PDFSigner Class

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The PDFSigner class signs PDF documents digitally.

Syntax

secureblackbox.PDFSigner

Remarks

PDFSigner can sign PDF documents in accordance with a selection of PDF and PAdES signature standards. PDFSigner signer = new PDFSigner(); // Set the PDF document that you want to sign signer.setInputFile("MyDocument.pdf"); // Set the path where you want the signed document to be saved signer.setOutputFile("Signed.pdf"); // The certificate which the document will be signed with signer.setSigningCertificate(new Certificate("Cert.pfx","password")); // The signature level signer.getNewSignature().setLevel(PDFSignature.paslBaselineT); signer.getNewSignature().setHashAlgorithm("SHA512"); // Hashing algorithm used for signing, default SHA256 signer.setTimestampServer("https://..."); // The address of the timestamping server signer.sign();

Standards and technologies supported

PDFSigner can create PDF signatures that match the following baseline standards:

• Generic PDF signatures (ISO 32000)
• PAdES: all profiles are supported (BES, EPES, T, LTV, B-B, B-T, and others) (ETSI EN 319 142-1 and others)
• Signature and document timestamps using external TSAs.
• All industry-standard cryptographic algorithms (RSA, ECDSA, SHA256-512, and many others).

Configuring the signature spec

Configuring PDFSigner to produce signatures of the right type is one of the most important questions you need to address. Normally the service or software you will be communicating your PDF documents to will provide you with the list of requirements that your signatures should match.

Typically, those will dictate the following key aspects of the signatures:

• Level (BES, T, or LTV). This can be adjusted with the Level property (Note: when creating EPES signatures you need to provide the signature PolicyID and PolicyHash properties).
• Timestamp requirement: provide the address of your online TSA service via the TimestampServer property.
• When creating LTV signatures, tune up validation parameters via the RevocationCheck, OfflineMode, and IgnoreChainValidationErrors properties.
• To create a document timestamp, sign your document first, and then sign the result again with Level set to pslDocumentTimestamp and TimestampServer pointing to the TSA URL.

Signing certificates

PDFSigner can use certificates residing on different media. Besides generic certificates stored in PFX or PEM files (A1), it can operate with non-exportable certificates residing on hardware media (A3) or in the cloud.

Non-exportable certificates can be accessed transparently via a Windows CSP or a PKCS#11 driver, if supplied by the certificate issuer. Proprietary interfaces can be plugged in with the external signing feature (see below).

You can use the CertificateManager and CertificateStorage classes to load the signing certificate. Assign the certificate to the SigningCertificate property, and optionally provide the remainder of its chain via the SigningChain property.

Note: If signing with a non-exportable key (such as residing on a hardware device or in the cloud), please make sure you keep the original CertificateStorage object open until the signing is completed. This is because the storage class provides a 'bridge' to the private key. If the storage is closed prematurely, this bridge is destroyed, and the private key can't be used.

You don't need to provide a signing certificate or chain when creating document timestamp signatures, since this type of signature is done with a TSA's certificate.

Widget adjustment

PDFSigner provides means to customize the look of the signature widget to be shown on the document page. Create your very own signatures in the form of your company's logo, a handwritten signature, or a wet seal.

Alternatively, you can choose not to associate any widget with your signature by setting Invisible to true.

Please check out this self-describing PDF document for good guidance on widget positioning, background styles, and text formatting.

Signing the document

Now that you have set up all signature, certificate, and widget properties, it is time to sign. You can provide the input document in one of the following forms: as a file (assign the path to the InputFile property), as a stream (assign to the InputStream property), or as a byte array (assign to InputBytes). Similarly, the output can be collected in one of the same forms, either by passing the destination path or stream via OutputFile and OutputStream respectively, or by reading the resulting document bytes from the OutputBytes property after the signing.

Having set up the input and output, call the class's Sign method. This will initiate the signing process. Depending on the settings, the signing may be as straightforward as calculating the document hash and signing it with the private key (e.g. in the PAdES-BES signing variant), or it may involve advanced chain validation routines (PAdES-LTV). During the latter, the class may contact a number of external revocation information sources (CRL and OCSP servers) to establish the validity of the signing certificate.

If a TSA server was provided via the TimestampServer property, the class will contact it too to timestamp the new signature.

During the signing, PDFSigner may fire events to let your code know of certain conditions. If the input document is encrypted but no decryption parameters were found in the Password and DecryptionCertificate properties, the class will fire the Encrypted event to tell your code that it needs decryption information to be able to continue with the signing. It may fire TLSCertValidate if one of the HTTP endpoints involved during the operation (which may be a CRL, OCSP, or TSA service) works over TLS and needs its certificate to be validated.

External signing and DCAuth

PDFSigner, like many other classes offered by the product, supports two methods of signing with external keys. These methods are fully independent of each other: you can choose the one that suits your usage scenario best.

Synchronous method: ExternalSign

This is a simpler method that basically lets you infiltrate into the heart of the signing routine by taking care of the hash signing operation. The class does the rest of the job (hash calculation, preparation of signature objects, CRL/OCSP retrieval).

To initiate this method, call SignExternal instead of Sign. When the hash is ready, it will be passed back to your code with the ExternalSign event. Your event handler needs to sign the hash with the private key and return the created signature back to the class - which will embed it into the document.

You don't need your signing certificate to contain an associated private key when using this method. The certificate itself (its public copy) may be needed though, as it is often included in the hash calculation.

This method is synchronous, meaning SignExternal provides you the results immediately upon its completion.

Asynchronous method: DCAuth

DCAuth is a SecureBlackbox know-how technology. This protocol was designed to allow sharing of private keys across environments, allowing the signer and the private key to reside on different systems. It works in the following way:

• The signing party - such as PDFSigner - initiates the operation using a SignAsyncBegin call. This produces two outcomes: a pre-signed document (a document with a blank signature placeholder), and a request state (an object containing a hash that needs to be signed). At this point the PDFSigner instance can be released, and the process itself terminated (which may be useful when run as part of a web page).
• The request state is passed to the private key holder party. The private key holder passes the request state to a DCAuth object, which parses the request state, extracts the hash, and signs it. The output of DCAuth processing is another object, a response state, which contains the signature. The private key holder then sends the response state back to the signing party.
• The signing party re-creates the classes and passes the response state, together with the pre-signed version of the document, to the signer's SignAsyncEnd method. SignAsyncEnd extracts the signature from the response state and incorporates it into the pre-signed document.

