OfficeQuickSigner Component

Properties   Methods   Events   Config Settings   Errors  

The OfficeQuickSigner component signs Office documents in a quick-and-easy manner.

Syntax

TsbxOfficeQuickSigner

Remarks

OfficeQuickSigner provides digital signing capabilities of Office documents.

Property List

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The following is the full list of the properties of the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Method List

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The following is the full list of the methods of the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Event List

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The following is the full list of the events fired by the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Config Settings

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The following is a list of config settings for the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

DocumentFormat Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Defines the format of the Office document.

Syntax

__property TsbxOfficeQuickSignerDocumentFormats DocumentFormat = { read=FDocumentFormat };

enum TsbxOfficeQuickSignerDocumentFormats {
  odfUnknown=0,
  odfBinary=1,
  odfOpenXML=2,
  odfOpenXPS=3,
  odfOpenDocument=4
};

Default Value

odfUnknown

Remarks

This property contains the Office document format.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Integer

DocumentType Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Defines the type of the Office document.

Syntax

__property String DocumentType = { read=FDocumentType };

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains the Office document type.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

String

ExternalCryptoAsyncDocumentID Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Specifies an optional document ID for SignAsyncBegin() and SignAsyncEnd() calls.

Syntax

__property String ExternalCryptoAsyncDocumentID = { read=FExternalCryptoAsyncDocumentID, write=FSetExternalCryptoAsyncDocumentID };

Default Value

""

Remarks

Specifies an optional document ID for SignAsyncBegin() and SignAsyncEnd() calls.

Use this property when working with multi-signature DCAuth requests and responses to uniquely identify documents signed within a larger batch. On the completion stage, this value helps the signing component identify the correct signature in the returned batch of responses.

If using batched requests, make sure to set this property to the same value on both the pre-signing (SignAsyncBegin) and completion (SignAsyncEnd) stages.

Data Type

String

ExternalCryptoCustomParams Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Custom parameters to be passed to the signing service (uninterpreted).

Syntax

__property String ExternalCryptoCustomParams = { read=FExternalCryptoCustomParams, write=FSetExternalCryptoCustomParams };

Default Value

""

Remarks

Custom parameters to be passed to the signing service (uninterpreted).

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

ExternalCryptoData Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Additional data to be included in the async state and mirrored back by the requestor.

Syntax

__property String ExternalCryptoData = { read=FExternalCryptoData, write=FSetExternalCryptoData };

Default Value

""

Remarks

Additional data to be included in the async state and mirrored back by the requestor.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

ExternalCryptoExternalHashCalculation Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Specifies whether the message hash is to be calculated at the external endpoint.

Syntax

__property bool ExternalCryptoExternalHashCalculation = { read=FExternalCryptoExternalHashCalculation, write=FSetExternalCryptoExternalHashCalculation };

Default Value

false

Remarks

Specifies whether the message hash is to be calculated at the external endpoint. Please note that this mode is not supported by the DCAuth component.

If set to true, the component will pass a few kilobytes of to-be-signed data from the document to the OnExternalSign event. This only applies when SignExternal() is called.

Data Type

Boolean

ExternalCryptoHashAlgorithm Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Specifies the request's signature hash algorithm.

Syntax

__property String ExternalCryptoHashAlgorithm = { read=FExternalCryptoHashAlgorithm, write=FSetExternalCryptoHashAlgorithm };

Default Value

"SHA256"

Remarks

Specifies the request's signature hash algorithm.

Data Type

String

ExternalCryptoKeyID Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

The ID of the pre-shared key used for DC request authentication.

Syntax

__property String ExternalCryptoKeyID = { read=FExternalCryptoKeyID, write=FSetExternalCryptoKeyID };

Default Value

""

Remarks

The ID of the pre-shared key used for DC request authentication.

Asynchronous DCAuth-driven communication requires that parties authenticate each other with a secret pre-shared cryptographic key. This provides an extra protection layer for the protocol and diminishes the risk of the private key becoming abused by foreign parties. Use this property to provide the pre-shared key identifier, and use ExternalCryptoKeySecret to pass the key itself.

The same KeyID/KeySecret pair should be used on the DCAuth side for the signing requests to be accepted.

Note: The KeyID/KeySecret scheme is very similar to the AuthKey scheme used in various Cloud service providers to authenticate users.

