Free Draw and digital signatures


There are two signing tools we haven’t discussed yet: “Free Draw” and “Digitally Sign”.

PDF Extra: free draw icon With Free Draw, you can easily sign your document without ever using “Quick Sign”, however, you won’t be able to save the signature for later use. Of course, you’re not limited to using it just as a way to sign your files as you can freely draw in just about any shape or form imaginable. Think of it as a built-in Microsoft Paint in terms of the freedom it affords you.

PDF Extra: digitally sign icon Digital signatures, on the other hand, are a bit more complex. They are a type of electronic signature whose validity is linked to a digital certificate. This certificate acts as a wax seal, ensuring that the file has not been changed by anyone else other than the original owner. If anyone does attempt to make changes, then the digital signature will be immediately invalidated.

To learn more about digital signatures and their uses, please read our more detailed explanation in our “Secure PDFs” chapter.