Approve the external counsel invoice only after checking time entries against the redlined engagement letter: compare …
Open the PDF document you want to sign in Adobe Acrobat.
Select Tools in the upper-left and then choose Protect from the tools list.
Click Sign in the Protect toolbar.
Drag to draw the signature area on the page where you want your digital signature to appear.
In the dialog that appears, select your personal digital certificate from the list.
If prompted, enter the password for your digital certificate.
Click Sign to apply your digital signature to the document.
Choose a location to save the signed PDF and click Save.
Best practiceIf you need to sign multiple documents, consider creating a reusable signature appearance to save time.
You can customize the appearance of your digital signature by editing your signature properties before applying it.
This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.
A Certificate Signature is more powerful. It certifies the entire PDF, locking it so no one can make changes after you sign. A regular e-signature just shows you agree with the content but does not prevent further changes to the document itself. Use a Certificate Signature when you need to officially approve and secure a document.
The 'Certify' option is greyed out because a PDF can only be certified if it has no other signatures on it. Certificate signatures are meant to be the first and only signature to lock the document. To certify, you need a fresh PDF without any prior e-signatures or other digital seals.
A Digital ID is your unique electronic identity, like a digital fingerprint. It contains a private key that you use to sign documents and a public key (certificate) that others use to verify your signature. It's crucial for Certificate Signatures because it proves who certified the document and ensures the signature is authentic and trustworthy.
Yes, an organization can use the PDF Electronic Seal API to apply a seal. This is different from a person's digital signature because the API applies an 'organizational seal,' which represents the entity, not an individual. It's used for official company approvals and compliance, like eIDAS-compliant seals, where you supply third-party certificate credentials, a seal image, and coordinates for placement. This allows for automated, high-volume sealing of documents by an organization.