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Signing Briefcases

You can sign briefcases when you export them. Signing a briefcase will embed your signature's certificate chain in the briefcase along with the other briefcase information. This will allow users who receive and import the briefcase to verify the user that signed the document and to determine whether the briefcase was modified after it was exported and signed. When the briefcase is imported into another repository that supports digital signatures, the signature will be validated and the user performing the import can view the signature information before completing the briefcase import.

Signing a briefcase upon export does not sign the documents within that briefcase. The signature is applied to the briefcase as a whole; once the briefcase has been imported, the documents in that briefcase will not contain that signature. (However, if the documents were signed before being exported, and digital signatures were included in the briefcase, the documents will retain their own original signatures.)

For more information about digital signatures, see Digital Signatures.

Note: To sign a briefcase, you must have a valid signing certificate in the personal section of your local certificate store in Windows. Your administrator may have already distributed a valid signing certificate to your computer for use when signing documents. If you are not sure how to determine whether you have a valid signing certificate, or to acquire one if you do not, contact your administrator for assistance. 

Note: Signatures on briefcases cannot be countersigned.

Special Considerations in Web Access

Signing briefcases through Web Access requires requires Internet Explorer and the Laserfiche Web Access Digital Signatures ActiveX Control. If the control is not currently installed on your computer, Web Access will display a dialog box that allows you to download and install the ActiveX control.

Note: ActiveX controls are an Internet Explorer extension. While all supported browsers can view a document's signatures, Web Access only supports adding a new signature to a document through Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Signing a Briefcase

To sign a briefcase 

  1. Select one or more entries and export them as a briefcase. See Briefcasing Your Documents for more information.
  2. When exporting your briefcase, select Sign briefcase during export. The Sign Briefcase dialog box will open.
  3. Optional: In Signing Image, click Select, navigate to the signing image you want to use, and click Open. You can specify any .bmp, .jpg, .png or .tif image file.
  4. In Signing Certificate , click Select and choose your signing certificate. To view the details for your selected certificate, click Details.
  5. Optional: In the Signing Reason option, type your reason for signing this document.
  6. Click Sign.
  7. Continue with the briefcasing process.

To sign a briefcase 

  1. Select one or more entries and export them as a briefcase. See Briefcasing Your Documents for more information. You must be using Internet Explorer to sign a briefcase during export.
  2. When exporting your briefcase, select Sign the briefcase after exporting.
  3. If the ActiveX control is not installed, you will see the Install Laserfiche Digital Signatures dialog box. Click the Click Here to Install button in the center of the dialog to install the ActiveX control. Depending on your Internet Explorer security settings, you may be prompted to verify if you want to install the control. Click Install to load the Laserfiche Web Access 9.2 Digital Signatures ActiveX Control setup wizard. By default, Web Access attempts to automatically start the installation. If security settings prevent the installation from automatically starting, you can click the Click here if your installation does not automatically start link to manually download and run the installation package.
  4. You may be prompted to confirm that the Web Access Signing Tool should be permitted to contact Web Access. Click Yes to continue the signing process.
  5. The Sign Briefcase dialog box will open.
  6. Optional: In Signing Image, click Select, navigate to the signing image you want to use, and click Open. You can specify any .bmp, .jpg, .png or .tif image file.
  7. In Signing Certificate , click Select and choose your signing certificate. To view the details for your selected certificate, click Details.
  8. Optional: In the Signing Reason option, type your reason for signing this document.
  9. Click Sign.
  10. Continue with the briefcasing process.

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