| What does this product do?
1. It electronically signs a custom Adobe Acrobat-compatible PDF file created from your UNIX data and saves the complete signed PDF document on your UNIX server (or on any networked PC) for later recall
2. The new Deluxe version adds the ability to save the captured signature as an image file (TIFF, BMP or JPEG) for archiving or incorporation into other output formats (ex: a PCL form) for printed receipts that include a signature
- Displays up to 3 lines of custom text on the tablet for confirmation by the customer (ex: sale price, tax, total)
- Optionally displays either a text file or the unsigned/signed PDF files on the PC
- Optionally prints either the text file or the PDF file at any of three different points in the signature process (at launch, after the prompt text, after signing)
- Optionally opens the signed PDF document in Acrobat Reader after the program finishes
- Includes a UNIX utility to list all signed PDF documents for a UNIX database record and open the selected PDF on a specified PC using Acrobat Reader
- Enables the display of a custom "Welcome" screen on the tablet when idle
- Provides a number of configuration options for easily tuning the package to your particular requirements
How does it work?
To create an image file of the signature with the Deluxe version, you only need to execute the FineLine PC Tablet UNIX command which specifies the desired image type and the name of the file to save the image (on UNIX or any networked PC). A text document can optionally be displayed and printed on the PC, along with displaying up to 3 lines of text on the tablet.
To add a digital signature to a PDF created from your UNIX data, you only need to execute two UNIX system commands:
- A FineLine Trapeze command to create a custom PDF file from your UNIX data
- A FineLine PC Tablet command to move the custom PDF file to a specified PC, sign it and have the complete signed document saved on UNIX (or on any networked PC)
With the PDF file to be signed being created with our FineLine Trapeze software from your UNIX data, you can generate a sales order from your application (for example) and have the customer immediately review and electronically sign it.
Since the signed PDF document is electronic instead of paper, it can be viewed with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader by numerous people simultaneously, sent via e-mail, requested from a website with our FineLine WebLink and/or FineLine WebPublish software, and even printed multiple times, if required. For businesses with multiple locations, now signed documents can be transmitted electronically to the main office immediately - eliminating delivery time and saving a fortune in shipping costs.
Since the PC Tablet software only requires you to issue UNIX system commands, there is no programming language requirement - i.e. it can be implemented in any UNIX package written in any programming language.
What if I have a number of different documents to add PDF signatures to?
The FineLine Trapeze software provides support for any number of document types, complete with the optional addition of a full-color JPEG "form" the data completes and the ability to control where the signature field resides on the page, including whether it is added to the first or last page of multiple page documents. Once the PDF file is created, the FineLine PC Tablet software handles optionally displaying the document on the PC, adding the signature and storing the signed PDF document.
Does this product require Adobe Acrobat on the PC to sign PDFs?
The full Adobe Acrobat software is not required by the FineLine PC Tablet software to capture a signature, although it does provide additional options.
If the full Acrobat (or the discontinued Acrobat Approval) is installed on the PC, the Tablet software includes the ability to display both the unsigned and signed PDF documents, along with the ability to print the signed document directly. Note that these options require the full licensed version of Acrobat and will not work with the free Acrobat Reader (although all signed documents can be later viewed with the Reader software).
If the full Acrobat software is not installed, the original (unsigned) text document can be optionally displayed and printed. With the vast majority of commercial institutions providing an unsigned receipt to customers after accepting a signature, this is a perfectly acceptable method and saves the substantial cost of purchasing Acrobat for every PC that will be signing documents. An additional option exists in the Tablet software to automatically open the signed PDF with the free Acrobat Reader after the signing is complete so it can be used to confirm the signature and print the signed document, if necessary.
Also, the Tablet software can be configured to not display any document on the PC and optionally print the document at any of 3 points in the signature process (at launch, after the prompt text, after signing).
What is the PC interface like?
Below is a screen sample of the software displaying a PDF document that was just signed digitally (displaying a PDF requires the full Adobe Acrobat software or the discontinued Acrobat Approval).
Click on the image for a larger version
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