{"id":24586,"date":"2015-09-03T18:01:11","date_gmt":"2015-09-03T10:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?p=24586"},"modified":"2022-07-13T17:32:17","modified_gmt":"2022-07-13T09:32:17","slug":"digital-signature-preview-macosx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Sign Digital Documents With Preview App (OS X)"},"content":{"rendered":"

For freelancers<\/a> who work remotely<\/a>, having to sign a document in person can be a problem. Instead of turning up at the office or meeting with the client, usually, the document is sent to us, we print it out, sign it then rescan it with that scanner we have lying around. Don\u2019t have a scanner<\/a>? Well, you can use the native Preview <\/strong>app instead.<\/p>\n

Preview<\/strong> is an OS X built-in app with a handy feature that lets you attach your signature to a PDF document. The feature has been there since OS X Lion and has been improving through each OS X release. Here\u2019s how you can capture your signature digitally with the Preview app.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> For OS X Yosemite users, you can skip ahead<\/a> to find out how to attach your signature by signing directly on the trackpad.<\/p>\n

1. Capturing Your Signature<\/h2>\n

To begin with, you need a piece of clear white paper and a marker. Sign the paper with your best John Hancock. Then, open the Preview app and navigate to Tools > Annotate > Signature > Create Signature from FaceTime HD (Built-in)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

The Signature<\/strong> Capture <\/strong>dialog window will pop up, and your Mac\u2019s built-in camera should automatically be turned on.<\/p>\n

Hold the signed paper in front of the camera. Make sure that the paper receives enough lighting for a nice capture. Keep the signature just above the blue line (see below).<\/p>\n

Wait a few seconds for the Preview app to trace the signature and capture it. Check out the preview and click Accept<\/strong> if you want to save this signature. Don\u2019t like what you accepted? Just follow the steps again for a retake.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

Done? Let\u2019s check out how you can use this to sign a document.<\/p>\n

2. Attaching Your Signature<\/h2>\n

Open that important PDF document that requires your signature in the Preview app. Next, click the Pen<\/strong> icon to open your Editing Toolbar. This toolbar contains tools for adding annotation, shapes, and also your Signature.<\/p>\n

Click the \u201cSig<\/strong>\u201d icon and select the signature to input.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

Go back to the document and click anywhere. You can move, adjust and resize the Signature to fit into the signature space properly.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

And there you have it. Your signature has now been added to the document. You can now email it or send it back to the receiver for their action.<\/p>\n

An Alternative: Signing with the Trackpad (Yosemite)<\/a><\/h2>\n

If you are already using OS X Yosemite, you can skip the picture taking and just use your trackpad to create your signature. Signing on the trackpad is not as comfortable as signing on paper though \u2013 plus, it had to be said that signing will be easier with a stylus than with a finger.<\/p>\n

With the PDF document open, pop open the Editing toolbar and look for this scribble icon. Click on it then choose Trackpad<\/strong>. Click the space to begin signing. Click Done<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

Last Note<\/h2>\n

Keep in mind that doing it this way won\u2019t cryptographically<\/em> sign the document. Basically this method ensures the authenticity of your signature on the document through encryption and some complex mathematical equations or algorithm.<\/p>\n

