Every once in a while various problems related to handling digital documents hamper our productivity. Leveraging useful desktop applications to solve them is the best way to get the job done while saving precious time and money.
Considering how the PDF became the most widely used file format in business environments, having a tool that can help you deal with it in every way possible is essential.
Some time ago, we reviewed a PDF suite called Able2Extract Professional and acknowledged its all-around capabilities to handle a number of PDF tasks such as creating and annotating PDFs, as well as converting and editing native and scanned (image) PDF files.
Now, we’re happy to present you with the latest version of this popular program. It brings back all the elements we liked, but also adds the most requested improvements and advanced new features while keeping the same price as before.
In today’s article we’ll be focusing on what is arguably the most useful new feature in Able2Extract Professional 14 – the ability to sign PDF right on your desktop computer whether your machine is running Windows, macOS or Linux.
In today’s article we’ll be focusing on what is arguably the most useful new feature in Able2Extract Professional 14 – the ability to sign PDF right on your desktop computer whether your machine is running Windows, macOS or Linux.
Digital Signatures
The new Digital Signatures tab can be found on the right-hand side of the interface as soon as you open a file in Able2Extract Professional 14. Once you click the icon placed below the Annotations tab (that’s active by default) you will gain access to two panels:
- Signatures: An action panel with Choose Signature… and Sign buttons.
- The Sign button will be grayed out and unusable until you create a signature and save it as your default image signature. After that, it becomes a shortcut for signing PDFs in just 3 clicks.
- By clicking on the Choose Signature… button you will open a dialog where you can Create… multiple signatures either by typing, drawing or importing a ready-made image. If you have a USB with a digital certificate plugged into your computer, you can apply a digital cryptographic key to your image signature for additional security by checking the Digitally Sign the Document box.
- Existing Digital Signatures: An information panel where you can inspect any digital signature applied to the PDF file opened in Able2Extract.
- Name of the signer
- Date and time when the signature was applied (from the clock of the signer’s computer)
- Color of the section gives you a visual clue about the authenticity of the signature and the file content (as well as a lock icon next to the name of the opened file):
- Green means that the signature is valid and the content hasn’t been modified since the signature was applied
- Orange means that the signature digital certificate is valid, but the content of the file has been changed after the signature was applied
- Red means that the signature certificate isn’t from a trusted source
Step-by-step Guide to Signing PDFs with Able2Extract
Now that you understand how the sign PDF feature has been set up in Able2Extract, let’s go through the steps needed to actually apply the signature to your documents.
- Open the file you’d like to sign and click on the Digital Signatures tab
- Click on the Choose Signature… button
- Click on the Create… button
- Choose between Type, Draw and Import options, create an image signature, and click on the Add button
- Click on the Sign button and place the signature anywhere in the document
Note: To apply a digital certificate to your image signature, check the Digitally Sign the Document box, click on the certificate from the list, and proceed to step 5.
Conclusion
If you need a reminder, Able2Extract can help you with a plethora of PDF-related tasks such as PDF creation and conversion. It’s also a powerful PDF editor that can easily modify PDF content, add images and other graphics, rearrange PDF pages, and much more. On top of that, Able2Extract gives you the ability to annotate PDF files, insert Bates numbering, work with scanned PDFs, etc.
New features like the one we covered in this article have really made this PDF suite the only PDF solution one will ever need to speed up digital document workflows and increase produc tivity in any business environment.
You can check it out yourself by downloading the free trial here. If you decide to buy a lifetime license it will set you back $149.95. Though there’s also an option to purchase a 30-day subscription for $34.95. Go for the option that works best for you and discover all the ways this tool makes dealing with PDFs a lot quicker and easier.
