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pete@resco.ca
Participant
April 13, 2015
Answered

how to clear signature in acrobat pro dc

  • April 13, 2015
  • 5 replies
  • 125289 views

I want to clear a signature on a DC document form that I created. I used to be able to do so by right-clicking the signature field and choose "Clear Signature" but that option is not available.

    Correct answer Charlene_L_

    Hello Pete,

    The "Clear Signature" option is available in Acrobat Pro DC as it was in Acrobat XI Pro.

    You can clear a signature if you are the signer, that is, if the digital ID with which you did the signing is available to Acrobat.

    I can think of two reasons that "Clear signature" might not be available:

    1. Your digital ID is not available to Acrobat Pro DC. That is, you have not yet imported it for use in Acrobat or don't have your smart card in the reader, etc.

    2. When you signed the PDF, you chose the option to "Lock Document After Signing".

    Regards,

    Charlene


    5 replies

    R
    Roy24503453ibq3
    Participant
    May 18, 2022

    I just had this issue.  It required a complete update and re-installation of Adobe Acrobat to solve it.  Nothing else worked, despite all the excellent suggestions made on this thread here that have worked for others.  I relinquished control of my Mac to the Acrobat support person but all they did was what I could have done if I had been told!!  It wasted so much time, really quite pathetic product support and product development (given that you've all been reporting this issue for so long now).  It is the most basic of functions used by all their customers.  I wonder if they're listening now, I made it clear that they need to get a grip of this otherwise we will all stop spending money on subscriptions, but it could be a result of complacency since the .pdf format is so universal.

      K
      kenl29977704
      Participant
      December 1, 2020

      I have a customer that has created & signed docuemts using Adobe Acrobat DC. Occasionally they have to clear that signature and then resign. Recently they upgraded to Adobe Acrobat Pro 2020 and now if I open those same documents created using Acrobat DC they're unable to clear the signature, which they've alwasy been able to do in the past. The "clear signature" isn't even an option when they right-click on the signature box. If they create & sign a document using Acrobat 2020, the can clear the signature, just no documents create in Acrobat DC. The customer is still using the same laptop so nothing has changed from a hardware or local profile perspective. Is there anything I can do!?!?!

      A
      alysiac4795565
      Participant
      January 28, 2021

      This was driving me crazy but I figured out a way to delete the old signature. All I had to do is click on "Edit PDF" in the tool bar and then you can click on and delete anything you want, including signatures.

        A
        Anonymous
        February 21, 2019

        I have the same issue here. I have some pdf form that was signed. I want to re-use the form and I cannot edit it because of the d--m signature. There is nobody at Adobe to tell us what to do. What a crappy product.

          M
          margueritek
          Inspiring
          February 21, 2019

          If YOU are the signer, you should be able to delete the digital signature, UNLESS you have locked the document. The (deleted) signature is still in the document, in an earlier version, but should show as deleted in the signature panel. (There is a special consideration if you are deleting the last signature on a document) You can't really just roll the document back to an earlier state, especially if you are the first signer (since there is no earlier state revision of the document).

          When a PDF is modified, the modifications are saved by appending the revision information (version) to the original document. There are no regular modification procedures that roll the document to an earlier state. An exception to this rule is when there are (some) digital signatures on the document. You can save a version that corresponds to a particular signed version, with all the subsequent signatures (and form fillout, etc) removed. That option is available from the signature panel.

          B
          beauvaissa
          Participant
          October 22, 2019

          Same issue. 

          I can't clear my own signature on a document which has that as the only signature. 

          I'm in the list of trusted certificates.

            H
            Havdaddy
            Participant
            February 8, 2019

            I still do not see a solution to this question.  Did anyone find out how to clear the signature from a document I signed?  I JUST signed the document, so the digital certificate is there, but the "Clear Signature" option is NOT there.  HELP!  PLEASE!

              try67
              Community Expert
              try67Community Expert
              Community Expert
              February 8, 2019

              Save the file, close it, then re-open it and try again.

                J
                Judilyn
                Participant
                September 20, 2019
                This actually worked for my case. Thanks.
                  C
                  Adobe Employee
                  Charlene_L_Correct answer
                  Adobe Employee
                  April 13, 2015

                  Hello Pete,

                  The "Clear Signature" option is available in Acrobat Pro DC as it was in Acrobat XI Pro.

                  You can clear a signature if you are the signer, that is, if the digital ID with which you did the signing is available to Acrobat.

                  I can think of two reasons that "Clear signature" might not be available:

                  1. Your digital ID is not available to Acrobat Pro DC. That is, you have not yet imported it for use in Acrobat or don't have your smart card in the reader, etc.

                  2. When you signed the PDF, you chose the option to "Lock Document After Signing".

                  Regards,

                  Charlene


                    OisinFrost
                    OisinFrost
                    Participating Frequently
                    June 22, 2016

                    I have just upgraded to DC Pro and have exactly the same issue. I could always just right-click & select 'clear signature' but now thsi is no longer an option - whereas on exactly th same form with Acrobat XI it works a treat.

                    ???

                    C
                    Adobe Employee
                    Charlene_L_
                    Adobe Employee
                    August 9, 2016

                    Hello Oisin,

                    "Clear signature" is enabled on a signed signature field if the digital ID that was used to sign the document is available to Acrobat.

                    That is, it is listed in the identities here:

                    Edit > Preferences, Signatures category.

                    Click the "more..." button next to "Identities & Trusted Certificates".

                    Click the "Digital IDs" category.

                    If the digital ID used for signing is stored in a file, then you will need to use the "Add ID" button on the "Identities and Trusted Certificates" to add the digital ID to the list.

                    Regards,

                    Charlene

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