This method is asynchronous in that sense that from the signing party's viewpoint, it splits the signing operation into the pre-signing and completion stages which can be performed independently from each other and in different execution contexts. This makes this method particularly helpful for use in web pages and other scenarios where the signing key is not available in real time.

Fine-grained chain validation setup

Chain validation is a sophisticated, multi-faceted procedure that involves a lot of variables. Depending on the configuration of your operating environment, the specifics of the PKI framework being used, and the validation policy you need to follow, you may want to tune up your chain validation parameters so they fit them best. A summary of such parameters is given below.

• RevocationCheck lets you choose between and/or prioritize revocation origins. OCSP sources are often preferred to CRL because of their real-time capability and the smaller size of validation tokens they produce.
• OfflineMode is a master switch that stops the class from looking for any validation tokens online. If this property is switched on, the class will only use the KnownCertificates, TrustedCertificates, KnownCRLs, and KnownOCSPs collections to look for the missing validation material.
• IgnoreChainValidationErrors makes the class ignore any major validation issues it encounters (such us an untrusted chain or missing CRL). This option is handy for debugging and for creating signatures in the environments where the signing certificate is not trusted.
• KnownCertificates, KnownCRLs, and KnownOCSPs let you provide your own validation material. This may be useful when working in OfflineMode, where the signer has no access to the validation sources, or where the validation material has already been collected.
• TrustedCertificates lets you provide a list of trust anchors, either as a complement to the system's or as an alternative to it.
• BlockedCertificates lets you provide a list of blocked/distrusted certificates. Any CA certificate contained in it will be deemed untrusted/invalid.

The following parameters are not directly related to chain validation, but may have an implicit effect on it.

• Proxy, SocketSettings, and TLSSettings let you tune up the connectivity and TLS options in accordance with local preferences.
• TLSClientChain lets you provide the client certificate and its chain for TLS client authentication.
• Subscribe to TLSCertValidate to validate any TLS certificates of the services involved in chain validation.

The results of the chain validation procedure, upon its completion, are published in the following properties:

• ChainValidationResult contains the primary result of the chain validation routine: valid, valid but untrusted, invalid, or undefined.
• ChainValidationDetails provides the details of the factors that contributed to the chain validation result, such as an outdated certificate, a missing CRL, or a missing CA certificate.
• ValidationLog contains the detailed chain validation log. The log can often be very helpful in nailing down various validation issues.

Property List

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

AttachedFiles Property (PDFSigner Class)

Provides details of all attached files found in the PDF document.

Syntax

public MailAttachmentList getAttachedFiles();

Remarks

Use this property to get the details of all the attached files identified in the document.

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

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

AutoValidateSignatures Property (PDFSigner Class)

Specifies whether PDFSigner should validate any present signatures when the document is opened.

Syntax

public boolean isAutoValidateSignatures();
public void setAutoValidateSignatures(boolean autoValidateSignatures);

Default Value

False

Remarks

This setting is switched off by default to speed up document processing. Even if the document is loaded with this property set to false, you can validate the signatures manually on a later stage using the Revalidate method.

BlockedCertificates Property (PDFSigner Class)

The certificates that must be rejected as trust anchors.

Syntax

public CertificateList getBlockedCertificates();
public void setBlockedCertificates(CertificateList blockedCertificates);

Remarks

Use this property to provide a list of compromised or blocked certificates. Any chain containing a blocked certificate will fail validation.

This property is not available at design time.

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

Certificates Property (PDFSigner Class)

A collection of certificates included in the electronic signature.

Syntax

public CertificateList getCertificates();

Remarks

This property includes a collection of certificates of the currently selected info.

This collection is indexed from 0 to size -1.

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

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

CheckTrustedLists Property (PDFSigner Class)

Specifies whether the class should attempt to validate chain trust via a known Trusted List.

Syntax

public boolean isCheckTrustedLists();
public void setCheckTrustedLists(boolean checkTrustedLists);

Default Value

False

Remarks

Set this property to true to enable the component to validate chain trust against an internal list of known Trusted Lists (such as EUTL).

CRLs Property (PDFSigner Class)

A collection of certificate revocation lists embedded into the signature by the signer.

Syntax

public CRLList getCRLs();

Remarks

Use this property to access the CRLs embedded into the signature by the signer.

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

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

DecryptionCertificate Property (PDFSigner Class)

A decryption certificate.

Syntax

public Certificate getDecryptionCertificate();
public void setDecryptionCertificate(Certificate decryptionCertificate);

Remarks

Use this property to provide the decryption certificate. The certificate should have a private key associated with it.

This property is not available at design time.

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

DocumentInfo Property (PDFSigner Class)

Contains information about the document properties.

Syntax

public PDFDocumentInfo getDocumentInfo();

Remarks

Use this property to access general parameters of the document being processed. A good place to check this property is in the handler of the DocumentLoaded event.

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

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

EmptyFieldIndex Property (PDFSigner Class)

Specifies the index of the empty signature field to sign.

Syntax

public int getEmptyFieldIndex();
public void setEmptyFieldIndex(int emptyFieldIndex);

Default Value

-1

Remarks

Use this property to specify the empty form field that should be signed. If the default value of -1 is assigned to this property, a new signature field will be created.

ExternalCrypto Property (PDFSigner Class)

Provides access to external signing and DC parameters.

Syntax

public ExternalCrypto getExternalCrypto();

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 (PDFSigner Class)

Reserved.

Syntax

public boolean isFIPSMode();
public void setFIPSMode(boolean FIPSMode);

Default Value

False

Remarks

This property is reserved for future use.

IgnoreChainValidationErrors Property (PDFSigner Class)

Makes the class tolerant to chain validation errors.

Syntax

public boolean isIgnoreChainValidationErrors();
public void setIgnoreChainValidationErrors(boolean ignoreChainValidationErrors);

Default Value

False

Remarks

If this property is set to True, any errors emerging during certificate chain validation will be ignored. This setting may be handy if the purpose of validation is the creation of an LTV signature, and the validation is performed in an environment that doesn't trust the signer's certificate chain.

