Preview app for Mac users is a great tool to view and edit Portable Document Files (PDFs) and image files. It also let you annotate and combine files and share them afterwards. Today we are going to have a look at one of the greatest features of Preview; Electronically Sign PDF using Preview.
It all starts when you receive a document, via email/download it from a site, which we must fill and most importantly, sign before email/upload online. What we all usually do in this scenario? We first take a print out of the document, then we sign it and then scan it and then upload it. Don’t you think it’s a monotonous job to perform? You will also end up wasting the paper once it is done scanning.
Lucky for all Mac OS users out there, on OS X Lion or later, the Preview app comes preinstalled in computers which can help you with electronically sign PDFs with ease.
Electronically Sign PDF using Preview on Mac
There are two ways to do this;
Electronically Sign PDF Using Trackpad
- Open the PDF file which you want to electronically sign using the Preview app
- Access the editing toolbar by clicking the Edit button in the Preview window
- Select the Signature icon
- Click on Create Signature -> Click here to begin. The window will open with the track pad selected. Draw the signature using the track pad attached.
- Once done, click and drag the Signature image to the required position. Since it is an image, you can resize and moved anywhere in the document.
Tip: Though you can use any type of stylus to perform this action but, it is recommended that you use a pointy one to get best results. Also, draw slowly by looking at the monitor so you can see how it is coming on the screen.
Electronically Sign PDF using Camera
- Open the PDF file which you want to electronically sign using the Preview app
- Access the editing toolbar by clicking the Edit button in the Preview window
- Select the Signature icon
- Click on Create Signature -> Camera. This will turn on the camera on your computer.
- Sign on a piece of paper and hold it up to the camera.
- Move the paper slowly and the signature will draw along the line on the screen.
- Click Accept to save the image.
Tip: The signature will appear from right to left while scanning but, the Preview will make it from left to right once done scanning. You can check the option Save this signature for use after Preview quits for future use.
