Digitally Signing a Document

How a PDF is digitally signed depends on how it was created. In most cases, a signature field will have already been added to the document in preparation for your signature. Such documents might also be certified. In some cases, however, you might need to add your own signature field before signing.  Fortunately, Revu makes it simple to do this, too.

If you do not have a Digital ID yet, you will need to create one first. See Creating a New Digital ID.

Documents you have been given to sign might or might not be certified. Some certified documents do not allow any changes to be made to them after certification.

Digitally signed documents cannot be combined with other documents without invalidating the signatures. Combine documents before signing or use Sets to view separate signed PDFs as a single collection. The only option after signing a document that preserves the signature is to create a PDF package.

Documents that have been digitally signed are automatically locked to editing and their security status cannot be changed unless the signatures are cleared. This means that operations that would change the document (for example, adding or deleting pages, flattening markups, running OCR, adding new form fields, and so on) are not permitted; these options are not available/dimmed for these documents.

ClosedDigitally Signing a PDF That Already Has a Signature Field

  1. Click in the desired signature field. The Sign dialog box appears.

  2. Choose a Digital ID.
  3. For PKCS #12 IDs, enter the Password and click Log in.
    • Windows Certificate Store IDs do not require a separate password as they are protected by the user's Windows login.
  4. Complete any of the desired Options fields.
  5. Select an Appearance for your signature.
  6. Click OK. A Save As dialog box appears. Signed documents must be saved at the time of signature placement.
  7. Enter a file name and select the location for the signed file, then click Save to save the signed PDF.
ClosedDigitally Signing a PDF That Does Not Have a Signature Field
  1. Go to Document >  Signatures > Sign Document.

  2. Click and drag a rectangle to define the region where the signature will appear. The Sign dialog box appears.

  3. Choose the Digital ID to sign with.
  4. For PKCS #12 IDs, enter the Password and click Log in.
    • Windows Certificate Store IDs do not require a separate password as they are protected by the user's Windows login.
  5. Under Signature Type, select Digital Signature.
  6. Complete any of the desired Options fields.
  7. Select an Appearance for the signature.
  8. Click OK. A Save As dialog box appears. Signed documents must be saved at the time of signature placement.
  9. Enter a file name and select the location for the signed file, then click Save to save the signed PDF.
ClosedClearing Your Digital Signature

In the event that you wish to clear your digital signature, either permanently or in order to make any needed changes and reapply it, you can do so easily. You can only clear your own digital signature.

To clear your digital signature, simply right-click the signature and select Clear Signature.

Related topics

Working with Digital Signatures

Adding and Removing Digital Signature Fields

Creating a New Digital ID

Controlling a Signature Appearance

Certifying a Document

Digital Signatures Tutorial