InputBytes Property (PDFSigner Class)

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

Syntax

public byte[] getInputBytes();
public void setInputBytes(byte[] 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 (PDFSigner Class)

The PDF file to be signed or updated.

Syntax

public String getInputFile();
public void setInputFile(String inputFile);

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to provide a path to the PDF document to be signed or updated, or to the pre-signed copy expected by SignAsyncEnd.

InputStream Property (PDFSigner Class)

A stream containing the PDF document to be signed or updated.

Syntax

public java.io.InputStream getInputStream();
public void setInputStream(java.io.InputStream inputStream);

Default Value

null

Remarks

Use this property to provide the PDF document to be signed or updated, or the pre-signed copy expected by SignAsyncEnd.

This property is not available at design time.

KnownCertificates Property (PDFSigner Class)

Additional certificates for chain validation.

Syntax

public CertificateList getKnownCertificates();
public void setKnownCertificates(CertificateList knownCertificates);

Remarks

Use this property to supply a list of additional certificates that might be needed for chain validation. An example of a scenario where you might want to do that is when intermediary CA certificates are absent from the standard system locations (or when there are no standard system locations), and therefore should be supplied to the class manually.

The purpose of the certificates to be added to this collection is roughly equivalent to that of the Intermediate Certification Authorities system store in Windows.

Do not add trust anchors or root certificates to this collection: add them to TrustedCertificates instead.

This property is not available at design time.

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

KnownCRLs Property (PDFSigner Class)

Additional CRLs for chain validation.

Syntax

public CRLList getKnownCRLs();
public void setKnownCRLs(CRLList knownCRLs);

Remarks

Use this property to supply additional CRLs that might be needed for chain validation. This property may be helpful when a chain is validated in offline mode, and the associated CRLs are stored separately from the signed message or document.

This property is not available at design time.

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

KnownOCSPs Property (PDFSigner Class)

Additional OCSP responses for chain validation.

Syntax

public OCSPResponseList getKnownOCSPs();
public void setKnownOCSPs(OCSPResponseList knownOCSPs);

Remarks

Use this property to supply additional OCSP responses that might be needed for chain validation. This property may be helpful when a chain is validated in offline mode, and the associated OCSP responses are stored separately from the signed message or document.

This property is not available at design time.

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

NewSignature Property (PDFSigner Class)

Provides access to new signature properties.

Syntax

public PDFSignature getNewSignature();

Remarks

Use this property to tune-up signature properties. Use the Widget object to tune up visual parameters of the signature widget.

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

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

OCSPs Property (PDFSigner Class)

A collection of OCSP responses embedded into the signature.

Syntax

public OCSPResponseList getOCSPs();

Remarks

Use this property to access the OCSP responses embedded into the signature by its creator.

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

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

OfflineMode Property (PDFSigner Class)

Switches the class to offline mode.

Syntax

public boolean isOfflineMode();
public void setOfflineMode(boolean offlineMode);

Default Value

False

Remarks

When working in offline mode, the class restricts itself from using any online revocation information sources, such as CRL or OCSP responders.

Offline mode may be useful if there is a need to verify the completeness of the validation information included within the signature or provided via KnownCertificates, KnownCRLs, and other related properties.

OutputBytes Property (PDFSigner Class)

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

Syntax

public byte[] getOutputBytes();

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 (PDFSigner Class)

The file to save the signed or updated document to.

Syntax

public String getOutputFile();
public void setOutputFile(String outputFile);

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to provide a path where the resulting PDF document should be saved to.

OutputStream Property (PDFSigner Class)

The stream to write the signed document to.

Syntax

public java.io.OutputStream getOutputStream();
public void setOutputStream(java.io.OutputStream outputStream);

Default Value

null

Remarks

Use this property to provide a stream where the resulting PDF document should be written to.

This property is not available at design time.

Pages Property (PDFSigner Class)

A list of pages contained in the document.

Syntax

public PDFPageList getPages();

Remarks

Use this property to read document page information. This property is initialized when the DocumentLoaded event fires.

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

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

Password Property (PDFSigner Class)

The decryption password.

Syntax

public String getPassword();
public void setPassword(String password);

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to provide the decryption password.

Profile Property (PDFSigner Class)

Specifies a pre-defined profile to apply when creating the signature.

Syntax

public String getProfile();
public void setProfile(String profile);

Default Value

""

Remarks

Advanced signatures come in many variants, which are often defined by parties that needs to process them or by local standards. SecureBlackbox profiles are sets of pre-defined configurations which correspond to particular signature variants. By specifying a profile, you are pre-configuring the component to make it produce the signature that matches the configuration corresponding to that profile.

Supported profiles:

Proxy Property (PDFSigner Class)

The proxy server settings.

Syntax

public ProxySettings getProxy();

Remarks

Use this property to tune up the proxy server settings.

This property is read-only.

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

RevocationCheck Property (PDFSigner Class)

Specifies the kind(s) of revocation check to perform for all chain certificates.

Syntax

public int getRevocationCheck();
public void setRevocationCheck(int revocationCheck);

Enumerated values:
  public final static int crcNone = 0;
  public final static int crcAuto = 1;
  public final static int crcAllCRL = 2;
  public final static int crcAllOCSP = 3;
  public final static int crcAllCRLAndOCSP = 4;
  public final static int crcAnyCRL = 5;
  public final static int crcAnyOCSP = 6;
  public final static int crcAnyCRLOrOCSP = 7;
  public final static int crcAnyOCSPOrCRL = 8;

Default Value

1

Remarks

Revocation checking is necessary to ensure the integrity of the chain and obtain up-to-date certificate validity and trustworthiness information.

Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs) and Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) responses serve the same purpose of ensuring that the certificate had not been revoked by the Certificate Authority (CA) at the time of use. Depending on your circumstances and security policy requirements, you may want to use either one or both of the revocation information source types.

This setting controls the way the revocation checks are performed for every certificate in the chain. Typically certificates come with two types of revocation information sources: CRL (certificate revocation lists) and OCSP responders. CRLs are static objects periodically published by the CA at some online location. OCSP responders are active online services maintained by the CA that can provide up-to-date information on certificate statuses in near real time.