Example: signer.ExternalCrypto.KeyID = "MainSigningKey"; signer.ExternalCrypto.KeySecret = "abcdef0123456789";

Data Type

String

ExternalCryptoKeySecret Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

The pre-shared key used for DC request authentication.

Syntax

__property String ExternalCryptoKeySecret = { read=FExternalCryptoKeySecret, write=FSetExternalCryptoKeySecret };

Default Value

""

Remarks

The pre-shared key used for DC request authentication. This key must be set and match the key used by the DCAuth counterpart for the scheme to work.

Read more about configuring authentication in the ExternalCryptoKeyID topic.

Data Type

String

ExternalCryptoMethod Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Specifies the asynchronous signing method.

Syntax

__property TsbxOfficeQuickSignerExternalCryptoMethods ExternalCryptoMethod = { read=FExternalCryptoMethod, write=FSetExternalCryptoMethod };

enum TsbxOfficeQuickSignerExternalCryptoMethods {
  asmdPKCS1=0,
  asmdPKCS7=1
};

Default Value

asmdPKCS1

Remarks

Specifies the asynchronous signing method. This is typically defined by the DC server capabilities and setup.

Available options:

Data Type

Integer

ExternalCryptoMode Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Specifies the external cryptography mode.

Syntax

__property TsbxOfficeQuickSignerExternalCryptoModes ExternalCryptoMode = { read=FExternalCryptoMode, write=FSetExternalCryptoMode };

enum TsbxOfficeQuickSignerExternalCryptoModes {
  ecmDefault=0,
  ecmDisabled=1,
  ecmGeneric=2,
  ecmDCAuth=3,
  ecmDCAuthJSON=4
};

Default Value

ecmDefault

Remarks

Specifies the external cryptography mode.

Available options:

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Integer

ExternalCryptoPublicKeyAlgorithm Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Provide the public key algorithm here if the certificate is not available on the pre-signing stage.

Syntax

__property String ExternalCryptoPublicKeyAlgorithm = { read=FExternalCryptoPublicKeyAlgorithm, write=FSetExternalCryptoPublicKeyAlgorithm };

Default Value

""

Remarks

Provide the public key algorithm here if the certificate is not available on the pre-signing stage.

Data Type

String

FIPSMode Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Reserved.

Syntax

__property bool FIPSMode = { read=FFIPSMode, write=FSetFIPSMode };

Default Value

false

Remarks

This property is reserved for future use.

Data Type

Boolean

HashAlgorithm Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Specifies the hash algorithm to be used.

Syntax

__property String HashAlgorithm = { read=FHashAlgorithm, write=FSetHashAlgorithm };

Default Value

"SHA256"

Remarks

Use this property to set the hash algorithm for signature calculation.

Supported values:

Data Type

String

InputBytes Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Use this property to pass the input to component in byte array form.

Syntax

__property DynamicArray InputBytes = { read=FInputBytes, write=FSetInputBytes };

Remarks

Assign a byte array containing the data to be processed to this property.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Byte Array

InputFile Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

The file to be signed.

Syntax

__property String InputFile = { read=FInputFile, write=FSetInputFile };

Default Value

""

Remarks

Provide the path to the Office document to be signed.

Data Type

String

OutputBytes Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Use this property to read the output the component object has produced.

Syntax

__property DynamicArray OutputBytes = { read=FOutputBytes };

Remarks

Read the contents of this property after the operation has completed to read the produced output. This property will only be set if the OutputFile and OutputStream properties had not been assigned.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Byte Array

OutputFile Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Defines where to save the signed document.

Syntax

__property String OutputFile = { read=FOutputFile, write=FSetOutputFile };

Default Value

""

Remarks

Specifies the path where the signed Office document should be saved.

Data Type

String

SignatureType Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Specifies the type of the signature to be made.

Syntax

__property TsbxOfficeQuickSignerSignatureTypes SignatureType = { read=FSignatureType, write=FSetSignatureType };

enum TsbxOfficeQuickSignerSignatureTypes {
  ostDefault=0,
  ostBinaryCryptoAPI=1,
  ostBinaryXML=2,
  ostOpenXML=3,
  ostOpenXPS=4,
  ostOpenDocument=5
};

Default Value

ostDefault

Remarks

Use this property to define what kind of signature should be made over the document.

Data Type

Integer

SignCoreProperties Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Whether to sign the core properties of the document.

Syntax

__property bool SignCoreProperties = { read=FSignCoreProperties, write=FSetSignCoreProperties };

Default Value

false

Remarks

The core properties are a set of elements that describe common and well-known properties of the Office document package such as creator, version, revision, etc.

