Signature by other PDF Editors don't register

[Jocelyn]

Hi,

I've created signature fields using PDF Xchange Editor, but when I sent to my colleagues who are using different PDF softwares (E.g. Foxit, G PDF), the signature field remains unsigned. Example below:

image.png

Their signatures are registered as signed if I open using their softwares (no "SIGN HERE" flag).

Opening the above "signed" file in PDF XChange Editor, if I click to "SIGN HERE" my colleague's signature is replaced.

Also, if using Foxit to sign, the signature only registers for the page even thorugh the same signature field has been inserted on the other pages. I've verified that this multiple location signature field is set correctly because the signature registers as normal on all pages when I insert signature on one page using PDF XChange Editor.

Am I missing something here?

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, Jocelyn

It sounds like the others are being used to create a new signature field, instead of signing the existing one. If they properly used the field which exists, the Spec states it should be mirrored to other signature widgets with the same field name. To my knowledge, Foxit should respect that if it was filling the existing field in normally, though I am unsure about the G PDF software you mention.

I assume that these files contain some sensitive data, like the signatures themselves, so I will ask you not to share them on our public forums, but could I ask that you email us a copy of any one file which has this issue, so I can check if my above assumption is correct?

Our email address is Support@PDF-XChange.com. Please include a link to this forum post, in the email, so I can make the connection when it arrives.

Kind regards,

[Jocelyn]

Hello Daniel!

Thanks for the reply, I've dropped an email (from gmail) on 16 July 2025 to the address yor mentioned in your reply.

Let me know if you need any further information!

Best regards,
Jocelyn

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, Jocelyn

Thank you for nudging me, I was out of the office part of last week and missed this until now. Ivan has confirmed with me that this is sadly an error with the signing application that was used to place this signature. It seems that however it was signed, did not understand the structure of PDF well enough to do so properly. As such, while there is appearance data (which we show), there is no usable certificate data, and so the field remains unsigned.
Acrobat experiences the same as we do, with no content in this field at all, since they choose not to show the appearance data in such cases. We may update our process to hide appearance data like Acrobat does, but that will not allow documents like this to identify the signature located here. You will need to contact the individual who placed this signature, and ask them to use another, more capable app, such as the latest version of our Editor, or Acrobat, for their digital signing processes.

Kind regards,

[Jocelyn]

Dear Daniel,

Thanks for getting back to me with such a detailed and understandable explanation of what's going on.
In other words, the sofware used to sign the document did not properly certify the signature generated, hence it wasn't recognised by PDF-compliant applications like PDF-Xchange.

I'll consider this case closed since the issue is not on our part.

Thanks again!

Best regards,
Jocelyn

[Dimitar - PDF-XChange]