There are some conceptual differences between the two. CRLs are normally larger in size. Their use involves some latency because there is normally some delay between the time when a certificate was revoked and the time the subsequent CRL mentioning that is published. The benefits of CRL is that the same object can provide statuses for all certificates issued by a particular CA, and that the whole technology is much simpler than OCSP (and thus is supported by more CAs).

This setting lets you adjust the validation course by including or excluding certain types of revocation sources from the validation process. The crcAnyOCSPOrCRL setting (give preference to the faster OCSP route and only demand one source to succeed) is a good choice for most typical validation environments. The "crcAll*" modes are much stricter, and may be used in scenarios where bulletproof validity information is essential.

Note: If no CRL or OCSP endpoints are provided by the CA, the revocation check will be considered successful. This is because the CA chose not to supply revocation information for its certificates, meaning they are considered irrevocable.

Note: Within each of the above settings, if any retrieved CRL or OCSP response indicates that the certificate has been revoked, the revocation check fails.

Signatures Property (PDFSigner Class)

Provides details of all signatures and empty fields found in the PDF document.

Syntax

public PDFSignatureList getSignatures();

Remarks

Use this property to get the details of all the signatures and empty signature fields identified in the document.

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

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

SigningCertificate Property (PDFSigner Class)

The certificate to be used for signing.

Syntax

public Certificate getSigningCertificate();
public void setSigningCertificate(Certificate 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 (PDFSigner Class)

The signing certificate chain.

Syntax

public CertificateList getSigningChain();
public void setSigningChain(CertificateList 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.

SocketSettings Property (PDFSigner Class)

Manages network connection settings.

Syntax

public SocketSettings getSocketSettings();

Remarks

Use this property to tune up network connection parameters.

This property is read-only.

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

Timestamps Property (PDFSigner Class)

Contains a collection of timestamps for the processed document.

Syntax

public TimestampInfoList getTimestamps();

Remarks

Use this property to access the timestamps included in the processed document.

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

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

TimestampServer Property (PDFSigner Class)

The address of the timestamping server.

Syntax

public String getTimestampServer();
public void setTimestampServer(String timestampServer);

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to provide the address of the Time Stamping Authority (TSA) server to be used for timestamping the signature.

SecureBlackbox supports RFC3161-compliant timestamping servers, available via HTTP or HTTPS.

If your timestamping service enforces credential-based user authentication (basic or digest), you can provide the credentials in the same URL:

http://user:password@timestamp.server.com/TsaService

For TSAs using certificate-based TLS authentication, provide the client certificate via the TLSClientChain property.

If this property is left empty, no timestamp will be added to the signature.

Starting from summer 2021 update (Vol. 2), the virtual timestamping service is supported, which allows you to intervene in the timestamping routine and provide your own handling for the TSA exchange. This may be handy if the service that you are requesting timestamps from uses a non-standard TSP protocol or requires special authentication option.

To employ the virtual service, assign an URI of the following format to this property:

virtual://localhost?hashonly=true&includecerts=true&reqpolicy=1.2.3.4.5&halg=SHA256&ignorenonce=true

Subscribe to Notification event to get notified about the virtualized timestamping event. The EventID of the timestamping event is TimestampRequest. Inside the event handler, read the base16-encoded request from the EventParam parameter and forward it to the timestamping authority. Upon receiving the response, pass it back to the component, encoded in base16, via the TimestampResponse config property:

component.Config("TimestampResponse=308208ab...");

Note that all the exchange with your custom TSA should take place within the same invocation of the Notification event.

The hashonly parameter of the virtual URI tells the component to only return the timestamp message imprint via the EventParam parameter. If set to false, EventParam will contain the complete RFC3161 timestamping request.

The includecerts parameter specifies that the requestCertificates parameter of the timestamping request should be set to true.

The reqpolicy parameter lets you specify the request policy, and the halg parameter specifies the hash algorithm to use for timestamping.

The ignorenonce parameter allows you to switch off client nonce verification to enable compatibility with TSA services that do not support nonce mirroring.

All the parameters are optional.

TLSClientChain Property (PDFSigner Class)

The TLS client certificate chain.

Syntax

public CertificateList getTLSClientChain();
public void setTLSClientChain(CertificateList TLSClientChain);

Remarks

Assign a certificate chain to this property to enable TLS client authentication in the class. Note that the client's end-entity certificate should have a private key associated with it.

Use the CertificateStorage or CertificateManager components to import the certificate from a file, system store, or PKCS11 device.

This property is not available at design time.

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

TLSServerChain Property (PDFSigner Class)

The TLS server's certificate chain.

Syntax

public CertificateList getTLSServerChain();

Remarks

Use this property to access the certificate chain sent by the TLS server. This property is ready to read when the TLSCertValidate event is fired by the client component.

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

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

TLSSettings Property (PDFSigner Class)

Manages TLS layer settings.

Syntax

public TLSSettings getTLSSettings();

Remarks

Use this property to tune up the TLS layer parameters.

This property is read-only.

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

TrustedCertificates Property (PDFSigner Class)

A list of trusted certificates for chain validation.

Syntax

public CertificateList getTrustedCertificates();
public void setTrustedCertificates(CertificateList trustedCertificates);

Remarks

Use this property to supply a list of trusted certificates that might be needed for chain validation. An example of a scenario where you might want to do that is when root CA certificates are absent from the standard system locations (or when there are no standard system locations), and therefore should be supplied to the component manually.

The purpose of this certificate collection is largely the same as that of the Windows Trusted Root Certification Authorities system store.

Use this property with extreme care as it directly affects chain verifiability; a wrong certificate added to the trusted list may result in bad chains being accepted, and forfeited signatures being recognized as genuine. Only add certificates that originate from the parties that you know and trust.

This property is not available at design time.

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

ValidationMoment Property (PDFSigner Class)

The time point at which signature validity is to be established.

Syntax

public String getValidationMoment();
public void setValidationMoment(String validationMoment);

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to specify the moment in time at which signature validity should be established. The time is in UTC. Leave the setting empty to stick to the default moment (either the signature creation time or the current time).

The validity of the same signature may differ depending on the time point chosen due to temporal changes in chain validities, revocation statuses, and timestamp times.