Data Type

Boolean

SignDocument Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Whether to sign the document itself.

Syntax

__property bool SignDocument = { read=FSignDocument, write=FSetSignDocument };

Default Value

true

Remarks

Use this property to specify whether the signature should be computed over the document itself.

Data Type

Boolean

SigningCertBytes Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Returns the raw certificate data in DER format.

Syntax

__property DynamicArray SigningCertBytes = { read=FSigningCertBytes };

Remarks

Returns the raw certificate data in DER format.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Byte Array

SigningCertHandle Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Allows to get or set a 'handle', a unique identifier of the underlying property object.

Syntax

__property __int64 SigningCertHandle = { read=FSigningCertHandle, write=FSetSigningCertHandle };

Default Value

0

Remarks

Allows to get or set a 'handle', a unique identifier of the underlying property object. Use this property to assign objects of the same type in a quicker manner, without copying them fieldwise.

When you pass a handle of one object to another, the source object is copied to the destination rather than assigned. It is safe to get rid of the original object after such operation. pdfSigner.setSigningCertHandle(certMgr.getCertHandle());

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Long64

SigningChainCount Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

The number of records in the SigningChain arrays.

Syntax

__property int SigningChainCount = { read=FSigningChainCount, write=FSetSigningChainCount };

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property controls the size of the following arrays:

• SigningChainBytes
• SigningChainHandle

The array indices start at 0 and end at SigningChainCount - 1.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Integer

SigningChainBytes Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Returns the raw certificate data in DER format.

Syntax

__property DynamicArray SigningChainBytes[int SigningChainIndex] = { read=FSigningChainBytes };

Remarks

Returns the raw certificate data in DER format.

The SigningChainIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the SigningChainCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Byte Array

SigningChainHandle Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Allows to get or set a 'handle', a unique identifier of the underlying property object.

Syntax

__property __int64 SigningChainHandle[int SigningChainIndex] = { read=FSigningChainHandle, write=FSetSigningChainHandle };

Default Value

0

Remarks

Allows to get or set a 'handle', a unique identifier of the underlying property object. Use this property to assign objects of the same type in a quicker manner, without copying them fieldwise.

When you pass a handle of one object to another, the source object is copied to the destination rather than assigned. It is safe to get rid of the original object after such operation. pdfSigner.setSigningCertHandle(certMgr.getCertHandle());

The SigningChainIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the SigningChainCount property.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Long64

SignSignatureOrigin Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Whether to sign the signature origin.

Syntax

__property bool SignSignatureOrigin = { read=FSignSignatureOrigin, write=FSetSignSignatureOrigin };

Default Value

false

Remarks

Specifies whether to sign the XPS document's signature origin.

Data Type

Boolean

Config Method (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Sets or retrieves a configuration setting.

Syntax

String __fastcall Config(String ConfigurationString);

Remarks

Config is a generic method available in every component. It is used to set and retrieve configuration settings for the component.

These settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the component, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

To set a configuration setting named PROPERTY, you must call Config("PROPERTY=VALUE"), where VALUE is the value of the setting expressed as a string. For boolean values, use the strings "True", "False", "0", "1", "Yes", or "No" (case does not matter).

To read (query) the value of a configuration setting, you must call Config("PROPERTY"). The value will be returned as a string.

DoAction Method (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Performs an additional action.

Syntax

String __fastcall DoAction(String ActionID, String ActionParams);

Remarks

DoAction is a generic method available in every component. It is used to perform an additional action introduced after the product major release. The list of actions is not fixed, and may be flexibly extended over time.

The unique identifier (case insensitive) of the action is provided in the ActionID parameter.

ActionParams contains the value of a single parameter, or a list of multiple parameters for the action in the form of PARAM1=VALUE1;PARAM2=VALUE2;....

ExtractAsyncData Method (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Extracts user data from the DC signing service response.

Syntax

String __fastcall ExtractAsyncData(String AsyncReply);

Remarks

Call this method before finalizing the asynchronous signing process to extract the data passed to the ExternalCrypto.Data property on the pre-signing stage.

The Data parameter can be used to pass some state or document identifier along with the signing request from the pre-signing to the completion async stage.

Sign Method (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Calculates the signature value.

Syntax

void __fastcall Sign();

Remarks

Call this method to generate a signature over the document.

