Electronic
Document Signatures
Tech Tips. Vol. 2004 No. 11
|
You've got an electronic document that requires a signature.
If only you could incorporate the signature, you could send
it electronically (say, as an email attachment, or using your
computer's built-in faxing capability). Assuming you have a
scanner, it's easy to create electronic signatures you can insert
into documents at will, with a couple of simple keystrokes.
Step 1: Create the signature(s)
The first thing you need is your signature on paper. You may
want to create different "versions" for different
uses: black/blue ink; full signature, first initial w/full
last name, first name only for "casual" use, etc.
Take a clean sheet of the brightest white paper you have,
and pressing firmly, sign your name(s). Avoid fine-tipped
pens, as signatures made with them often scan with gaps in
the lines. You may also want to reproduce each signature version
2 or 3 times, so you'll be able to pick the best one. You
should also put black ink signatures on a separate page from
those in blue or other colors.
Step 2: Scan the signature(s)
Next, scan the signatures. You may need to play around a bit
with your scanner settings to get the best image. For black-ink
signatures, use a setting for black and white text or line
drawing imaging if you have one of those choices. If you can
pre-scan and zoom in so that only the signature(s) are in
the final scanned image, then do so. Save the scanned signature(s)
in an uncompressed bit-map format such as BMP or TIFF. You
may want to scan using a couple of different settings, then
print out the scans to see which produces the best results
on your printer.
Once you've decided which of your scans you prefer, use a
cropping tool, if necessary, to create a series of BMP or
TIFF files, each containing a single image of a single version
of a signature. Choose filenames that will help you remember
which file contains which version.
Step 3: Set up to use the images in Word
Open a word document and select Insert | Picture | From File.
Choose one of the signature files to place the scanned signature
into the document. Right click on the signature, and select
Format Picture | Layout | In line with text. Depending on
your environment, you may also have to go to the "Colors
and Lines" tab and specify "no line" and "no
fill." Resize it as necessary to fit your intended use.
(You can always resize it in any given document, too.)
The final step is to define your signature as an AutoText
entry, so that you can insert it into any document by typing
an identifying text string: With the signature selected, choose
Insert | AutoText | New. In the dialog box that opens, give
this version of the signature an abbreviation or code, and
click "OK." Repeat as necessary, assigning each
signature version its own AutoText code.
Using a prepared signature
Now all that set-up really pays off. Anytime you want to insert
a given signature into a document, type its AutoText code,
and hit F3. Voila! (In some of Word's letter templates and
wizards, you may find you can't position your cursor between
"Sincerely," and the typed name. If that happens,
select both "Sincerely" and the typed name, and
go to Forma | Paragraph | Indents and Spacing, and set the
"before" and "after" spacing to zero.)
Copyright 2003-2005 by Shulman Clark
Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.
|