Widget Property (PDFSigner Class)

Provides access to signature widget properties.

Syntax

public PDFWidget getWidget();

Remarks

Use this property to adjust the signature widget appearance parameters, such as background or texts.

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

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

AddWidgetCustomData Method (PDFSigner Class)

Adds a custom data to the signature widget.

Syntax

public int addWidgetCustomData(String customData);

Remarks

Use this method to quickly add a custom data block that contains PDF graphics operators to your signature widget.

The method returns the index of the new custom text in the CustomText collection (accessed via Config).

AddWidgetText Method (PDFSigner Class)

Adds a text block to the signature widget.

Syntax

public int addWidgetText(String text, int X, int Y, String fontSize);

Remarks

Use this method to quickly add a custom text block to your signature widget.

The method returns the index of the new custom text in the CustomText collection (accessed via Config).

AddWidgetTextEx Method (PDFSigner Class)

Adds a text block to the signature widget.

Syntax

public int addWidgetTextEx(String text, String settings);

Remarks

Use this method to add a custom text block to your signature widget.

Text represents the text string to add. Settings contains a list of parameters in the form of PARAM1=VALUE1;PARAM2=VALUE2;... or in JSON format.

The following parameters are supported:

The method returns the index of the new custom text in the CustomText collection (accessed via Config).

AttachBytes Method (PDFSigner Class)

Adds an attachment to the PDF document.

Syntax

public void attachBytes(byte[] data, String objName, String fileName, String description, String subType, String CDate, String MDate);

Remarks

Use this method to add an attachment (embedded file) to a PDF document.

AttachFile Method (PDFSigner Class)

Adds an attachment to the PDF document.

Syntax

public void attachFile(String path, String objName, String fileName, String description, String subType, String CDate, String MDate);

Remarks

Use this method to add an attachment (embedded file) to a PDF document.

AttachStream Method (PDFSigner Class)

Adds an attachment to the PDF document.

Syntax

public void attachStream(java.io.InputStream stream, String objName, String fileName, String description, String subType, String CDate, String MDate);

Remarks

Use this method to add an attachment (embedded file) to a PDF document.

Close Method (PDFSigner Class)

Closes an opened document.

Syntax

public void close(boolean saveChanges);

Remarks

Use this method to close a previously opened document. Set SaveChanges to true to apply any changes made.

Config Method (PDFSigner Class)

Sets or retrieves a configuration setting.

Syntax

public String config(String configurationString);

Remarks

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

These settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the class, 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 (PDFSigner Class)

Performs an additional action.

Syntax

public String doAction(String actionID, String actionParams);

Remarks

DoAction is a generic method available in every class. 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;....

Common ActionIDs:

The PDFSigner class ActionIDs:

Use "AddImage" action to add an image to the foreground layer. The following parameters are supported:

Parameters ImageData, ImageWidth, ImageHeight, ImageType, X, Y, Width and Height are required.

Sample code to add a JPEG image of size 100px x 100px and place it in position (10, 10) with an image size (30, 30): Signer.DoAction("AddImage", "ImageData=" + Utils.HexEncode(BinaryImageData) + "; ImageWidth=100; ImageHeight=100; ImageType=jpeg; X=10; Y=10; Width=30; Height=30");

Use "GetTextWidth" action to calculate the width of the given text for a specific font. The following parameters are supported:

Sample code: Signer.DoAction("GetTextWidth", "Text=Lorem Ipsum; FontSize=10; FontName=Arial Bold Italic");

Use "GetSystemFontNames" action to get a CRLF-separated list of system TrueType font names that the component supports.

Use "IsAllGlyphsAvailable" action to check if all glyphs that correspond to the given text are available for a specific font. The following parameters are required:

For standard Type 1 fonts this action always returns a "true" value.

ExtractAsyncData Method (PDFSigner Class)

Extracts user data from the DC signing service response.

Syntax

public String 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.

GetAttachedBytes Method (PDFSigner Class)

Saves a PDF attachment to a byte array.

Syntax

public byte[] getAttachedBytes(int index);

Remarks

Use this method to retrieve the contents of an attached file as a byte array.

GetAttachedFile Method (PDFSigner Class)

Saves a PDF attachment to a file.

Syntax

public void getAttachedFile(int index, String path);

Remarks

Use this method to retrieve the contents of an attached file and save it to a file.

GetAttachedStream Method (PDFSigner Class)

Saves a PDF attachment to a stream.

Syntax

public void getAttachedStream(int index, java.io.OutputStream stream);

Remarks

Use this method to retrieve the contents of an attached file and save it to a stream.

Open Method (PDFSigner Class)

Opens a document for signing or updating.

Syntax

public void open();

Remarks

Use this method to open a document for signing or updating. When finished, call Close to complete or discard the operation.

Reset Method (PDFSigner Class)

Resets the class settings.

Syntax

public void reset();

Remarks

Reset is a generic method available in every class.

Revalidate Method (PDFSigner Class)

Revalidates a signature in accordance with current settings.

Syntax

public void revalidate(String sigLabel);

Remarks

Use this method to re-validate a signature in the opened PDF document.

SelectInfo Method (PDFSigner Class)

Select signature information for a specific entity.

Syntax

public void selectInfo(String entityLabel, int infoType, boolean clearSelection);

Remarks

Use this method to select (or filter) signature-related information for a specific signature element.

Provide the unique label of the entity that you are interested in via the EntityLabel parameter. Use one of the following filters, or their combination, to specify what information you are interested in:

Following the call, the relevant pieces of information will be copied to the respective component properties (Certificates, CRLs, OCSPs). Note that you can accumulate information in the properties by making repeated calls to SelectInfo and keeping ClearSelection set to false.

This method is useful if you would like to read/display detailed information about a particular signature or timestamp.

Sign Method (PDFSigner Class)

Signs a PDF document.

Syntax

public void sign();

Remarks

Call this method to sign the document referenced by the InputFile (or InputStream) property. The document will be signed with SigningCertificate as configured in NewSignature, and saved in OutputFile (OutputStream).

Use TrustedCertificates, KnownCertificates, RevocationCheck, OfflineMode and other properties of the class to adjust chain validation parameters. After the signing, the chain validation log will be available in the ValidationLog property.

