How to set up a digital signature in Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat for a Mac

** Mac users must have Adobe Reader to complete Adobe digital signatures and properly submit the evaluation form to HR. Please ensure you have Adobe Reader on your machine. If you do not have Adobe Reader, you may download the latest version here: https://get.adobe.com/reader/

Please Note: You will need administrative privileges to download software to your machine. If you do not have administrative privileges, please submit a help desk ticket to ITCS to complete the installation process here: http://www.ecu.edu/cs-itcs/

Once the evaluation form is open within Adobe Reader, the Supervisor, Evaluating Department Head, and the Employee will need to provide a digital signature.

A digital signature is an electronic version of a hand written signature. In order to be able to electronically sign documents, you must first set up a digital ID. Once you complete the digital ID set up process, you are ready to begin signing documents electronically. The exact language used varies slightly for each Adobe version, but the basic set up process is as follows.

Note: Be sure to back up your password in a secure place. If you lose your password, either create a new self-signed digital ID and delete the old one, or purchase one from a third-party provider.

1. In the document that you want to sign, click in the appropriate signature field. In some versions, you may need to click yes or ok, if prompted prior to reaching step 2.

2. Once you click the appropriate field for your digital signature, a window will open as shown below. You will click on “Configure Digital ID”.

3. The next window will ask you to configure a digital ID for signing. Select Create a new Digital ID (exact wording varies for each Adobe version, could say “Create A Self-Signed Digital ID for use with Acrobat” or “A New Digital Signature I Want To Create Now”), and click Continue.

4. The next window will ask you to select the destination of the new Digital ID. Select Save to File and click Continue.

5. The next window will ask you to create a self-signed Digital ID. You will enter your name and email address. Organizational Unit and Organizational Name is not required. Please leave Key Algorithm to the default 2048-bit RSA and Use Digital ID to the default Digital Signatures. Click Continue when done.

6. The next window will ask you to save the self-signed Digital ID file and apply a password to protect you Digital ID. Save the file to your computer. Enter a password and click Save.

7. The next window will ask you to select your Digital ID to complete your digital signature. If you have more than one Digital IDs, please select the Digital ID you wish to use and click Continue.

8. Enter your newly created password. DO NOT CLICK “Lock Document After Signing”, as this will disable interactive features of the document such as the SUBMIT button. Click Sign and your digital signature will now be shown on the document.

9. The next window will ask you to save your evaluation form. Choose your location to save and click save.

10. You should now see your digital signature on your form.

Once the form has been completed and signed by the supervisor using the electronic signature, attach the saved form to an email, and send the form via email to the evaluating Department Head for review.

The Department Head will review and approve the form or send back to supervisor for revision via email. To approve, the Department head will sign using the electronic signature, save the form, and return the evaluation to the Supervisor via an attachment through email.

Once the supervisor and department head have signed, the supervisor will meet with the employee to discuss his/her performance. The supervisor will send the form via an attachment through email to the employee. If the employee has secondary employment, the employee must complete the secondary employment form, which will pop up if “yes” is checked (if using Adobe pro), and/or is available via the hyperlink on the form. The approved secondary employment form should be retained in the departmental personnel folder and is not required to be sent to HR.

After the discussion between the supervisor and employee, the employee can enter comments and will sign using the electronic signature. The date signed field is required for employees. The employee will email the signed form to his/her supervisor as an attachment.

The supervisor will click on “Submit Form to HR” button once everyone has signed the form electronically. This will send the form to HR Employee Relations. If prompted with the security warning shown below, click allow.

Enter your email address and name, click Send to complete the form and submit to HR.

If you cannot remember your password, you will need to create a new Adobe Digital ID. Click the “Sign As:” box and select “New ID….” This will start the process over and you will follow the same instructions as above.