'Signature' option in Preview not working

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Level 1

31 points

'Signature' option in Preview not working

I tried to create an electronic signature in Preview so I could use it to sign a PDF email attachmet and then attach the signed PDF to a reply email.

However, it's not working, and I have no clue why.

Here are the steps:

After I select “Show Markup Toolbar,” I click on 'Sign'.
Then I select the 'Camera' option (my trackpad isn't working anyway).
I hold up a piece of paper with my signature in front of my MacBook Pro's webcam and press 'DONE'.

After that, according to what I've read, if I click on 'Sign' again I should see my signature (presumably saved as an 'image' file) in a menu.

But I don't. All I see is the same option to use the camera, after which I get the same prompt sequence mentioned above, as if I've done nothing prior to that. There's no sign of my 'signature' anywhere.

I've done this four times. What is going wrong here?

Thanks.

Posted on Aug 3, 2021 1:56 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

VikingOSX

Community+ 2024

Level 10

116,375 points

Aug 3, 2021 3:06 PM in response to dymar

If you obtained a decent signature from the webcam snap, you should see that selectable signature annotation in the Tools menu > Annotate > Signature sub-menu. You do not need to visit the Manage Signatures… sub-menu item. Upon clicking that signature, a signature annotation is inserted into the open document.

Otherwise, review the Preview User Guide's entry for Fill out and sign PDF forms in Preview on Mac.

Preview does not store signature captures as image files for independent usage from Preview.

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Answer 2

Aug 3, 2021 2:16 PM in response to dymar

Hello, dymar.

Reboot the Mac and try it again. It's a little things but it works often. If rebooting your Mac doesn’t fix, see if the problem still happens in Safe mode (hold the shift key down at startup). It can take much longer to safe boot (10 min) so be patient.

How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

Safe mode forces the OS to clear certain caches and logs and do other miscellaneous housekeeping. It's non-destructive to user data so is safe to do. Very often certain weird software behavior is corrected by simply logging in this way as a troubleshooting method. When you're in safe boot, the machine will not be at its best performance, especially with graphics, but that's normal.

Does the problem persist while in Safe mode?

Exit safe mode by restarting your Mac normally and re-evaluate the issue again.

If the problem is still unresolved, please return here and post a reply and we’ll see what else we can come up with for help.

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Answer 3

dymar Author

Level 1

31 points

Aug 4, 2021 6:35 AM in response to D.I. Johnson

Hello, D.I. Johnson.

Thank you very much for that detailed reply.

Luckily, your first suggestion did the trick. A restart fixed the issue.

Getting the signature to 'take' was still a surreal experience. Strange artifacts (ink blobs, etc.) appeared in the Trackpad/Camera box in my first few failed attempts to get the webcam to 'see' my signature.

Happy ending, tho. Appreciate your assistance getting there.

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Answer 4

dymar Author

Level 1

31 points

Aug 4, 2021 6:45 AM in response to VikingOSX

Thanks for your reply, VikingOSX.

I wasn't getting a signature (or any other result) from the webcam snap.

All fixed through a system restart, tho, via reply from D.I. Johnson (first responder).

Thanks also for the additional information about signatures.

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Answer 5

Aug 4, 2021 6:57 AM in response to dymar

You're welcome.

Glam to know you resolved this. 🙂

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'Signature' option in Preview not working

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