How to Electronically Sign a PDF

The benefits of automated word sheets and programs that allow one to work with such tools are well-known to one and all, and perhaps the biggest advantage of such programs is the complete lack of paperwork and manual writing and signing required.

Since everything is created and stored electronically, there is absolutely no need to work with physical paper and pens, and this has reduced the manual work of millions of people.

But, there are certain cases when one needs to pen down their signature on a document that has been sent to them electronically, and either revert it back to sender, or print it out and hand it over to someone in person.

At times like this, an electronic signature comes in handy a lot, and this gives people an option to make their lives even simpler. Digital signatures are commonly seen in many official documents in the corporate world, and their credibility is no less than that of a real signature made by the individual himself.

This feature is especially useful in cases where one person needs to sign multiple documents, and it can also be implemented when one is working with PDF documents, since the digital signature can be added at the end of every single page with a few simple clicks.

Before you get started with this process, you need to create a digital image of your signature. There are multiple applications and programs available on various platforms that allow you to achieve this, and once this has been done, you can transfer your electronic signature anywhere you want with consummate ease.

You can use Microsoft Paint, Google Docs, websites like Live Signature, a physical scanner to create a signature file or an application like Sketch Pad that is available on mobile platforms for this purpose. Once your signature has been created digitally and the file has been stored on your machine, you can adopt the many different methods to sign a PDF document, or any other word document, electronically.

Subsequently, in Acrobat Reader you need to complete the following steps. Go to Advanced, then go to Sign & Certify and then finally go to Sign Document. Alternately, in older versions you can go to Document, then go to Sign and then ultimately go to Sign Document. If you have already created a digital signature, you will simply need to locate it in your machine and then select it in the Browse window that opens up.

You will also be given the option to alter the appearance of this digital signature with the help of various tools, and you will also be required to fix a field box for where the signature is going to be present on the document. You can also lock the document for further editing once your signature has been transferred, and this forbids anyone else except you to make changes to the document after your signature has been added.

Once you click on these options, you will get to choose where to place the digital signature, in case there are multiple signature fields in the document. If such fields are not present, you will then be asked to create such a field somewhere, and then you will be able to place the digital signature there.

The most important thing here is to have a digital copy of your signature stored in the right format, so that you can access it with ease whenever you want.

People should also know all the differences between a digital signature and an ink signature.

While digital signatures are more secure and offer greater certification and validity to documents, ink signatures are much less secure. Ink signatures are freely made marks on a document that can be made with the help of various editing tools, and moreover, ink signatures do not provide any information about the identity of the person.

They can be added and removed by anyone, they do not provide any credibility about the person whose signature it is and they can be added anywhere in the document since it is not only restricted to the signature field.

The instructions for applying ink signatures are the same as the aforementioned instructions, and once you click on Apply Ink Signature a box will open for you to draw the ink signature, which can then be applied anywhere in the document. Once you save the PDF document, the signature will be incorporated into the document, but it can also be subsequently removed by anyone who accesses the document itself.

As you can see, it is very easy to electronically sign a PDF document. The instructions are very simple to follow and easy to understand, and anyone with basic computer working knowledge can accomplish such a task.

Electronic signatures have various uses, especially in the corporate world, and everyone who works with PDF documents on a regular basis should know all about this.