, and more.

                        Different appearances of signatures

1.    Choose Protect > Sign & Certify > Place Signature.

2.    Press and hold the mouse button down, and drag to draw a signature filed for your signature.

3.    In Sign Document dialog box, choose Create New Style from Appearance Type menu.

4.    Select an option from the Configure Graphic group to configure the graphic for your signature. You can choose to use no graphic, your handwritten signature, your name, or an image from file.

Ø  To draw a signature, select Draw, and click Draw Signature. Draw your signature on the pop-up panel, and click OK to save your handwritten signature or click Clear to discard it.

Ø  If you choose to use your name, select Name, and click Setting to set the font and size, if necessary.

Ø  To use an image, select Imported graphic, and click Browse to select the image file. After choosing the image file, you can change the opacity of the image by dragging the Opacity slider or clicking the up/down triangles in the Opacity value box. 

5.    Check the options that you want to appear in digital signature in the Configure Text group. A signature appearance can include lots of information showing the users attributes, including name, logo, location, etc. You can click Setting to specify the font and font size if necessary. Click OK to continue. 

                                        Configure Signature Style Dialog Box

6.    Click Sign.

Note: To manage the created styles, go to File > Preferences > Signature.

Sign a PDF

A PDF is signed to indicate your approval. The signature isn’t resized and moved when you sign the document. Multiple people can sign a PDF more than once. When you sign a document, your digital signature appears in the signature field. The appearance of the signature depends on your preferences.

1.    Sign a PDF after placing, please choose one of the followings to sign the document:

•   Choose Protect > Sign & Certify > Sign Document.

•   Select Hand command and right-click the signature, choose Sign Document.

•   Select Hand command, and click the signature.

•   Set your signature preferences in Preferences dialog box. Choose File > Preferences > Signature, check the option of “Sign the document immediately after the signature is placed” to sign the document immediately when the signature is placed.

2.    Type file name and specify location in pop-up Save As dialog box. 

Note: By default, the document is signed after you place the signature. To change the setting, please uncheck the Sign the document immediately after signature is placed option in File > Preferences > Signature.