SignAsyncBegin Method (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Initiates the asynchronous signing operation.

Syntax

String __fastcall SignAsyncBegin();

Remarks

When using the DC framework, call this method to initiate the asynchronous signing process. Upon completion, a pre-signed copy of the document will be saved in OutputFile (or OutputStream). Keep the pre-signed copy somewhere local, and pass the returned string ('the request state') to the DC processor for handling.

Upon receiving the response state from the DC processor, assign the path to the pre-signed copy to InputFile (or InputStream), and call SignAsyncEnd to finalize the signing.

Note that depending on the signing method and DC configuration used, you may still need to provide the public part of the signing certificate via the SigningCertificate property.

Use the ExternalCrypto.AsyncDocumentID property to supply a unique document ID to include in the request. This is helpful when creating batches of multiple async requests, as it allows you to pass the whole response batch to SignAsyncEnd and expect it to recover the correct response from the batch automatically.

AsyncState is a message of the distributed cryptography (DC) protocol. The DC protocol is based on the exchange of async states between a DC client (an application that wants to sign a PDF, XML, or Office document) and a DC server (an application that controls access to the private key). An async state can carry one or more signing requests, comprised of document hashes, or one or more signatures produced over those hashes.

In a typical scenario you get a client-side async state from the SignAsyncBegin method. This state contains document hashes to be signed on the DC server side. You then send the async state to the DC server (often represented by the DCAuth component), which processes it and produces a matching signature state. The async state produced by the server is then passed to the SignAsyncEnd method.

SignAsyncEnd Method (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Completes the asynchronous signing operation.

Syntax

void __fastcall SignAsyncEnd(String AsyncReply);

Remarks

When using the DC framework, call this method upon receiving the response state from the DC processor to complete the asynchronous signing process.

Before calling this method, assign the path to the pre-signed copy of the document obtained from the prior SignAsyncBegin call to InputFile (or InputStream). The method will embed the signature into the pre-signed document, and save the complete signed document to OutputFile (or OutputStream).

Note that depending on the signing method and DC configuration used, you may still need to provide the public part of the signing certificate via the SigningCertificate property.

Use the ExternalCrypto.AsyncDocumentID parameter to pass a specific document ID if using batched AsyncReply. If used, it should match the value provided on the pre-signing (SignAsyncBegin) stage.

AsyncState is a message of the distributed cryptography (DC) protocol. The DC protocol is based on the exchange of async states between a DC client (an application that wants to sign a PDF, XML, or Office document) and a DC server (an application that controls access to the private key). An async state can carry one or more signing requests, comprised of document hashes, or one or more signatures produced over those hashes.

In a typical scenario you get a client-side async state from the SignAsyncBegin method. This state contains document hashes to be signed on the DC server side. You then send the async state to the DC server (often represented by the DCAuth component), which processes it and produces a matching signature state. The async state produced by the server is then passed to the SignAsyncEnd method.

SignExternal Method (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Signs the document using an external signing facility.

Syntax

void __fastcall SignExternal();

Remarks

Call this method to delegate the low-level signing operation to an external, remote, or custom signing engine. This method is useful if the signature has to be made by a device accessible through a custom or non-standard signing interface.

When all preparations are done and hash is computed, the component fires ExternalSign event which allows to pass the hash value for signing.

Error Event (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Information about errors during signing.

Syntax

typedef struct {
  int ErrorCode;
  String Description;
} TsbxOfficeQuickSignerErrorEventParams;
typedef void __fastcall (__closure *TsbxOfficeQuickSignerErrorEvent)(System::TObject* Sender, TsbxOfficeQuickSignerErrorEventParams *e);
__property TsbxOfficeQuickSignerErrorEvent OnError = { read=FOnError, write=FOnError };

Remarks

This event is fired in case of exceptional conditions during the office document processing.

ErrorCode contains an error code and Description contains a textual description of the error.

ExternalSign Event (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Handles remote or external signing initiated by the SignExternal method or other source.

Syntax

typedef struct {
  String OperationId;
  String HashAlgorithm;
  String Pars;
  String Data;
  String SignedData;
} TsbxOfficeQuickSignerExternalSignEventParams;
typedef void __fastcall (__closure *TsbxOfficeQuickSignerExternalSignEvent)(System::TObject* Sender, TsbxOfficeQuickSignerExternalSignEventParams *e);
__property TsbxOfficeQuickSignerExternalSignEvent OnExternalSign = { read=FOnExternalSign, write=FOnExternalSign };

Remarks

Assign a handler to this event if you need to delegate a low-level signing operation to an external, remote, or custom signing engine. Depending on the settings, the handler will receive a hashed or unhashed value to be signed.

