These days, hard copy paperwork is becoming the exception rather than the rule, and more and more official documents are being converted to PDF documents. (PDF stands for Portable Document Format, a standard created by Adobe in the early 1990s that allows paper documents to be converted into exact digital copies.) However, even digital documents must be signed. You can do this the long way – print these documents, sign them and then scan them back to your computer – or create a digital signature and embed it directly into the PDF.
If you’re using a Mac, the process is super easy; Simply use the built-in Preview app to create and save your digital signature. (Unfortunately, it’s not that simple if you’re using a Windows PC.) From now on, when you open a PDF using Preview, it will be a simple matter of leaving the signature on the document.
To create your signature, you must first have a PDF ready:
- Open a PDF document using your Mac’s built-in Preview app. (If you don’t have a PDF document at hand, you can create one with your favorite word processor and save it as a PDF file.)
- Open the Markup tool by clicking the “pencil in a circle” icon at the top right of the preview window or choosing View > Show Markup Toolbar.
- Click the signature icon (which looks like a signature in one line).
You can now create your signature. (If you have created at least one signature before, click the “Create Signature” button.) There will be two or three buttons at the top of the window. Here are your choices:
- Select Trackpad. Click the “Click Here to Begin” button in the middle of the screen, sign your name on the trackpad, press any key, then click “Done.”
- Write your name on a piece of white paper, select Camera and hold the paper towards the camera (and on the line visible on the screen) until you see the signature on the screen. (Two notes: First, the signature will appear upside down when you hold it down, but the digitized version will be correct. Also, if there are other markings on the paper or the paper isn’t filling the screen, it’s likely you. )
- If you have an iPhone associated with a Mac, you will also have a button labeled “iPhone”. Select this and your phone will almost instantly open a space to write your signature; your signature will be mirrored on your Mac.
If you need to try again with any of these methods, simply press the “Clear” button at the bottom left of the window to get rid of the unwanted signature. When you’re happy with it, click “Done”.
Now, whenever you want to add your signature to a document in Preview, click the Signature icon and click your signature. It will appear in your document in a box that you can use to adjust its size and position.
If you want a second or third signature, simply create them the same way. After that, when you click on the Signature icon, you will see all your created signatures and you can choose the one you want to use. Don’t need one of the signatures anymore? Hover over the signature until you see a small “x” next to it and click on it to delete it.
Update November 2, 2021, 11:30 AM ET: This article was originally published on March 10, 2020; some minor updates have been made.
