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

---

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

Method List

---

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

Event List

---

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

---

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 DocumentFormat: TsbxOfficeDocumentFormats read get_DocumentFormat;

TsbxOfficeDocumentFormats = (
  odfUnknown,
  odfBinary,
  odfOpenXML,
  odfOpenXPS,
  odfOpenDocument
);

Default Value

odfUnknown

Remarks

This property contains the Office document format.

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

DocumentType Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Defines the type of the Office document.

Syntax

property DocumentType: String read get_DocumentType;

Default Value

''

Remarks

This property contains the Office document type.

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

ExternalCrypto Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Provides access to external signing and DC parameters.

Syntax

property ExternalCrypto: TsbxExternalCrypto read get_ExternalCrypto;

Remarks

Use this property to tune-up remote cryptography settings. SecureBlackbox supports two independent types of external cryptography: synchronous (based on the ExternalSign event) and asynchronous (based on the DC protocol and the DCAuth signing component).

This property is read-only.

Please refer to the ExternalCrypto type for a complete list of fields.

FIPSMode Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Reserved.

Syntax

property FIPSMode: Boolean read get_FIPSMode write set_FIPSMode;

Default Value

false

Remarks

This property is reserved for future use.

HashAlgorithm Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Specifies the hash algorithm to be used.

Syntax

property HashAlgorithm: String read get_HashAlgorithm write set_HashAlgorithm;

Default Value

'SHA256'

Remarks

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

Supported values:

InputBytes Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

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

Syntax

property InputBytes: TBytes read get_InputBytes write set_InputBytes;

Remarks

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

This property is not available at design time.

InputFile Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

The file to be signed.

Syntax

property InputFile: String read get_InputFile write set_InputFile;

Default Value

''

Remarks

Provide the path to the Office document to be signed.

OutputBytes Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

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

Syntax

property OutputBytes: TBytes read get_OutputBytes;

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.

OutputFile Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Defines where to save the signed document.

Syntax

property OutputFile: String read get_OutputFile write set_OutputFile;

Default Value

''

Remarks

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

SignatureType Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Specifies the type of the signature to be made.

Syntax

property SignatureType: TsbxOfficeSignatureTypes read get_SignatureType write set_SignatureType;

TsbxOfficeSignatureTypes = (
  ostDefault,
  ostBinaryCryptoAPI,
  ostBinaryXML,
  ostOpenXML,
  ostOpenXPS,
  ostOpenDocument
);

Default Value

ostDefault

Remarks

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

SignCoreProperties Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Whether to sign the core properties of the document.

Syntax

property SignCoreProperties: Boolean read get_SignCoreProperties write set_SignCoreProperties;

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.

SignDocument Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Whether to sign the document itself.

Syntax

property SignDocument: Boolean read get_SignDocument write set_SignDocument;

Default Value

true

Remarks

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

SigningCertificate Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

The certificate to be used for signing.

Syntax

property SigningCertificate: TsbxCertificate read get_SigningCertificate write set_SigningCertificate;

Remarks

Use this property to specify the certificate that shall be used for signing the data. Note that this certificate should have a private key associated with it. Use SigningChain to supply the rest of the certificate chain for inclusion into the signature.

This property is not available at design time.

Please refer to the Certificate type for a complete list of fields.

SigningChain Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

The signing certificate chain.

Syntax

property SigningChain: TsbxCertificateList read get_SigningChain write set_SigningChain;

Remarks

Use this property to provide the chain for the signing certificate. Use the SigningCertificate property, if it is available, to provide the signing certificate itself.

This property is not available at design time.

Please refer to the Certificate type for a complete list of fields.

SignSignatureOrigin Property (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Whether to sign the signature origin.

Syntax

property SignSignatureOrigin: Boolean read get_SignSignatureOrigin write set_SignSignatureOrigin;

Default Value

false

Remarks

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

Config Method (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Sets or retrieves a configuration setting.

Syntax

function Config(ConfigurationString: String): String;

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

function DoAction(ActionID: String; ActionParams: String): String;

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

function ExtractAsyncData(AsyncReply: String): String;

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

procedure Sign();

Remarks

Call this method to generate a signature over the document.

SignAsyncBegin Method (OfficeQuickSigner Component)

Initiates the asynchronous signing operation.

Syntax

function SignAsyncBegin(): String;

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

procedure SignAsyncEnd(AsyncReply: String);

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

procedure 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

type TErrorEvent = procedure (
  Sender: TObject;
  ErrorCode: Integer;
  const Description: String
) of Object;

property OnError: TErrorEvent 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

type TExternalSignEvent = procedure (
  Sender: TObject;
  const OperationId: String;
  const HashAlgorithm: String;
  const Pars: String;
  const Data: String;
  var SignedData: String
) of Object;

property OnExternalSign: TExternalSignEvent 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

type TNotificationEvent = procedure (
  Sender: TObject;
  const EventID: String;
  const EventParam: String
) of Object;

property OnNotification: TNotificationEvent 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:

Certificate Type

Provides details of an individual X.509 certificate.

Remarks

This type provides access to X.509 certificate details.

Fields

Constructors

>

constructor Create();

Creates a new object with default field values.

ExternalCrypto Type

Specifies the parameters of external cryptographic calls.

Remarks

External cryptocalls are used in a Distributed Cryptography (DC) subsystem, which allows the delegation of security operations to the remote agent. For instance, it can be used to compute the signature value on the server, while retaining the client's private key locally.

Fields

Constructors

>

constructor Create();

Creates a new ExternalCrypto object with default field 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)