Overview
By default, Adobe Acrobat Sign certifies and password protects all PDF files generated by the system (e.g., Agreements, audit reports, and signer identity reports). This process seals the PDF and prevents changes from being made. However, this also prevents the post-processing of the PDF in other systems. Examples of post-processing include:
- Storing the PDF using a version of the PDF/A standard.
- Adding internal overlays to the PDF.
- Using third-party software to add additional seals or signatures to the PDF.
Enabling the Page Extraction feature changes how Acrobat Sign creates PDFs. Instead of certifying the PDF to seal it, a digital signature is applied (using the same certificate).
Additionally, no permission password is added, allowing the signed PDF to be accessed for post-processing while maintaining the proof of origin and validity of the signature with the same legal integrity as the certified version.
Be advised that post-processing of the PDF creates a copy of the PDF without a seal. Customers should ensure they have access to a sealed version of the PDF by either keeping the original agreement in their Acrobat Sign account or saving a sealed copy in an internal agreement archive (particularly if data governance policies delete agreements within the account).
Availability:
Page extraction is available for enterprise license plans only.
Page extraction is not exposed by default. Contact the Support team to have the feature enabled.
Configuration scope:
The feature can be enabled at the account and group levels.
The page extraction feature only applies to documents signed with an electronic signature.
When PKI-based certificates are used to apply a signature, the PDF is always certified, though no password is applied to the document security.
How it works
The default certification process produces a secured PDF that can be identified by:
- The blue banner asserting the PDF is Certified
- The header title of the PDF asserting that it's (SECURED)
- The lock icon in the left icon bar
Checking the document security, you can see that the PDF:
- Has Password Security in place.
- The password is a random string that isn't logged, so it cannot be recovered.
- The password is a random string that isn't logged, so it cannot be recovered.
- Restricts the functionality for altering the document.
When page extraction is enabled, the resultant PDF is readily identifiable as an editable document:
- The certification banner only indicates that the PDF is signed and that the signatures are valid.
- The seal is still present and can be validated by clicking the signature icon on the left toolbar.
- The title line for the document does not assert the PDF is secured.
- The lock icon (indicating you cannot edit the document) isn't visible
Reviewing the document security shows:
- No Security is applied to the PDF
- Most options for accessing the document content are available.
While the permission list mentions that Changing the Document and Document Assembly are not allowed, that is only true for the sealed version of the PDF.
Acrobat allows pages to be extracted, added, or combined, and doing so creates a new copy of the PDF where the seal is no longer present.
PDF generation happens in real-time when the PDF is requested. If the setting changes, any subsequent requests to download a PDF from an existing agreement will honor the current setting value.
