PDF Forms Using Acrobat® and LiveCycle® Designer Bible

Chapter 12. Using Signatures and Security

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Getting familiar with digital signatures

• Creating a digital ID

• Adding security to forms

We lightly touched on adding digital signatures to forms in Chapters 5 through 7, and in several other earlier chapters we also mentioned securing files. We combine these two topics in this chapter because signing a form provides a form recipient with one level of security. Anyone signing a form can be assured that additional edits on a form will invalidate a signature.

All users of all Acrobat viewers can create digital signature ID files that are necessary to sign a form, and all Acrobat users are subject to the same limitations for permissions when files have been secured.

You should be aware of the steps needed to create digital IDs so you can create your own digital IDs for signing forms and coach Adobe Reader users when the need arises on how to create and use digital IDs. You also should know the various options you have for securing a document and preventing your forms from being edited by others. Knowing when to secure a form and what permissions you need to lock out of forms is critical. In this chapter, we talk about the issues related to digital signatures and security options that are important for PDF forms authors.

Understanding Digital Signatures

A digital ID can be created in all Acrobat viewers. Adobe Reader and Acrobat users can create and use digital IDs. For Adobe Reader users, forms must be enabled with Reader usage rights ...