If you interact with many PDFs for work, school, business, or fun, then, at some point, you will probably need to digitally sign a PDF. This can be easy to do using the Google Chrome browser. In this article, we'll discuss 3 different ways to sign a PDF in Chrome, including adding an image of a signature, using an e-signature Chrome extension, and an online tool for drawing a signature. We will also discuss an offline alternative to adding digital signatures to your PDFs.
Part 1. How to Sign a PDF in Chrome via Adding Image?
The first way you can sign a PDF in Chrome is by adding an image of your signature. If you're someone who regularly signs PDF documents, then you may have an image file of your signature that you can just add to any document as needed.
To add your signature to a PDF in Chrome as an image, just follow the steps below:
Step 1: Select the PDF that you need to sign and open it in your Chrome browser. You can do this by uploading the PDF to your Google Drive and then opening it. Select the option at the top that says 'Open with Google Docs'.
Step 2: When the document opens in Google Docs, select Insert, then Image, then Upload from Computer.
Note that when you open a PDF in Google Docs, it will change most of the formatting. So this is a good option only for very simple PDFs with just text, and no images.
Step 3: Select the image of the signature that you want to add. Then, drag and drop the signature image to wherever you want on the document.
Step 4: When you're finished, select File, then Download, and choose PDF. You can save the PDF document with the signature image directly to your computer.
Part 2. How to Digitally Sign a PDF in Chrome via E-signature Extension
Another option for digitally signing a PDF in Chrome is to use an e-signature extension from the Chrome Web store. This is convenient if you need to sign many PDFs directly in your browser. Follow the steps below to add a digital signature to a PDF with a Chrome extension:
Step 1: Find the digital signature Chrome extension that you want to use in the Chrome web store, and click Add to Chrome. Here is to use DocuSign Esignature for Chrome.
Step 2: Log into the document signing Chrome extension, and upload the PDF that you want to add a signature to by clicking "Upload Document". Then, select the option of who needs to sign the document. For instance, you can select "Only Me".
Step 3: From the fields area, select Signature and place it on the document where you want to add a signature.
Step 4: Click on Sign and customize your signature. When you're satisfied, select Adopt and Sign.
Step 5: When the document is signed, select Send and choose who you would like to send a completed copy to you. You can email the document to yourself if you're the only one who needs a copy. From the email, you or the recipient should then be able to download a PDF of the signed document.
Part 3. How to Sign a PDF in Chrome via Drawing
The third way to sign a PDF in Chrome is by using a drawing tool. You can use SmallPDF, which is an online PDF tool, to add a drawing of a signature to your PDF document. Use the steps below to complete this process:
Step 1: From the Smallpdf website, select Sign. This will bring you to the eSign PDF tool. Choose a file to upload, and then select the document that you want to add a signature to.
Step 2: From the menu on the right select, select Your Signature - Add.
Step 3: Use the Draw option, and draw your signature in the box.
Step 4: You can now drag and drop your drawn signature anywhere on the PDF.
Step 5: When you're satisfied with your signatures, select the Finish & Sign button, and then you can download the signed PDF directly to your computer.
Part 4. How to Sign a PDF Without Chrome
Sometimes, there are problems with signing PDF documents with Chrome. You might lose the original formatting of the PDF when using Google Docs, you have to choose and add the Chrome extensions that you want to use, or you need to find an online tool to draw your signature in Chrome. And the worst problem - if you have no internet, you can't do anything to your document in Chrome!
To make sure you always have an easy way to digitally signPDF documents, you can use UPDF because you will not have any of these problems. UPDF is an offline PDF tool that you can use on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS, and it has all the tools you need to add digital signatures to PDFs (plus many more features!).
Click the button below to download UPDF and start digitally signing PDFs.
Way 1. Sign PDF with Sign Area
If your document that you need to sign already has an area for a signature, it's very easy to sign. Follow the steps below to use UPDF to easily add a signature to your document.
Step 1: Open the PDF that you need to sign, and locate the signature box.
Step 2: When you click on the signature box, you will be asked to sign with a Digital ID. You can create a new Digital ID by selecting Create.
Step 3: Add your name, email address, and other information. Click OK when you're done.
Step 4: Select where your Digital ID will be saved, and create a password so that no one else can use your Digital ID signature. When you're done, select OK.
Step 5: You will now see a preview of your digital signature. Select Sign, and choose the location that you'd like the signed PDF to be saved to.
Step 6: Now you've signed the document, and you should see your digital signature appear in the signature box.
Way 2. Sign PDF Without Sign Area
If you have a document that needs to be signed, but there's no specific signature area in the document, you can still use UPDF to easily add signatures. There are four methods to do this, and you can read about each one below.
1. Sign PDF via Adding Image
Follow the steps below to sign a PDF in UPDF by adding an image:
Step 1: Open the PDF that you need to sign, and from the left menu, select Edit PDF.
Step 2: At the top of the screen, you choose Image. Then, drag and drop to create the area where you want to insert the image. Select the image file you want to use and select Open. You will now see the signature image on the PDF, and you can edit the image as needed.
Step 3: When you're satisfied with your PDF, select Save as Other from the right menu, and select how you'd like to save the document.
2. Sign PDF via Drawing
Follow the steps below to sign a PDF in UPDF using the drawing tool.
Step 1: Open the PDF, and from the right side select Comment. Then, from the tools above, choose Pencil.
Step 2: When you click on the Pencil option, you can customize the color, opacity, and thickness of the pencil tool.
Step 3: Click where you want the signature, and begin drawing.
Step 4: When you're satisfied with your signature, select Save as Other from the right side menu, and choose how you'd like to save your PDF.
3. Sign PDF via Creating or Adding Signature
Follow the steps below to sign a PDF in UPDF by creating or adding a signature.
Step 1: Open the PDF that you need to sign, then from the right side select Comments. From the top menu, choose Signature, and click on the Create button.
Step 2: This will open a window where you can draw your signature. You can customize the size and color of the drawing. If you don't like the signature, you can select Clear. When you're happy with the signature, select Create.
Step 3: From here you can click anywhere on the document and the signature will appear. You can then change the size of the signature to fit your needs.
Step 4: When you're done, select Save as Other from the right side, and save your PDF.
4. Sign PDF via Adding Digital Signature
Follow the steps below to sign a PDF in UPDF by adding a digital signature.
Step 1: Open your PDF and select Prepare Form from the left menu.
Step 2: Select the Digital Signature tool from the top. Click and hold the mouse down to create a box for the Digital Signature. From here, you can move or change the shape of the signature box.
Step 3: To sign in the Digital Signature box, select Reader and then click on the Sign Here box. You can then create a Digital Signature (using the steps in Way 1), or use an already existing Digital Signature to sign the document. When you're ready, you can click Sign.
Step 4: Select the location to save the signed PDF, click Save, and then you are done!
UPDF also has many other features, including AI tools for summarizing, explaining, and generating content, editing tools for customizing your document, and annotation tools for making studying and note taking easier.
If you want to learn more about UPDF, you can read this review or watch the below video guide.
Wrapping Up
There are many ways to sign a PDF in Chrome, including adding an image in Google Docs, downloading a digital signature extension, or using a tool to draw a signature. Now you can feel confident next time you need to add a digital signature to a PDF using Google Chrome!
If you would like to digitally sign PDFs offline (and have more tools for editing, annotating, and more), then you can download UPDF. Click the button below to get started.
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