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How to digitally sign a PDF

digitally sign pdf

To begin, we must know the importance of sign a PDF document, greatly facilitating a tedious process and turning this into a document official. Are you interested in knowing how to digitally sign a PDF? Well, you came to the right place, in this guide we will tell you in detail the different methods to do it.

First of all, this process is not very complicated, thanks to the different tools that exist with which we can add our firm to documents. Likewise, you can request the third party signature, being able to monitor progress and participants.

Methods to sign a PDF

As a consequence of the aforementioned, we are going to divide this guide into parts, mentioning in each one some alternative that you can try and finally choose the one that is most comfortable for you.

Sign a PDF with Adobe Acrobat

Undoubtedly Adobe Acrobat is the reader of PDF documents Favorite when it comes to PC programs. This wonderful application also has a tool that allows us to insert a digital signature in PDF. The process is not very difficult, you just have to:

how to sign a pdf
  1. Download the program through the following link.
  2. Once installed, press the tab "Tools" on the top bar within the application.
  3. In this section you will find various tools to edit your PDFs, on this occasion, we will use the one that says "Fill in and sign".
  4. The program will save your signatures and you can use them later, but, if it is your first time, you must press on "Sign" or click the button with a pen writing and finally, "Add signature".
  5. Next, Acrobat will give you different options for add your signature, whether you want draw it with the mouse, using a graphic tablet or by inserting it with a image. If you choose to draw it, click on "Draw" and make your signature, when it's ready, press "Apply".
  6. Once this is done, the mouse cursor will be replaced by the image of the firm, being able to position it in the place you want within the document. In the current versions, the program indicates the signature places with a blue box.
  7. When you've signed, save the document and you're done. As a recommendation, use the function "Save as" within "Archive", in this way you can create a copy renaming and keeping the original file.

How to digitally sign a PDF online

On the other hand, if you want to do this without downloading any application, you can use the site SmallPDF. This online tool It has several options, for which we are going to use it will be "Sign PDF", which gives us the possibility of insert a digital signature in PDF for free. To sign your document, follow these steps:

  1. Login to SmallPDF from your browser.
  2. Upload the document from your computer or drag it to the web.
  3. Use one of the 3 available ways to create your PDF digital signature:
  4. Draw your signature with the mouse or the cell phone screen. An interesting feature of this is that softens the strokes, so that it looks more attractive despite your mistakes. There is no eraser tool so you have to write it complete.
  5. Insert a picture from the browser.
  6. Use the webcam from your computer or your cell phone in case you have entered from one.
  7. When you are satisfied with your digital signature, press "Keep".
  8. This will take you back to the document, where you must click on "Place signature", here you can choose between the signatures you have saved; given that you can create more than one sign and use them in the same document.
  9. Selected the signature, place it in the place you want, you can modify its size and its scale.
  10. Once the signatures are positioned, click on "Apply", so that the new Digitally signed PDF.
  11. The document can be previewed from the same page and just click on "Download" to save it on your computer. Ready, you already have your signed PDF document.
sign a pdf online

Sign a PDF with IvDesk

Finally, we have this alternative program to Adobe Acrobat, which has some advantages, among which we can highlight a more weight light and the mass signing of documents. This tool can make work easier if the document is large. Now, let's see the steps to follow and how to digitally sign a PDF on all pages:

  1. Download IvDesk clicking here.
  2. Install the application and open the document that requires the digital signature.
  3. By default, the program opens to the home screen. "Firm".
  4. In this section, you will have several options, these are:
  5. Time stamp: Add to PDF the date and time when the firm.
  6. Visible signature: This option lets us make a visible electronic signature in the document.
  7. Pages option: A great tool that allows us to indicate the pages in which we want to sign, being able to select multiple and not having to go one by one.
  8. Signature content: To add text or images With the signature.
  9. Signature location: Lets indicate where the signature will be located.
  10. Include biometrics: To enter a handwritten signature.
  11. Choose the digital certificate with whom you want to sign the PDF.
  12. Press "Sign", immediately afterwards, IvDesk will request the Certificate PIN that you will have to enter in the corresponding field.
  13. When you have entered the PIN, a confirmation window will be displayed and the document will be saved in the same location as the original.

Digital signature with Word

Additionally, if you are looking for how to sign a Word document, you can also do it while you have one scanned signature. The process to follow is as follows:

  1. Insert a signature line in section "Text" within "Insert" on the toolbar.
  2. make Double click on the signature line and select the scanned signature.
  3. Save the document and ready.

It should be noted that in current versions of Office, you can save the documents as PDF, so this last alternative also works for digitally sign a PDF.

Conclution

Finally, we hope that the guide has been helpful, as you can see, there are many ways to how to digitally sign a PDF, so you can use the one that suits you best. We want to invite you to follow in TecnoGuias, where you can find similar tutorials. Thank you very much for reading until next time!