Skip to main content
_
_John_Daniel_
New Participant
September 5, 2008
Question

Multiple digital signatures

  • September 5, 2008
  • 5 replies
  • 252697 views
I am trying to create a document that can be certified as ready for review and signing and then circulated for multiple signatures .

The document( a standard operating procedure ) must reviewed and signed by 5 or 6 people and I have to be able to prove it has not been changed other than being signed but I can't figure out how to make signing the form fields as an allowable action.

Here is what I'm doing now

create document in word and convert it to a pdf in adobe acrobat 8 pro on windows xp
in the form menu click create new form
click through and use the current document to create form
In Live Cycle designer I :
Add the digital signature fields
then I'm lost

This seem the closest to what i want to do but this seems to complicated
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/livecycle/articles/multiple_sigs_tip.html

I don't think I need a policy server but I'm not sure.

I just need to invalidate signatures if someone uses acrobat to edit the document text and images after it has been certified and/or certified and signed.

Thanks

John
    This topic has been closed for replies.

    5 replies

    A
    Anonymous
    January 17, 2012

    I have a similar but not identical problem, always belonging to multiple signatures. I have a form with multiple signature fields with javascript that, when the user signs, populate a Date field. In addition this javascript shows the other signatures in a sort of "signature workflow".

    The form was created with Acrobat 9 and now we have moved to Acrobat X.

    The javascript caused a warning, with the old Acrobat version, but the signatures were valid and modifications were shown. Now the signatures are considered invalid. What changed? How can be managed?

    Thank You in advance

    K
    kerakatera
    New Participant
    September 17, 2012

    Does anyone know whether one can sign a pdf with Adobe X Pro and then forward it to the next person for signing without saving the document on your pc? An end user would prefer that the documents not have to be stored on each person's computer after signing for security reasons.

    Steven_Madwin
    Adobe Employee
    Steven_Madwin
    Adobe Employee
    September 17, 2012

    The file has to be saved somewhere. You could save it to a shared network drive, but the signing process requires the the file be saved to disk before the signature is computed. When digital signatures were first introduced into Acrobat signing did take place in memory, but that became a security risk so we had to err on the side of safety and require that signatures be created to files written to disk. The problem with signing out of memory is it is too easy for someone (in this case the bad guy) to introduce a command to change the file in the middle of the signing process in memory. For instance a piece of text that says "I agree to pay $100" gets changed to "I agree to pay $1000". The signer doesn't see the change until it is too late. By forcing the file to be written to disk it eliminates the memory highjacking problem and provides a more secure signing environment. If there were no bad guys we could have left the signing process the way it was, but alas...

    Steve

    C
    CFW_III
    New Participant
    December 27, 2011

    We are having a similiar issue. In my office, we are using Adobe Acrobat X Pro to combine PDF's into one document. After combing all the docs, we are adding digital signature blocks where necessary. There is no requirement for us to sign the document. We then distribute the docs for signatures using the DISTRIBUTE option, utilitzing the "work flow" that Adobe X has. The issue is that when we send out a doc with digital signature blocks, we can't have more than one person sign the doc using the digital signature blocks we have created. Ideally, if we have 10 signatures required, one person will sign 9 while another person will sign only one. Can anyone advise us on how we may accomplish this?

    _
    _Andy_McGavin_
    New Participant
    September 10, 2008
    Certifying the document lets you allow subsequent signers to apply their digital signatures without Acrobat seeing the signatures as changes and invalidating your signature.

    Philip -- thanks for the quick directions.

    - Andy McGavin
    Kok-Yong Tan
    Kok-Yong Tan
    Participating Frequently
    July 20, 2009

    Does this technique of creating multiple signature boxes using the Digital Signature Tool, then certifying the document in the first signature box to be signed and then signing the rest work in Acrobat Professional 8?  I must be missing something because I can't seem to make it work.  I've even tried using the "Place Signature" command but that immediately insists that I sign the signature box immediately.

    Steven_Madwin
    Adobe Employee
    Steven_Madwin
    Adobe Employee
    July 24, 2009

    Do subsequent signatures after the certification signature get invalidated in Acrobat 8 even if the certification signature permits comments and form fields (a signature being a form field) to continue to be entered?


    All of the signatures will be valid in Acrobat\Reader 8.x.  I've attached a demo file you you can see for yourself.

    Steve

    _
    _John_Daniel_Author
    New Participant
    September 10, 2008
    Thanks Phillip

    The upgrade to 9 made the process a lot easier. Now I just haveto figure out my signature pad working.

    If you don't mind me asking what is the advantage of certify the document befor e circulating it?

    Thanks again
    P
    Adobe Employee
    Philip Levy
    Adobe Employee
    September 6, 2008
    Assuming there are no other form fields needed except for the signature fields, the following should work:

    1. Create the PDF from Word.
    2. Open in Acrobat. Add the signature fields using the Forms > Add or Edit Fields (Acrobat 9) or equivalent in earlier versions. No need to go into Designer for a simple workflow like this one.
    3. You can then save the document and start it around for signing, but I would suggest one additional step:
    4. In the first signature field, certify the document (right click Certify with visible signature). In the certify Document dialog that comes up, under "Permitted Actions after Certifying", select "Form fill-in and digital signatures".

    5. Then each signer adds a signature and sends the document to the next person.

    Any changes to the document other than additional signatures will invalidate the signatures.
    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices