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Re: Digital signatures in PDFs

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From: Chagnon | PubCom
Date: Aug 3, 2013 2:34PM

Thanks for the feedback on digital signatures.
One of our testers was having problems with the field in our test files.
Looks like the problem might be her screen reader, not the file, and we'll
check that. Also possibly her knowledge of digital signatures in general.

And thanks Duff for confirming that since it's a form field, it should be
set up like all other form fields for accessibility.

Another question: have folks heard about or experienced any problems that AT
users have in getting or setting up a digital signature from either Adobe or
other vendors, such as www.EchoSign.com?

I'm trying to assess just how accessible the entire process is for AT users,
from setting up a digital signature to using it in PDFs.

-Bevi Chagnon
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-----Original Message-----
From: <EMAIL REMOVED>
[mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Len Burns
Sent: Saturday, August 03, 2013 12:31 PM

From a practical standpoint, the process works quite smoothly. I use it
regularly to digitally sign billing documents for an institution with which
I have a contract. The problems have not involved accessibility.
Some screen readers handle this better than others, but this too is not an
accessibility issue.

Regards,
-Len

On 8/2/2013 12:05 PM, Duff Johnson wrote:
>> What are the best practices for setting up digital signatures in a PDF?
>>
>> Not talking about a graphic of someone's signature, but those
>> verified electronic signatures you register with Adobe and other
>> certifying companies.
>
> I'm not sure what you mean by "best practice". Is a digital signature
field, and the dialogs it spawns as/when needed, accessible? That's a
question for each Reader developer (Adobe or otherwise), but in principle
(and so far as I know, in practice with Adobe's Reader, anyhow) the answer
is "yes".
>
> If there's contrary information out there, I'd be very interested to hear
specifics (offline, preferably).
>
>> When a PDF is created, we have the ability to add a Digital Signature
>> field (technically it's a form field, even if there aren't any other
>> form fields in the document).
>
> Yes - it's a "digital signature field" - a specific type of form field,
and it shows up to AT just like any other form field. It has lots of
additional functionality, but that stuff is represented within dialogs
managed by the application and isn't inherent to the PDF.
>
>> Is there anything else that needs to be done to make it accessible?
>
> Adobe's Reader can report on the field's name (label) and value (signature
status and metadata).. the latest (Acrobat/ Reader XI) dialogs are (so far
as I know) operable - there's no (good) reason why they shouldn't be. I
will admit I've not looked at this in some time.
>
> Now - obviously, a user could do something tricky, like include
inaccessible information in an image or avatar they use to help "identify"
themselves in the signed digital signature field, but that's kind of
normative whenever images are concerned.
>
> I guess my point is: there's no reason in principle why digital signatures
in PDF shouldn't be completely accessible. and in fact, every reason why PDF
digital signatures *should* be a highly desirable implementation from an
accessibility point of view. Sadly, this feature remains lamentably
under-used in PDF irrespective of accessibility considerations, but that's
for reasons I won't get into here.
>
>> And how difficult is it for AT users to sign with a digital signature?
>
> Once again, this isn't really a PDF question but a matter of UI design in
presenting (any) digital signature field information to the user, regardless
of the underlying file.
>
> There are several moving parts. Before being able to digitally sign in the
first place it's necessary to create a certificate, for example. All users
have to figure out / walk through and (pretend to) understand this stuff;
that's not an accessibility issue per se.
>
> Are all your favorite vendor's application dialogs good-to-go from a
keyboard user, contrast, text size, other other standpoint? The answer vary
from implementation to implementation, but it "should work". If it doesn't,
say something.
>
> Duff.