The event handler must pass the value of Data to the signer, obtain the signature, and pass it back to the component via the SignedData parameter.

OperationId provides a comment about the operation and its origin. It depends on the exact component being used, and may be empty. HashAlgorithm specifies the hash algorithm being used for the operation, and Pars contains algorithm-dependent parameters.

The component uses base16 (hex) encoding for the Data, SignedData, and Pars parameters. If your signing engine uses a different input and output encoding, you may need to decode and/or encode the data before and/or after the signing.

A sample MD5 hash encoded in base16: a0dee2a0382afbb09120ffa7ccd8a152 - lower case base16 A0DEE2A0382AFBB09120FFA7CCD8A152 - upper case base16

A sample event handler that uses the .NET RSACryptoServiceProvider class may look like the following: signer.OnExternalSign += (s, e) => { var cert = new X509Certificate2("cert.pfx", "", X509KeyStorageFlags.Exportable); var key = (RSACryptoServiceProvider)cert.PrivateKey; var dataToSign = e.Data.FromBase16String(); var signedData = key.SignHash(dataToSign, "2.16.840.1.101.3.4.2.1"); e.SignedData = signedData.ToBase16String(); };

Notification Event (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

This event notifies the application about an underlying control flow event.

Syntax

typedef struct {
  String EventID;
  String EventParam;
} TsbxOfficeQuickSignerNotificationEventParams;
typedef void __fastcall (__closure *TsbxOfficeQuickSignerNotificationEvent)(System::TObject* Sender, TsbxOfficeQuickSignerNotificationEventParams *e);
__property TsbxOfficeQuickSignerNotificationEvent OnNotification = { read=FOnNotification, write=FOnNotification };

Remarks

The component fires this event to let the application know about some event, occurrence, or milestone in the component. For example, it may fire to report completion of the document processing. The list of events being reported is not fixed, and may be flexibly extended over time.

The unique identifier of the event is provided in the EventID parameter. EventParam contains any parameters accompanying the occurrence. Depending on the type of the component, the exact action it is performing, or the document being processed, one or both may be omitted.

This component can fire this event with the following EventID values:

Config Settings (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

The component accepts one or more of the following configuration settings. Configuration settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the component, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

OfficeQuickSigner Config Settings

Base Config Settings

Trappable Errors (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

OfficeQuickSigner Errors

	1048577   Invalid parameter value (SB_ERROR_INVALID_PARAMETER)
	1048578   Component is configured incorrectly (SB_ERROR_INVALID_SETUP)
	1048579   Operation cannot be executed in the current state (SB_ERROR_INVALID_STATE)
	1048580   Attempt to set an invalid value to a property (SB_ERROR_INVALID_VALUE)
	1048581   Certificate does not have its private key loaded (SB_ERROR_NO_PRIVATE_KEY)
	1048581   Cancelled by the user (SB_ERROR_CANCELLED_BY_USER) 
	24117249   Input file does not exist (SB_ERROR_OFFICE_INPUTFILE_NOT_EXISTS)
	24117250   Unsupported document format (SB_ERROR_OFFICE_UNSUPPORTED_DOCUMENT_FORMAT)
	24117251   Document cannot be signed (SB_ERROR_OFFICE_DOCUMENT_NOT_SIGNABLE)
	24117252   Document is not signed (SB_ERROR_OFFICE_DOCUMENT_NOT_SIGNED)
	24117253   Document is encrypted (SB_ERROR_OFFICE_DOCUMENT_ENCRYPTED)
	24117254   Document cannot be encrypted (SB_ERROR_OFFICE_DOCUMENT_NOT_ENCRYPTABLE)
	24117255   Document is not encrypted (SB_ERROR_OFFICE_DOCUMENT_NOT_ENCRYPTED)
	24117256   Unknown encryption algorithm (SB_ERROR_OFFICE_DOCUMENT_UNKNOWN_ENCRYPTION)
	24117257   Invalid password (SB_ERROR_OFFICE_INVALID_PASSWORD)
	24117258   Signature not found (SB_ERROR_OFFICE_SIGNATURE_NOT_FOUND)