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Cannot digitally sign PDFs

New Here ,
Jul 01, 2021 Jul 01, 2021

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Hello, recently I was forced to change to Adobe DC at work.  We create PDF forms via Word that require digital signatures from various people within the company on a daily basis.  I used to be able to sign them without issue and even when I first installed DC, I could sign them.  Not today however.  And by sign, I am not referring to adding a scanned jpg of my actual signature or scribbling an X with my mouse.  I'm talking about digital ID files.  I can create a new file any time I want, but I just cannot use it.  When I click on the "Fill & Sign" button, the "Request Signatures" button is active, but the "Sign Yourself" button is greyed out.  Other people can sign the exact same PDF file.  I can't.  Any ideas?

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How to , Security digital signatures and esignatures

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correct answers 2 Correct answers

Adobe Employee , Apr 22, 2016 Apr 22, 2016

Hi Brad Qualls,

Could you please let us know the adobe application you are using and also the OS version on your system?

To digitally sign a document you need to select the certificates option from Tools.

You can navigate to tools pane and type " Certificates" in the search box. And then select "digital sign" option .

Please refer this article : Digital IDs in Acrobat DC  and  Certificate-based signatures, Adobe Acrobat DC

Let us know if this helps.

Regards

Sarojini

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Adobe Employee , Jul 02, 2021 Jul 02, 2021

Hello,

 

Thank you for reaching out.

 

As you are trying to add the digital signature, you do not require the Fill & Sign tool. The signature field in the form is the reason why "Sign yourself" is greyed out. If the field is already added in the form, you can simply click on the field to add the signature.

 

If there is no form field in the form, use the following steps to digitally sign the PDF.

1. Open the PDF in Acrobat.

2. Go to Tools > Certificates > Digitally Sign.

 

Let us know if you nee

...

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Adobe Employee ,
Jul 02, 2021 Jul 02, 2021

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Hello,

 

Thank you for reaching out.

 

As you are trying to add the digital signature, you do not require the Fill & Sign tool. The signature field in the form is the reason why "Sign yourself" is greyed out. If the field is already added in the form, you can simply click on the field to add the signature.

 

If there is no form field in the form, use the following steps to digitally sign the PDF.

1. Open the PDF in Acrobat.

2. Go to Tools > Certificates > Digitally Sign.

 

Let us know if you need any help.

 

Thanks,

Meenakshi

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New Here ,
Jul 08, 2021 Jul 08, 2021

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Yes.  I was able to finally figure it out yesterday after talking with others within the company using the same software.  It is not intuitive where such functionality is placed.

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New Here ,
May 02, 2022 May 02, 2022

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Hello,

I am having the opposite problem; I do own Fill&Sign, but it won't allow me to request signatures from others before signing/confirming it myself.
Only sign myself which would be illegal in my profession. I specifically purchased the product for this capability, it was working previously; and now does not allow me to add "sign here" or insert "date here", etc. for clients. 

I've had to regress to getting them to print, sign, and scan it back to me.

 

Please advise,

Katherine

 

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New Here ,
Jul 08, 2022 Jul 08, 2022

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Not available in Reader DC

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New Here ,
Apr 09, 2023 Apr 09, 2023

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Hi, 

I've tried this work around however the options for the certificate are also greyed out 

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Adobe Employee ,
Jun 21, 2023 Jun 21, 2023

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Hi Sophie29317241x8t9,

 

Thank you for reaching out, and sorry about the delay in response. 

 

If the issue still occurs, please check if the document has some restrictions. Open the PDF in Acrobat and go to File > Properties > Security. Also, check if the issue occurs with a particular PDF.

You may also refer to the information in the following help document to add a digital signature: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/digital-ids.html

 

Let us know if you need any help.

 

Thanks,

Meenakshi

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Community Beginner ,
Oct 12, 2023 Oct 12, 2023

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Hi @MeenakshiNegi  I have rquirement that gsrapic signature using code/ apis  for pdf do we have any references to achive this using apis or any flow.please suggest solution

karthik32870957iy4v_0-1697110747040.png

 

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New Here ,
Oct 08, 2019 Oct 08, 2019

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I have a PDF document that I need to sign digitally, but whenever I choose FILL AND SIGN, I am unable to do so as it is saying that "The author of this form has specified the field which you can fill. Click on any field to start filling form." I cannot paste my signature as well. I think the form is also secured. Please help. THANK YOU.

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Adobe Employee ,
Oct 08, 2019 Oct 08, 2019

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Hi Ellery_tan,

 

Thanks for reaching out. as described above, you are unable to sign digitally sign PDF, correct?

 

Have you got the PDF which is already signed, and trying to sign it with your signature?

 

Its a design behavior, once the PDF is signed it gets locked for further editing. You wont be able to edit, once the PDF is signed the document becomes read-only and no further changes are allowed; even a signature can't be added in the document.