If security is of utmost concern, you might want to try alternative services like DocuSign<\/a>, HelloSign<\/a>, or SignNow<\/a> instead.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For freelancers who work remotely, having to sign a document in person can be a problem. Instead of turning up at the office or meeting with the client, usually, the document is sent to us, we print it out, sign it then rescan it with that scanner we have lying around. Don\u2019t have a scanner?…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3397],"tags":[1985,3933],"topic":[4521],"class_list":["entry-content","is-maxi"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Sign Digital Documents With Preview App (OS X) - Hongkiat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For freelancers who work remotely, having to sign a document in person can be a problem. Instead of turning up at the office or meeting with the client,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Sign Digital Documents With Preview App (OS X)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For freelancers who work remotely, having to sign a document in person can be a problem. Instead of turning up at the office or meeting with the client,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hongkiatcom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-09-03T10:01:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-07-13T09:32:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/signature-menu.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Thoriq Firdaus\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@tfirdaus\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Thoriq Firdaus\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Thoriq Firdaus\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e7948c7a175d211496331e4b6ce55807\"},\"headline\":\"How to Sign Digital Documents With Preview App (OS X)\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-09-03T10:01:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-13T09:32:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":544,\"commentCount\":3,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/assets.hongkiat.com\\\/uploads\\\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\\\/signature-menu.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Digital Signature\",\"macOS\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Desktop\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Sign Digital Documents With Preview App (OS X) - Hongkiat\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/assets.hongkiat.com\\\/uploads\\\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\\\/signature-menu.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-09-03T10:01:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-13T09:32:17+00:00\",\"description\":\"For freelancers who work remotely, having to sign a document in person can be a problem. Instead of turning up at the office or meeting with the client,\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/assets.hongkiat.com\\\/uploads\\\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\\\/signature-menu.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/assets.hongkiat.com\\\/uploads\\\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\\\/signature-menu.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Sign Digital Documents With Preview App (OS X)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hongkiat\",\"description\":\"Tech and Design Tips\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Hongkiat.com\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/hkdc-logo-rect-yoast.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/hkdc-logo-rect-yoast.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":799,\"caption\":\"Hongkiat.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/hongkiatcom\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/hongkiat\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/hongkiat\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e7948c7a175d211496331e4b6ce55807\",\"name\":\"Thoriq Firdaus\",\"description\":\"Thoriq is a writer for Hongkiat.com with a passion for web design and development. He is the author of Responsive Web Design by Examples, where he covered his best approaches in developing responsive websites quickly with a framework.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/thoriq.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/tfirdaus\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Web Developer\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/thoriq\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Sign Digital Documents With Preview App (OS X) - Hongkiat","description":"For freelancers who work remotely, having to sign a document in person can be a problem. Instead of turning up at the office or meeting with the client,","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Sign Digital Documents With Preview App (OS X)","og_description":"For freelancers who work remotely, having to sign a document in person can be a problem. Instead of turning up at the office or meeting with the client,","og_url":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/","og_site_name":"Hongkiat","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hongkiatcom","article_published_time":"2015-09-03T10:01:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-07-13T09:32:17+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/signature-menu.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Thoriq Firdaus","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@tfirdaus","twitter_site":"@hongkiat","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Thoriq Firdaus","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/"},"author":{"name":"Thoriq Firdaus","@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e7948c7a175d211496331e4b6ce55807"},"headline":"How to Sign Digital Documents With Preview App (OS X)","datePublished":"2015-09-03T10:01:11+00:00","dateModified":"2022-07-13T09:32:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/"},"wordCount":544,"commentCount":3,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/signature-menu.jpg","keywords":["Digital Signature","macOS"],"articleSection":["Desktop"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/","url":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/","name":"How to Sign Digital Documents With Preview App (OS X) - Hongkiat","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/signature-menu.jpg","datePublished":"2015-09-03T10:01:11+00:00","dateModified":"2022-07-13T09:32:17+00:00","description":"For freelancers who work remotely, having to sign a document in person can be a problem. Instead of turning up at the office or meeting with the client,","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/signature-menu.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/signature-menu.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/digital-signature-preview-macosx\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Sign Digital Documents With Preview App (OS X)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/","name":"Hongkiat","description":"Tech and Design Tips","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Hongkiat.com","url":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/hkdc-logo-rect-yoast.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/hkdc-logo-rect-yoast.jpg","width":1200,"height":799,"caption":"Hongkiat.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hongkiatcom","https:\/\/x.com\/hongkiat","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/hongkiat\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e7948c7a175d211496331e4b6ce55807","name":"Thoriq Firdaus","description":"Thoriq is a writer for Hongkiat.com with a passion for web design and development. He is the author of Responsive Web Design by Examples, where he covered his best approaches in developing responsive websites quickly with a framework.","sameAs":["https:\/\/thoriq.com","https:\/\/x.com\/tfirdaus"],"jobTitle":"Web Developer","url":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/author\/thoriq\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4uxU-6oy","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/113"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24586"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24586\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25911,"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24586\/revisions\/25911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24586"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=24586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}