Signatures

[alanp34852464]

We've posted a bunch of forms on the internet that require a signature.  The signature field isn't showing up.  When I open the form locally on my computer the field shows up and I'm able to sign it.  Am I correct to assume that signatures will only work if opened in adobe software like reader.  Is there a way to sign forms using a standard web browser like Edge without adobe software? Thanks for the help.

[creative explorer · Accepted solution]

@alanp34852464 Yes, you've nailed it! It's highly likely that the signature field you've implemented in your forms is based on Adobe's proprietary technology. The signature functionality will only work reliably when the PDF form is opened in Adobe Acrobat Reader or other Adobe software.

Is there a work-around? Yes and No. The most common solution is to integrate your forms with a dedicated electronic signature platform (like DocuSign, Adobe Sign (which is different from just using Adobe Reader), and it isn't a free application like Reader but at a reasonable cost. 

If you don't want to go that route, you could look into a browser-based signature capture solution. But, if people are needing a signatures, I would stick with Adobe as they are known for their secured PDF technology!

[creative explorer · Accepted solution]

@alanp34852464 Yes, you've nailed it! It's highly likely that the signature field you've implemented in your forms is based on Adobe's proprietary technology. The signature functionality will only work reliably when the PDF form is opened in Adobe Acrobat Reader or other Adobe software.

Is there a work-around? Yes and No. The most common solution is to integrate your forms with a dedicated electronic signature platform (like DocuSign, Adobe Sign (which is different from just using Adobe Reader), and it isn't a free application like Reader but at a reasonable cost. 

If you don't want to go that route, you could look into a browser-based signature capture solution. But, if people are needing a signatures, I would stick with Adobe as they are known for their secured PDF technology!

[MikelKlink · Accepted solution]

It's highly likely that the signature field you've implemented in your forms is based on Adobe's proprietary technology. The signature functionality will only work reliably when the PDF form is opened in Adobe Acrobat Reader or other Adobe software.

One correction: If (as I assume) @alanp34852464 talks about the regular digital signature fields in regular PDF forms, this is not "Adobe's proprietary technology" but following regular ISO standards.

But it indeed is true that many simple PDF tools (like those usually found in web browsers) do not implement this standard PDF feature, so users need to switch to more complete implementations of the PDF standard, like Adobe Acrobat.

[alanp34852464]

Thank you all for your helpful responses.  I forwarded them to upper management to see what they want to do.

[Villy_H6867]

You're right, digital signature fields in PDF forms typically only work as expected when opened in Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader. Most standard web browsers like Edge, Chrome, or Firefox have built-in PDF viewers, but they don’t fully support advanced features like digital signatures or JavaScript-driven fields.