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In a typical Digital Signatures process, an application
secures the document using the following steps:
Retrieves a PDF document from a specified repository
Applies a digital signature by using a credential (private
key) in a specified keystore
Passes a document back to the process for archiving, delivery,
and other actions, as appropriate.
In another example, a custom application created by using the
Java API uses these steps:
Gets a series of documents
Applies a digital signature to all of them, and passes a
document back to the process for archiving, delivery, and other
actions, as appropriate.
The following illustration shows an example of a typical Digital
Signatures process.
PDF files are created using any type of PDF production
method:
Automatically from a server using Forms,
Manually on a desktop using Acrobat
Using the PDF creation capabilities of third-party applications.
A client application retrieves a PDF document from a specified
repository. The PDF is passed to Digital Signatures.
Digital Signatures secures the PDF document by certifying
or signing it. It can archive the document in its secure state,
as well as pass it to a web or email server for distribution.
A web server or email server distributes the secure document
by posting it on a website or sending it by email to recipients.
The recipient uses a public key (digital certificate) to
validate the signature. If required, the recipient can add information
to the PDF document. If the document is a form, the recipient can
fill it and then resign it for submission to the sender.
Digital Signatures receives the submitted PDF document and
validates the signature to ensure the integrity and authenticity
of the document.
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