Time Stamps

++Adding to the topic,

I will assume that you're working for the government

If you're recruiting in any branch , you may also want to be aware that most people in the government try to work around PDFs documents as if they are browsing through web pages.

This is not their fault though. I will also assume that their computer  upgrades doesn't meet the appropriate software and hardware requirements.

As such, their accounts are usually locked or controlled by the organization thst they belong to, in which case, the operating system is defaulted to use Micrososft Edge web browser as the only PDF viewer (if on Microsoft Windows).

The issue with these tendencies of such work environment, is to be aware that web browsers that are capable of viewing a PDF do not necessarily render Acrobat JavaScript properly or at all... Firefox may have a better built-in native PDF viewer though.

In any case if, for example, you're previewing these forms from Micrososft Outlook using the webmail app on Microsoft Edge, Chrome or Firefox, you may not see the signature field.

You must download the PDF and view it in  Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (free version, or with Adobe AcrobatPro DC ).

If, on the other hand, you can't see a signature field after you've download such files to your computer, and then view them with Adobe Acrobat but still can't see the signature, then again, the error must've occurred with the person who claims that signed the PDFs.

It may not be signed at all due to trying to use web browsers to work around the PDFs.

Besides, if these are government forms, they're probably old and unsupported Adobe

LiveCycle forms; I've seen this happen even with Acrobat Pro.

But overall, you should be able to distiuish a certificate-based digital signature (self-signed certificate or smart-card ) from electronic sigantures (does not contain time stamp nor a digital certificate).

TIP of the Day:

If your recruiting  packet(s) include(s) a memorandum that was signed with today's date, also ensure that the digital signature's timestamp doesn't say something like "2014".

That should  indicate you that wherever these forms are coming from reflect a poor practice of privacy information act (or possibly fraudulent in the worst case scenario).

In other words, not meeting electronic records compliance to begin with.

All digital signatures contain a timestamp.

Open the Signatures panel, right-click it and select Show Signature Properties and it will appear there.