 

If you're the only one signer, you can remove your signature and work on the document. If the document is signed by others, you can request the initiator to share an unsigned copy or the source document with you.

 

As stated above, the form is secured, you need to contact the author/creator of the pdf to get the access to edit the file.

 

For more information please use the help article - https://helpx.adobe.com/in/acrobat/kb/edit-signed-PDF.html

 

 

Hope it helps

 

Regards

Amal

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New Here ,
Apr 04, 2022 Apr 04, 2022

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Hi Amal,

 

This is constantly happening to me with Adobe Acrobat - as well as many other people. Someone scans a form and sends it to me. I then receive this error message and am unable to sign it. Does Adobe have plans to fix this?

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Adobe Employee ,
Apr 05, 2022 Apr 05, 2022

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Hi Amy

 

Hope you are doing well and sorry to hear that.

 

Is this an issue with a particular PDF file or with all the PDFs that you try to sign? Please try with a different PDF file and check.

 

What is the workflow/steps you are doing to sign the PDF file? A small video recording of the same would be very helpful.

 

Also, please share the screenshot of the error message and the PDF file in question so that we can check it at our end. https://helpx.adobe.com/document-cloud/help/sharing-pdfs.html

 

Regards

Amal

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Community Beginner ,
Aug 10, 2022 Aug 10, 2022

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Hi Amal

 

as the other writer says, this is a very common and very irritating problem. Is Adobe planning on fixing this bug? Please do not reply by asking me to send video, screenshot etc. - I prefer to have Adobe's suggestion for a workaround and to hear if this will be solved permanently soon. Please note that it is only Adobe that has this problem!

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Adobe Employee ,
Aug 12, 2022 Aug 12, 2022

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Hi there

 

Hope you are doing well and sorry to hear that. Is this an issue with a particular PDF file or with all the PDFs? Please try with a different PDF file and check.

 

If its a file-specific issue please share the file with us for testing as described here https://helpx.adobe.com/document-cloud/help/sharing-pdfs.html

 

Regards

Amal

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LEGEND ,
Aug 13, 2022 Aug 13, 2022

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Don't use FILL AND SIGN for this form - that's what the message is telling you. You don't need to and you can't. Just start typing in the form. And use the signature field already in the form.

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Community Beginner ,
Aug 15, 2022 Aug 15, 2022

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Thank for responding, however your suggestion does not work. None of the fields are fillable.

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Community Expert ,
Aug 15, 2022 Aug 15, 2022

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Can you share the form?

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Community Beginner ,
Aug 15, 2022 Aug 15, 2022

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Unfortunately not as it is confidential. I appreciate the community taking time to respond to everyone’s questions but is there not someone from Adobe here to help?

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Adobe Employee ,
Aug 18, 2022 Aug 18, 2022

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Hi Susanne,

 

Thank you for reaching out.

 

We will require the document to further investigate the issue. As the problem occurs with a particular PDF, this can be file specific issue.

If possible, share the PDF with us in a private message. You may initiate a private message using the envelope icon at the community window's top right.

 

Thanks,

Meenakshi

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New Here ,
Sep 23, 2022 Sep 23, 2022

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The actual solution is to not use the "Fill & Sign" as someone else suggested.  You need to click on the “Certificates” button rather than the “Fill & Sign” button.  This brings up a new button called “Digitally Sign” and that permits the sig on a locked doc which has another sig already.

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New Here ,
Sep 23, 2022 Sep 23, 2022

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New Here ,
Apr 22, 2016 Apr 22, 2016

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I have received a document that has been digitally signed. I need to apply my signature to countersign the contract. When I click 'Fill and Sign' on the right, I do not see my normal options for pasting in my signature. Is there a way to countersign a document like this? Or am I stuck printing it off and manually signing it. I have saved these PDFs as a Word file before, only to convert back into PDF. There has to be a way to get this done, but I am to much of a novice in Adobe. I have searched for a solution but have come up with nothing.

I appreciate any advice or help anyone can offer, thank you.

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Adobe Employee ,
Apr 22, 2016 Apr 22, 2016

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Hi Brad Qualls,

Could you please let us know the adobe application you are using and also the OS version on your system?

To digitally sign a document you need to select the certificates option from Tools.

You can navigate to tools pane and type " Certificates" in the search box. And then select "digital sign" option .

Please refer this article : Digital IDs in Acrobat DC  and  Certificate-based signatures, Adobe Acrobat DC

Let us know if this helps.

Regards

Sarojini

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New Here ,
Apr 22, 2016 Apr 22, 2016

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Hi Sarojini,

I am running OS X Yosemite 10.10.2. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC 2015 Release ver 2015.006.30121.

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New Here ,
Apr 22, 2016 Apr 22, 2016

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Thank you Sarojini,

I was missing the Certificate button on the right side of the screen. I usually just paste my signature in from a png file and fill in the rest of the information with text. I was able to create a digital signature and add the appropriate png.

Thank you!

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