Status Icons And Their Meaning; Signature Status Definitions; Document Status Definitions - Adobe 22002486 User Manual

Acrobat 9 Family of Products
Security Feature User Guide

7.4 Status Icons and Their Meaning

By default, signatures are validated automatically when a document opens. You can change this behavior
as described in
represented by status icons and text both in the document, on the Signatures pane, on the Document
Message Bar, and in the Signature Properties dialog, and elsewhere.
Note:

7.4.1 Signature Status Definitions

To determine a signature's status, the application checks the signature's digital ID certificate status (is it
valid) and document integrity (has it changed since being signed).
The rules for determining signature status are as follows:
Valid signatures used a valid and trusted certificate and the document has not changed or has

changed in ways specifically permitted by the author.
Problematic signatures are associated with certificates that cannot be validated or lack a trust

relationship with the signer.
Unknown signatures indicate that the signature validity state has not been checked.

Invalid signatures either have an invalid certificate or the document has changed in ways specifically

prohibited by the author.

7.4.2 Document Status Definitions

In addition to the individual status for each signature, the Document Message Bar displays the document's
overall status. The document status is essentially a summation or "rollup" of all the signature status' AND
the effect of document changes after the last signature.
For example, a form might have two valid signatures and a valid document status. However, when some
someone types into the form's text box, both the signature status' get the blue "i" information icon
indicating that something has changed after the signatures were added. The document message bar now
shows a yellow triangle indicating that there are unsigned changed in the document. If the form is signed
again, the overall document status changes back to valid as indicated by the green check.
The rules for determining a document's status are as follows:
If there is only one signature and the document hasn't changed since it was signed, then the document

status is identical to the signature status.
The status is flagged as problematic if there are unsigned changes following the last approval

signature.
The status is unknown (magnifying glass) if the authenticity verification check could not complete.

Like a signature status, if either the authenticity verification or document integrity check fails, the

overall document status is invalid (red x).
"Validating Signatures Automatically" on page
For a higher level of assurance, do not rely solely upon the visual inspection of status icons.
Review the Signature Properties dialog for revocation and trust information as well as the
signer's certificate details.
Status Icons and Their Meaning
102. Signature and document status' are
Validating Signatures
113