SignAsyncBegin Method (PDFSigner Class)

Initiates the asynchronous signing operation.

Syntax

public String 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 class), which processes it and produces a matching signature state. The async state produced by the server is then passed to the SignAsyncEnd method.

There are some conditions that should be met when signing PDF documents asynchronously. The advanced PDF signature levels, specifically BES, EPES, and LTV, require that the 'signingCertificate' attribute is included in the signature. This can only be satisfied if either ExternalCrypto is configured to use the asmdPKCS7 method, or the public copy of the signing certificate is provided on the pre-signing stage.

Please note that you will still be able to sign a document with the asmdPKCS1 method and no public copy of the certificate provided (resulting in the omission of the 'signingCertificate' attribute from the signature); however, most modern PDF processors will reject such signatures as invalid or non-compliant.

SignAsyncEnd Method (PDFSigner Class)

Completes the asynchronous signing operation.

Syntax

public void 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 class), 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 (PDFSigner Class)

Signs the document using an external signing facility.

Syntax

public void signExternal();

Remarks

Use this method to create a PDF signature using an external signing facility for the cryptographic computations. SignExternal delegates 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 the hash is computed, the class fires the ExternalSign event which allows the hash value to be passed for signing.

Update Method (PDFSigner Class)

Updates a signature.

Syntax

public void update(String sigLabel);

Remarks

PDF signatures may be updated from time to time by embedding newer/missing revocation information. The update approach is typically used to extend the validity of an LTV signature. Set SigLabel to the label of the signature field to update.

Updating is typically accompanied with a document timestamping operation. Set TimestampServer to have the class obtain and embed a document timestamp for you.

Before calling this method, provide the signed document via the InputFile (or InputStream) property. The updated document will be saved to OutputFile (or OutputStream).

ChainElementDownload Event (PDFSigner Class)

Fires when there is a need to download a chain element from an online source.

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void chainElementDownload(PDFSignerChainElementDownloadEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerChainElementDownloadEvent {
  public int kind;
  public String certRDN;
  public String CACertRDN;
  public String location;
  public int action; //read-write
}

Remarks

Subscribe to this event to be notified about validation element retrievals. Use the Action parameter to suppress the download if required.

ChainElementNeeded Event (PDFSigner Class)

Fires when an element required to validate the chain was not located.

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void chainElementNeeded(PDFSignerChainElementNeededEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerChainElementNeededEvent {
  public int kind;
  public String certRDN;
  public String CACertRDN;
}

Remarks

Subscribe to this event to be notified about missing validation elements. Use the KnownCRLs, KnownCertificates, and KnownOCSPs properties in the event handler to provide the missing piece.

ChainValidated Event (PDFSigner Class)

Reports the completion of a certificate chain validation.

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void chainValidated(PDFSignerChainValidatedEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerChainValidatedEvent {
  public int index;
  public String entityLabel;
  public String subjectRDN;
  public int validationResult;
  public int validationDetails;
  public boolean cancel; //read-write
}

Remarks

This event is fired when a certificate chain validation routine completes. SubjectRDN identifies the owner of the validated certificate.

ValidationResult set to 0 (zero) indicates successful chain validation.

Any other value reports a failure, and ValidationDetails provides more details on its reasons.

ChainValidationProgress Event (PDFSigner Class)

This event is fired multiple times during chain validation to report various stages of the validation procedure.

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void chainValidationProgress(PDFSignerChainValidationProgressEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerChainValidationProgressEvent {
  public String eventKind;
  public String certRDN;
  public String CACertRDN;
  public int action; //read-write
}

Remarks

Subscribe to this event to be notified about chain validation progress. Use the Action parameter to alter the validation flow.

The EventKind parameter reports the nature of the event being reported. The CertRDN and CACertRDN parameters report the distinguished names of the certificates that are relevant for the event invocation (one or both can be empty, depending on EventKind). Use the Action parameter to adjust the validation flow.

DocumentLoaded Event (PDFSigner Class)

This event is fired when the document has been loaded into memory.

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void documentLoaded(PDFSignerDocumentLoadedEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerDocumentLoadedEvent {
  public boolean cancel; //read-write
}

Remarks

The handler for this event is a good place to check the document structure, which may be useful when preparing the signature. For example, you can use the Pages information to find the optimal position for the signature widget.

Set Cancel to true to terminate document processing on this stage.

Encrypted Event (PDFSigner Class)

Notifies the application that the document is encrypted and provides recipient certificate details if asymmetric encryption was used to encrypt the document.

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void encrypted(PDFSignerEncryptedEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerEncryptedEvent {
  public boolean certUsed;
  public String issuerRDN;
  public byte[] serialNumber;
  public byte[] subjectKeyID;
  public boolean needCredential;
  public boolean skipThis; //read-write
}

Remarks

The class fires this event when processing encrypted documents to report the fact of encryption and pass certificate parameters to the user.

This event fires repeatedly for each encryption mechanism used in the document until the user provides the correct credential via the DecryptionCertificate or Password property (depending on the encryption method used), or sets SkipThis to true.

The CertUsed parameter specifies the encryption method used. If set to true, it indicates that the document uses asymmetric (certificate-based) encryption. In that case, the IssuerRDN, SerialNumber, and SubjectKeyID parameters provide the details of the encryption certificate. Note that the document can be encrypted with more than one certificate (or have "more than one recipient"), in which case each certificate will invoke its own Encrypted event loop.

CertUsed set to false indicates that the document uses password encryption. In this case, provide the password via the Password property.

The NeedCredential parameter specifies whether the correct credential is already available to the class or still needs to be set. One example where NeedCredential would be set to false is where it had been provided by the application prior to processing the document (e.g. by setting the Password property to a known pre-defined value). If NeedCredential is set to true, you must provide the valid credential for the decryption process to succeed.

Error Event (PDFSigner Class)

Information about errors during signing/validation.

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void error(PDFSignerErrorEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerErrorEvent {
  public int errorCode;
  public String description;
}

Remarks

The event is fired in case of exceptional conditions during PDF processing.

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

ExternalDecrypt Event (PDFSigner Class)

Handles remote or external decryption.

