Digitally Sign PDFs for Windows

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Digitally Sign PDFs on Windows

Create a Signature Field

If you need to sign a document that does not have a signature field already created, do the following:

1. Open the document that you need to sign and do the following:

Go to the Tools panel > Sign and Certify pane > click on Place Signature

Click and drag to insert a signature field where you want to insert your signature

2. When you click in the signature field you will be prompted to either insert an already existing signature or to create a new ID

Digitally Sign PDF Documents

Create New ID

1. In the document, click in the unsigned signature field

This will take you to the Add Digital ID window where you can create the new ID

2. In the Add Digital ID window, select the circle next to A new digital ID I want to create now

3. Click Next

4. Select the first option, New PKCS#12 digital ID file

5. Click Next

6. In the new window enter the following information:

Your Name
Your Organizational Unit (this is optional)
Your Organization Name (this is optional)
Your Email address
Your Country/Region

7. You do not have to make any changes to the rest of the settings in this window, click Next

8. For the sake of being able to quickly retrieve your digital ID when signing documents or exporting it, leave the file location as it is. This is the file where Adobe will automatically look for your digital ID

9. In the box under Password, enter a password that you want to use for your digital ID

10. The gray boxes below this show the strength of your password

11. In the box underneath Confirm Password: type your password again

12. Click Finish

13. The Sign Document window will open, this is the window that will open automatically when you click a digital signature form field from now on

Next to Sign As: select the digital ID you want to use

Next to Password: type in the password for that ID

Next to Appearance you can click the dropdown arrow and select Create new appearance

In the Configure Signature Appearance window that opens you can change the graphic, what information appears, and the direction of the text for your digital signature

Insert Image of Signature

1. To insert an image of your actual signature, first you must scan your signature and save it in a file on your computer

2. When you have the signature saved on your computer do the following:

Click in the signature filed you want to sign
In the Sign Document window, next to Sign As: select the digital ID you want to use

Next to Password: type in the password for that ID

Next to Appearance you can click the dropdown arrow and select Create new appearance

In the Configure Signature Appearance window that opens, under the Configure Graphic section, select the circle next to Imported graphic

Below Import Graphic from: click on the File button
The Select Picture window opens, next the File box, click on the Browse button

In the Open window, next to File Type, select the type of file that your image is, for example: JPEG or PNG
Select the file that contains the image of your signature

Back in the Select Picture window, you will see a preview of your signature, click Ok

3. Back in the Configure Signature Appearance window, you can finish the settings for you signature

In the Configure Text section you can select what information appears in your signature
Under Text Properties next to Text Direction, you can select the alignment for your signature
When you are finished, click Ok

4. Back in the Sign Document window, click Sign to use the digital ID to sign the document

5. You will be prompted to save the signed version of the document, rename the document as you wish and click save

6. Your signature will be inserted

Use an Existing ID