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How to Make a Digital Signature in Acrobat - Knowledgebase / How-to Articles - CADTech Help Desk

How to Make a Digital Signature in Acrobat

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Digital ID

before making a digital signature in Acrobat, you need to know what a digital ID is. according to Adobe, "A digital ID is like an electronic driver’s license or passport that proves your identity". It is security for your signature to be valid.

Digital IDs contain two keys: the public key locks, or encrypts data; the private key unlocks, or decrypts that data.

Adding a Digital ID

  1. In Acrobat, click the Edit menu and choose Preferences > Signatures.

  2. On the right, click More for Identities & Trusted Certificates.

  3. Select Digital IDs on the left, and then click the Add ID button 

  1. Select the option A New Digital ID I Want To Create Now, and click Next.

Specify where to store the digital ID, 

of the 2 options to store the Self-Signed ID, select the one shown below, and click Next. 

Info for Digital ID

Type all the information required for the digital ID here. When you certify or sign a document, the name appears in the Signatures panel and in the Signature field.

where it says "key algorithm", there are 2 different ones to choose from. The 2048-bit RSA option offers more security than 1024-bit RSA, but 1024-bit RSA is more universally compatible. you can choose either depending on your need.

From the Use Digital ID For menu, choose whether you want to use the digital ID for signatures, data encryption, or both.

Click Next

Creating a password for the digital File

You will create a password to be used in order to access the Digital ID.  In order to do this you need to reference the file location 

in the file name section, put where you want the key to be located.

The ID is created. You can export and send your certificate file to contacts who can use it to validate your signature.

Register a digital ID

  1. In Acrobat, click the Edit menu and choose Preferences > Signatures. In Identities & Trusted Certificates, and click More.

  2. Select Digital IDs on the left.

  3. Click the Add ID button.

  4. Choose one of the following options:

    A File: Select this option if you obtained a digital ID as an electronic file. Follow the prompts to select the digital ID file, type your password, and add the digital ID to the list.

    A Roaming Digital ID Stored On A Server: Select this option to use a digital ID that’s stored on a signing server. When prompted, type the server name and URL where the roaming ID is located.

    A Device Connected To This Computer: Select this option if you have a security token or hardware token connected to your computer.

click Next after choosing an option.

Making the signature:

Now you are ready to make your signature in Acrobat 

  1. Open a PDF document in Acrobat.

  2. Click the ''Fill & sign" tool in the right pane.

  3. Fill out any forms needed.

  4. Sign your form

  5. Send your form

Resources:

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/digital-ids.html

https://acrobat.adobe.com/us/en/acrobat/how-to/fill-sign-pdf-forms-electronically.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odZtHXxbxU0

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