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void externalDecrypt(PDFSignerExternalDecryptEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerExternalDecryptEvent {
  public String operationId;
  public String algorithm;
  public String pars;
  public String encryptedData;
  public String data; //read-write
}

Remarks

Assign a handler to this event if you need to delegate a low-level decryption operation to an external, remote, or custom decryption engine. The handler receives an encrypted value in the EncryptedData parameter, and is expected to decrypt it and place the decrypted value into the Data parameter.

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

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

Sample data encoded in base16: a0dee2a0382afbb09120ffa7ccd8a152 - lower case base16 A0DEE2A0382AFBB09120FFA7CCD8A152 - upper case base16

ExternalSign Event (PDFSigner Class)

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

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void externalSign(PDFSignerExternalSignEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerExternalSignEvent {
  public String operationId;
  public String hashAlgorithm;
  public String pars;
  public String data;
  public String signedData; //read-write
}

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 class via the SignedData parameter.

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

The class 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 (PDFSigner Class)

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

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void notification(PDFSignerNotificationEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerNotificationEvent {
  public String eventID;
  public String eventParam;
}

Remarks

The class fires this event to let the application know about some event, occurrence, or milestone in the class. 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 class, the exact action it is performing, or the document being processed, one or both may be omitted.

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

PreRenderWidget Event (PDFSigner Class)

Fires when a signature widget is ready to be written to the document.

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void preRenderWidget(PDFSignerPreRenderWidgetEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerPreRenderWidgetEvent {
  public boolean addAnother; //read-write
  public boolean resetAnother; //read-write
}

Remarks

The class fires this event when it is ready to insert a new instance of the signature widget to the document. This event is fired repeatedly until the event handler sets the AddAnother parameter to false, allowing your application to create as many copies of the signature widget as required.

You can use this event handler to adjust the look of each widget copy. Set the ResetAnother parameter to true to automatically clean up all the existing widget settings after the current widget is saved. Setting ResetAnother to true will let you start every new widget from scratch. Keeping it set to false would result in every new widget looking the same as the previous one.

SignatureFound Event (PDFSigner Class)

Signifies the start of signature validation.

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void signatureFound(PDFSignerSignatureFoundEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerSignatureFoundEvent {
  public int index;
  public String entityLabel;
  public String issuerRDN;
  public byte[] serialNumber;
  public byte[] subjectKeyID;
  public boolean certFound;
  public boolean validateSignature; //read-write
  public boolean validateChain; //read-write
}

Remarks

This event tells the application that signature validation is about to start, and provides the details about the signer's certificate via its IssuerRDN, SerialNumber, and SubjectKeyID parameters. It fires for every signature located in the verified document or message.

The CertFound parameter is set to True if the class has found the needed certificate in one of the known locations, and to False otherwise, in which case you must provide it manually via the KnownCertificates property.

Signature validation consists of two independent stages: cryptographic signature validation and chain validation. Separate validation results are reported for each, with the SignatureValidationResult and ChainValidationResult properties respectively.

Use the ValidateSignature and ValidateChain parameters to tell the verifier which stages to include in the validation.

SignatureValidated Event (PDFSigner Class)

Marks the completion of the signature validation routine.

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void signatureValidated(PDFSignerSignatureValidatedEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerSignatureValidatedEvent {
  public int index;
  public String entityLabel;
  public String issuerRDN;
  public byte[] serialNumber;
  public byte[] subjectKeyID;
  public int validationResult;
  public boolean cancel; //read-write
}

Remarks

This event is fired upon the completion of the signature validation routine, and reports the respective validation result.

Use the IssuerRDN, SerialNumber, and/or SubjectKeyID parameters to identify the signing certificate.

ValidationResult is set to 0 if the validation has been successful, or to a non-zero value in case of a validation failure.

TimestampFound Event (PDFSigner Class)

Signifies the start of a timestamp validation routine.

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void timestampFound(PDFSignerTimestampFoundEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerTimestampFoundEvent {
  public int index;
  public String entityLabel;
  public String issuerRDN;
  public byte[] serialNumber;
  public byte[] subjectKeyID;
  public boolean certFound;
  public boolean validateTimestamp; //read-write
  public boolean validateChain; //read-write
}

Remarks

This event fires for every timestamp identified during signature processing, and reports the details about the signer's certificate via its IssuerRDN, SerialNumber, and SubjectKeyID parameters.

The CertFound parameter is set to True if the class has found the needed certificate in one of the known locations, and to False otherwise, in which case you must provide it manually via the KnownCertificates property.

Just like with signature validation, timestamp validation consists of two independent stages: cryptographic signature validation and chain validation. Separate validation results are reported for each, with the ValidationResult and ChainValidationResult properties respectively.

Use the ValidateSignature and ValidateChain parameters to tell the verifier which stages to include in the validation.

TimestampRequest Event (PDFSigner Class)

Fires when the class is ready to request a timestamp from an external TSA.

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void timestampRequest(PDFSignerTimestampRequestEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerTimestampRequestEvent {
  public String TSA;
  public String timestampRequest;
  public String timestampResponse; //read-write
  public boolean suppressDefault; //read-write
}

Remarks

Subscribe to this event to intercept timestamp requests. You can use it to override timestamping requests and perform them in your code.

The TSA parameter indicates the timestamping service being used. It matches the value passed to the TimestampServer property. Set the SuppressDefault parameter to false if you would like to stop the built-in TSA request from going ahead. The built-in TSA request is also not performed if the returned TimestampResponse parameter is not empty.

TimestampValidated Event (PDFSigner Class)

Reports the completion of the timestamp validation routine.

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void timestampValidated(PDFSignerTimestampValidatedEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerTimestampValidatedEvent {
  public int index;
  public String entityLabel;
  public String issuerRDN;
  public byte[] serialNumber;
  public byte[] subjectKeyID;
  public String time;
  public int validationResult;
  public int chainValidationResult;
  public int chainValidationDetails;
  public boolean cancel; //read-write
}

Remarks

This event is fired upon the completion of the timestamp validation routine, and reports the respective validation result.

ValidationResult is set to 0 if the validation has been successful, or to a non-zero value in case of a failure.

TLSCertNeeded Event (PDFSigner Class)

Fires when a remote TLS party requests a client certificate.

