The purpose of this document is to help you set up a digital signature. The digital signature/certificate created by this process can be used to seal a document, proving it has not been altered after signing.
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| This certificate is 'self-signed,' meaning it does not rely on an external authority to validate the identity of the author. If you require a certificate that validates the author's identity for legal non-repudiation, please open a support ticket with IT. |
Creating a Digital Signature:
In Adobe Acrobat, click the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
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2. This will bring up the Preferences window as seen below. Click on Signatures.
3. Find the Identities & Trusted Certificates in the middle of the window and click More…
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5. To create a new digital ID, select A new digital ID I want to create now, then click Next.
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NOTE: The next step is dependent on your Operating System. I suggest using the PKCS#12 if you use a Windows system and an Apple device. If you do not use an Apple device, then the Windows Certificate Store will work perfect for you. - New PKCS#12 Digital ID |
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File: Stores the digital ID information in a file, which has the extension .pfx in Windows and .p12 in Mac OS.
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- Windows Certificate Store (Windows only): Stores the digital ID to a common location from where other Windows applications can also retrieve it. The steps below demonstrate using the PKCS#12 method |
6. Choose a location you would like to store your self-signed ID and click Next.
7. Fill in the below information.
a. Type a name, email address, and other personal information for your digital ID. When you certify or sign a document, the name appears in the Signatures panel and in the Signature field.
b. Choose an option from the Key Algorithm menu. Keep the 2048-bit RSA option as it offers more security.
c. From the Use Digital ID For menu, choose Digital Signatures and Data Encryption.
d. Click Next.
8. Take note of where you are saving your digital ID and change if necessary. Type in a password. The password meter evaluates the strength. Confirm your password. Click Finish.
NOTE: Protect your digital ID. Use eight or more characters (upper/lower case, numbers & special characters).
9. You will now be taken to the Digital ID and Trusted Certificate Settings and you will see your digital signature that was just created.
Specify the default digital ID:
Now you want to specify how you want to use this digital ID. Make sure the ID you just created is highlighted and click the pencil icon. Some of you might also see the Usage Options next to the pencil.
This gives you a drop-down menu in order to add how you want to use this digital ID.
Preparing to use this Signature in Word or Excel
If you created your signature in the Windows Certificate Store (Step 6 above), then you may also use it for signing documents in Word and Excel right away. If you created a PCKS#12 file, then you must import it to your Windows Certificate Store first.
- Browse to the folder where you saved the .pfx file and double click it.
- Make sure Current User is select and click Next.
- If this is the correct file, click Next again.
- Enter the password and check the bottom two boxes. Do NOT check the "Enable strong private key"
- Select "Place all certificates in the following store" and click Browse. Select Personal, then click Okay and Next.
- Click Finish and Okay.
Add invisible digital signatures in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint
To protect the authenticity of a document's content, you can add an invisible digital signature. Signed documents have the Signatures button at the bottom of the document.
Click the File tab.
Click Info.
Click Protect Document, Protect Workbook or Protect Presentation.
Click Add a Digital Signature.
Fill out the Commitment and Purpose lines as desired.
Click Details to provide additional information about yourself as the signer.
Info title VERY IMPORTANT Check the Signing as very closely. Your PC may have multiple certificate available, particularly if you are an OPERA user, and Windows may default to choosing the incorrect certificate.
If the Signing as box has the incorrect certificate, click Change.
- Click More Choices, select the correct certificate, then click OK.
Click Sign.
After a file is digitally signed, the Signatures button appears, and the file becomes read-only to prevent modifications. If you or another user need to edit the document, you may click Edit Anyway, but the signature will be removed. When your edits are complete, you may re-add the signature by repeating the previous steps.