Adobe PDF Digital ID Signature

• Creating an Adobe Digital ID
• Creating a Digital Signature Field in Adobe Reader
• Creating a Digital Signature Field in Adobe Acrobat
• Signing a PDF with a Digital ID

Creating an Adobe Digital ID

Sensitive transactions between businesses generally require an ID from a certificate authority rather than a self-signed one.

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
4. Select the option A New Digital ID I Want To Create Now, and click Next.
5. Specify where to store the digital ID as the default (New PKCS) and click Next.
6. On the next screen type your: Name, Organization Unit (History), and Organizational Name (Dartmouth College), and email address, and click Next. When you certify or sign a document, the name appears in the Signatures panel and in the Signature field.
7. Specify where you would like the File saved if other than the default location and Type a password for the digital ID file. For each keystroke, the password strength meter evaluates your password and indicates the password strength using color patterns. Reconfirm your password.
8. Click Finish.
9. Congratulations!  Your Digital ID is created.

Watch how to create an Adobe Digital ID here.

 
Check out Adobe's Managing Digital IDs for more information.

Creating a Digital Signature Field in Adobe Reader

1. Open the form that you need to provide your digital signature.
2. Click More Tools from the menu on the right.
3. Click Open from the Certificates from the Tools.
4. Click Digitally Sign from the options at the top of the document window.
5. Your cursor will become crosshairs, draw a box for your signature where you would like to sign.
6. The Sign with Digital ID will open. Select the Digital ID and Click Continue.
7. Your Digital ID will open. Enter your password and click Sign.
8. You will be prompted to save the document. Click Save and your Digital Signature is applied.

Creating a Digital Signature Field in Adobe Acrobat

1. Open the form that you need to provide your digital signature.
2. Click Tools menu on the right and within Sign & Certify, click Sign Document.
3. Your cursor will become crosshairs, draw a box for your signature where you would like to sign.
4. The Sign Document window will open with your default Digital ID. Enter your password and click Sign.
5. You will be prompted to save the document. Click Save and your Digital Signature is applied.

Signing a PDF with a Digital ID

1. Open the form that you need to provide your digital signature.
2. Usually, there will be a Sign Here flag. Click inside the field and the Sign with a Digital ID window will open.
3. The Sign with Digital ID will populate with digital signatures that are stored on this computer. If you have stored it elsewhere then you may have to navigate to find it using the Configure New Digital ID and selecting Use a Digital ID from a file.
4. Select the Digital ID that you would like to use and click Continue.
5. The Digital ID you selected will open so you can verify that that is the signature that you want to use.
6. Enter the password for your digital ID. (Click here for guidance if you have forgotten your password)
7. Click Sign. 
8. Finally, you be prompted to save the file and that's it.

Watching Signing a PDF with a Digital ID

How do I recover or reset my digital ID's password?

Unfortunately, you cannot recover or reset the password if you've forgotten it. If you created the ID yourself, you can create a new one with the same information that you used for the ID. If you got the ID from a certificate authority, contact the authority for help.

You can remove a digital ID (whose password you have forgotten) by deleting your old digital signature file (.pfx file). The location of the .pfx file should be in the same default location as what you specified during creation of that digital signature (for example: C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Adobe\Acrobat\10.0\Security\). NOTE: The folder names / paths will be different based on operating system).