Create digitally signed PDFs

Question

Create digitally signed PDFs

Is there a way to create digitally signed PDFs by using the options at the "Print" menu to "Save as PDF" that is available at certain apps ?

If there is no built-in solution by Apple, which applications do you use to digitally sign PDFs ? I searched the discussions, but haven't found an appropriate solution so far...

Thanks for your help 🙂

Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Jun 26, 2009 2:37 AM

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Answer 1

macjack

Level 10

111,242 points

Jun 26, 2009 7:58 AM in response to tobias Eichner

Digital Signature is a feature of Adobe Acrobat Pro and possibly Adobe Acrobat ( I haven't checked).
You might also be interested in a freeware app pdfPen or you might have to purchase the Pro version for that.

-mj

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Answer 2

Jun 26, 2009 8:02 AM in response to tobias Eichner

Is this what you're looking for:

http://www.mac-minimalist.com/2008/07/how-to-sign-pdf-document.html

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Answer 3

Jun 27, 2009 5:45 AM in response to macjack

Don't meant something to write into PDF, but a solution for signing a document using an electronic certificate to authenticate a PDF (e.g. sent invoice to a customer).

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Answer 4

Jun 27, 2009 5:47 AM in response to tobias Eichner

I know about Adobe's solution, but they are too expensive unfortunately.

Maybe someone has another suggestion, I really searched but all what I found was a solution for Windows only 😟

Anyway, thanks so far.

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Answer 5

Jun 28, 2009 4:44 AM in response to tobias Eichner

I found this software: http://www.sybrex.com/products/macgui/pdfsign/index.php

Has anybody made experiences with this ?

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Answer 6

Jul 20, 2009 3:50 AM in response to tobias Eichner

I'm still searching for a solution, but can't recommend the software from Sybex. No one of my pre-sale inquiries has been answered 😟

Suggestions and product recommendations are still welcome 🙂

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Answer 7

Jul 20, 2009 6:10 AM in response to tobias Eichner

tobias Eichner wrote:
Suggestions and product recommendations are still welcome 🙂

How about PortableSigner? It's free, so the price is right, especially for trying it out. I don't know enough about it to test it, but it signs PDFs using X.509 certificates, which sounds like it might fit the bill.

charlie

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Answer 8

Jul 20, 2009 12:36 PM in response to tobias Eichner

Is PortableSigner a professional tool that really works ? I checked it out before already; but since both, website and software appeared being something like a hobbyist project, I was a bit unsure about it.

Do you have any experience with this software ?

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Answer 9

Jul 20, 2009 3:03 PM in response to tobias Eichner

tobias Eichner wrote:
Is PortableSigner a professional tool that really works ?

I have no idea how good it is, and I don't really have any benchmark to compare it to. It's hosted at Sourceforge, which might explain why the web site is a big crude-looking. On the other hand, the site says it's a project of the Municipality of Vienna, so I'd say that it appears it's good enough for at least one government.

My feeling is that a lot of the software at Sourceforge is written for a specific, fairly specialized purpose, and sometimes not a lot of time is spent on the GUI or user-friendly features. But if your purpose happens to meet up with the purpose of the creators, the software can be a life-saver.

Really, I'd say just download it and try it. Only you know if it's good enough or not. And you've got nothing to lose since it's free.

charlie

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Answer 10

Aug 10, 2009 3:28 PM in response to Charles Minow

Finally I gave PortableSigner a try - and it failed (as I expected).

It was installed on Windows Vista (so can't say anything about OS X), but claimed that one component of Java was missing (Java Cryptography Extension).

I installed these extensions, no luck. Reinstalling PortableSigner, no luck.

Guess PortableSigner is worth what you pay for - nothing... unfortunately 😟

Any other recommendation is welcome 🙂

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