"signing" a PDF

PDFs, the file format for a humanity not ready for computers.  Instead of going from papery to computery ways of doing things, we have used computers to make a much more cumbersome, schleppy and annoying version of paper, which is the PDF file.  It's a bit like some shit-chucking apes discovering a fax machine.

Well, most of life consists of compliance (lots of PDFs) or having to somehow process PDFs that one is being sent, complete forms that are sent by PDF, print and sign a PDF, or do the equivalent but without printing.  Like it or not, it's difficult to get anyone to do anything without having the capability to "sign a PDF".

The best way to "sign a PDF" is to ask the other party to print out two copies of it and send them to you.  You then sign one and return it, keeping the other with a record that you signed the other copy.

If time doesn't permit, and you have a printer and scanner handy, another way is to do their printing for them and print it out yourself.  You then sign it with a pen.  Then you scan in the paper you've just signed.  Then you attach the resulting PDF to an email to the party requiring the "signed" document.  Ta-da!  Computers!

Alternatively, you can overlay a picture of your signature onto the picture of a piece of paper that is the PDF file.  You can do this marvtaculous simulacrum of paper, all in software! 

Note to people from the future: no, I'm not shitting you, this is how people actually "do" things. No, we haven't had any economic growth in the last 16 years, since around 2008.

There are two main ways of adding your signature to the PDF.  One uses an already-existing picture of your signature, and in the other you draw your signature on the page afresh.

Using Pre-Existing Signature Picture File

Have your signature ready as a PNG with transparent background.  FIXME: how to do this.

Ensure `xournal++` or `xournalpp` is installed.  On Debian 12, this is the package `xournalpp`.

Open the PDF with `xournalpp FILE`.

From the vast array of hieroglyphics now offered in "toolbars", choose the one that looks like an outline of a landscape drawing.  This is the 21C hieroglyph for a picture.  Navigate to the transparent-background picture of your signature.  Once chosen, you can then position and scale your signature on the page using the controls offered.

Save with "export as PDF", not with "save". The latter saves it in xournalpp format, which is not useful for this.  Do not overwrite the original file.  Call it BASENAME.signed.pdf.

Drawing Signature on Afresh

Similarly, open with `xournalpp FILE`.

Choose the "pen" hieroglyph.  It may already be selected.  You might have to choose the color black if you want the color black.  Draw your signature on the page.  If using a trackpoint or touchpad or mouse, it probably looks like a spastic spider did it.  I couldn't work out how to draw using the screen on a thinkpad x1 nano g2 running Debian 12 and GNOME.  Trying to use the screen resulted in the document scrolling instead of drawing.



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