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void TLSCertNeeded(PDFSignerTLSCertNeededEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerTLSCertNeededEvent {
  public String host;
  public String CANames;
}

Remarks

This event fires to notify the implementation that a remote TLS server has requested a client certificate. The Host parameter identifies the host that makes a request, and the CANames parameter (optional, according to the TLS spec) advises on the accepted issuing CAs.

Use the TLSClientChain property in response to this event to provide the requested certificate. Please make sure the client certificate includes the associated private key. Note that you may set the certificates before the connection without waiting for this event to fire.

This event is preceded by the TLSHandshake event for the given host and, if the certificate was accepted, succeeded by the TLSEstablished event.

TLSCertValidate Event (PDFSigner Class)

This event is fired upon receipt of the TLS server's certificate, allowing the user to control its acceptance.

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void TLSCertValidate(PDFSignerTLSCertValidateEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerTLSCertValidateEvent {
  public String serverHost;
  public String serverIP;
  public boolean accept; //read-write
}

Remarks

This event is fired during a TLS handshake. Use the TLSServerChain property to access the certificate chain. In general, classes may contact a number of TLS endpoints during their work, depending on their configuration.

Accept is assigned in accordance with the outcome of the internal validation check performed by the class, and can be adjusted if needed.

TLSEstablished Event (PDFSigner Class)

Fires when a TLS handshake with Host successfully completes.

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void TLSEstablished(PDFSignerTLSEstablishedEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerTLSEstablishedEvent {
  public String host;
  public String version;
  public String ciphersuite;
  public byte[] connectionId;
  public boolean abort; //read-write
}

Remarks

The class uses this event to notify the application about a successful completion of a TLS handshake.

The Version, Ciphersuite, and ConnectionId parameters indicate the security parameters of the new connection. Use the Abort parameter if you need to terminate the connection at this stage.

TLSHandshake Event (PDFSigner Class)

Fires when a new TLS handshake is initiated, before the handshake commences.

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void TLSHandshake(PDFSignerTLSHandshakeEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerTLSHandshakeEvent {
  public String host;
  public boolean abort; //read-write
}

Remarks

The class uses this event to notify the application about the start of a new TLS handshake to Host. If the handshake is successful, this event will be followed by the TLSEstablished event. If the server chooses to request a client certificate, the TLSCertNeeded event will also be fired.

TLSShutdown Event (PDFSigner Class)

Reports the graceful closure of a TLS connection.

Syntax

public class DefaultPDFSignerEventListener implements PDFSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void TLSShutdown(PDFSignerTLSShutdownEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class PDFSignerTLSShutdownEvent {
  public String host;
}

Remarks

This event notifies the application about the closure of an earlier established TLS connection. Note that only graceful connection closures are reported.

Certificate Type

Encapsulates an individual X.509 certificate.

Remarks

This type keeps and provides access to X.509 certificate details.

Fields

Constructors

public Certificate( bytes,  startIndex,  count,  password);

public Certificate( certBytes,  certStartIndex,  certCount,  keyBytes,  keyStartIndex,  keyCount,  password);

public Certificate( bytes,  startIndex,  count);

public Certificate( path,  password);

public Certificate( certPath,  keyPath,  password);

public Certificate( path);

public Certificate( stream);

public Certificate( stream,  password);

public Certificate( certStream,  keyStream,  password);

public Certificate();

CRL Type

Represents a Certificate Revocation List.

Remarks

CRLs store information about revoked certificates, i.e., certificates that have been identified as invalid by their issuing certificate authority (CA) for any number of reasons.

Each CRL object lists certificates from a single CA and identifies them by their serial numbers. A CA may or may not publish a CRL, may publish several CRLs, or may publish the same CRL in multiple locations.

Unlike OCSP responses, CRLs only list certificates that have been revoked. They do not list certificates that are still valid.

Fields

Constructors

public CRL( bytes,  startIndex,  count);

public CRL( location);

public CRL( stream);

public CRL();

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

public ExternalCrypto();

MailAttachment Type

Represents an attachment to an e-mail message.

Remarks

This object is a container for message attachments.

Fields

Constructors

public MailAttachment( contentType);

OCSPResponse Type

Represents a single OCSP response originating from an OCSP responder.

Remarks

OCSP is a protocol that allows verification of certificate status in real-time, and is an alternative to Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs).

An OCSP response is a snapshot of the certificate status at a given time.

Fields

Constructors

public OCSPResponse( bytes,  startIndex,  count);

public OCSPResponse( location);

public OCSPResponse( stream);

public OCSPResponse();

PDFDocumentInfo Type

Contains document security information.

Remarks

This type provides an overview of the document security parameters, including the encryption method (if used) and signature count. This information is available early into the signing/validation process and lets you prepare for the subsequent signature validation.

Fields

Constructors

public PDFDocumentInfo();

PDFPage Type

This class is a container for PDF page details.

Remarks

Use this object to read general information about a document page, such as its dimensions and content positioning details.

Fields

Constructors

public PDFPage();

PDFSignature Type

This class is a container for PDF signature details.

Remarks

Use it to tune up signature properties and widget appearance when creating a signature, or to read the signature information when processing it.

Fields

Constructors

public PDFSignature();

PDFWidget Type

This class is a container for the signature widget parameters.

Remarks

Use it to adjust the look of the signature widget when creating a signature.

Fields

Constructors

public PDFWidget();

ProxySettings Type

A container for proxy server settings.

Remarks

This type exposes a collection of properties for tuning up the proxy server configuration.

Fields

Constructors

public ProxySettings();

SocketSettings Type

A container for the socket settings.

Remarks

This type is a container for socket-layer parameters.

Fields

Constructors

public SocketSettings();

TimestampInfo Type

A container for timestamp information.

Remarks

The TimestampInfo object contains details of a third-party timestamp and the outcome of its validation.

Fields

Constructors

public TimestampInfo();

TLSSettings Type

A container for TLS connection settings.

Remarks

The TLS (Transport Layer Security) protocol provides security for information exchanged over insecure connections such as TCP/IP.

Fields

Constructors

public TLSSettings();

Config Settings (PDFSigner Class)

The class 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 class, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

PDFSigner Config Settings

Base Config Settings

Trappable Errors (PDFSigner Class)

PDFSigner Errors