Adobe acrobat 7.0.5 sdk User Manual

Providing Document Security

Note that the Standard security handler, used for password encryption of documents, is not 
JavaScript enabled in general. In Acrobat 7.0, encryption using Standard security is possible 
using predefined policies. 

Also, in Acrobat 7.0, the Adobe.APS handler can be used for encryption via the 

 method. This handler also makes a directory available via the 

directory services, but as no certificates are returned from this directory, it is of limited 
general use.

For more information, see the Acrobat JavaScript Scripting Reference.

A digital signature, like a conventional handwritten signature, identifies the person signing 
a document. Unlike traditional signatures on paper, however, each digital signature stores 
information about the person signing a document. Signatures help prevent unwanted 
changes to a PDF document. For example, an author may not want a PDF document with 
company letterhead to be changed after it is signed.

The first signature in a document is called the author signature. When you add the first 
signature to a document, you have the option of certifying the document. Certifying a 
document lets you attest to its contents and specify the types of changes allowed for the 
document to remain certified. Changes to the document are detected in the Signatures tab. 
Subsequent signatures to the document are called ordinary signatures.

To sign a document, you must select a digital ID, which contains the signature information 
that you can share with other users in a certificate. You can create a self-signed digital ID, or 
you can obtain a digital ID from a third-party provider. Using certificates, other users can 
validate your signatures, and you should validate the signatures of others.

An author of a PDF document can simply add a signature to indicate approval. 
Alternatively, a PDF document can be signed more than once and by more than one 
person. For example, the author can save a PDF document containing form fields as a 
certified document, allowing only form fields to be filled in. When another user opens the 
PDF document, a message indicates whether the certification is still valid. This user can 
then fill out the form and sign the document when finished.

To add a signature to a PDF document using Acrobat JavaScript:

●

Create a signature field

●

Choose a security handler

●

Invoke the field’s 

 method

From a plug-in, you can sign a PDF document using the PubSec and DigSig APIs.