Adobe Acrobat 8 3D - Manual (Page 281)

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Chapter 9: Digital signatures
You use a digital signature much like a handwritten signature—to approve documents. A digital signature verifies
your identity and may include a photo, an image of your handwritten signature, or other personal details that you
choose. Document authors can attest to the contents of their documents by adding a certifying signature. If you
receive a signed Adobe PDF, status icons let you know if the signature is valid. If a signature is questionable, you can
verify it manually.
Quickstart
The following topics provide overview steps to some common digital signature tasks.
Create a signature appearance
You can modify your digital signature appearance. For example, you can include your scanned signature.
1 (Optional) Save the desired image on a page by itself, and convert the page to PDF.
2 Choose Edit > Preferences (Windows) or Acrobat (Mac OS) > Preferences, and select Security.
3 Click New, and type a title.
4 (Optional) Select Imported Graphic, click File, and select the desired file.
5 Specify options as desired.
See also
“Create the signature appearance” on page 276
Sign a PDF
Use a digital signature to indicate your approval. For best results, change your security preferences to always sign in
Preview Document mode, so that you can view and sign the PDF in a secure state.
1 Click the signature field. Or, click Sign , and choose Sign Document.
2 Follow the on-screen instructions to apply your digital signature.
If the document does not contain an unsigned signature field, click Sign and choose Place Signature to sign the PDF.
See also
“Sign a PDF” on page 279
Certify a PDF
Certifying a PDF indicates that you approve of its content and allows you to specify the types of changes that are
permitted for the PDF to remain certified.
1 Click Sign on the Tasks toolbar, choose Certify With Visible Signature or Certify Without Visible Signature,
and click OK.