How to do an Electronic Signature on Mac

Wondering how to do an electronic signature on Mac?

The digital era has brought forth numerous conveniences, be it ordering food, booking a flight, or even buying groceries. All your personal data is now stored in file format and can be accessed anywhere at any time. The security has come down to using your fingerprint or facial recognition. But what must remain a manual authorization is your signature.

All professional communication has moved to online platforms, making it necessary to sign important documents before emailing them. Fortunately, there are various methods through which you can digitize your signature and add them as attachments.

But with touchscreens, touchpads, and even some third-party applications, you can also sign a document directly. This guide covers all the different ways you can do an electronic signature on a Mac in just a matter of time. It’s easier than you may think.

Read on to find out!

1. Use the Trackpad.

The easiest and simplest way to add a signature to any document is through the Preview app.  It is an in-built app on your Mac that allows you to create a digital signature and save it for subsequent use. Creating a signature once will enable you to add it to all your future documents with just a click. 

To create a sign, you can either use your Mac’s trackpad, camera, or iPhone. Keep reading as we’ll go over each one of these in detail. 

Before you do an electronic signature on a Mac, the first step is to create a signature. This can be done by using the Preview app on your Macbook.

Here’s how to create a signature on Preview:

  1. Start by right-clicking on the file that you wish to sign in.
  2. Select Open With from the context menu and click on Preview from the further options. 
open file with preview
  1. As your file opens in the Preview app, click on the Show Markup Toolbar icon from the toolbar or go to View and choose Show Markup Toolbar.
show markup toolbar option
  1. Next, choose the Signature button from the bar and click on Create a Signature button underneath it. 
create signature
  1. You will come across three options for creating your electronic signature: Trackpad, Camera, or iPhone. 
do an Electronic Signature on Mac

Follow these steps below to use the Trackpad option to do an electronic signature on Mac:

  1. From the Signature icon, click on the Trackpad tab. 
  2. Select Click Here to Begin and sign your name using your Mac’s trackpad. 
trackpad in create signature
  1. After you’re satisfied with your signature, click on Done to save your signature. 
do an Electronic Signature on Mac
  1. Now, you can add it to the document by clicking on the Signature button and selecting your sign. You can also change its size and move it around for better placement. 
signature button

2. Use Your Camera.

Instead of using the trackpad, you can also use your Mac’s camera to add a signature. The procedure is pretty straightforward. The Camera scans the signature from a piece of paper and adds it to the document, providing greater accuracy and originality. 

So, before performing this method, sign on a white sheet of paper. Then, follow these steps:

  1. From the Preview app, begin by clicking on the Camera tab from the Signature button.
camera in create signature
  1. Hold the piece of paper to the Camera. Make sure that your sign is clear and visible. 
  2. Check its preview from the window and select Done if you’re satisfied with it. Otherwise, click on Clear and try again. 
do an Electronic Signature on Mac
  1. You can access this saved sign on a file by clicking on the Signature icon. Change its position and size according to your liking. 

3. Use Your iPhone or iPad.

Another way to create a digital signature is by using your iPhone. For this method, you will need to first specify the device that you will use to create a sign. You can use both an iPhone and an iPad to do this. 

Follow the steps given below:

  1. Choose the Signature menu, and click on the iPhone tab from the Preview app.
iPhone in create signature
  1. A black screen on your iPhone will appear. Simply use your finger or an Apple Pencil to sign your name. This sign will be shown in the Preview app on your Mac.
do an Electronic Signature on Mac
  1. Once you’re content with the signature, select Done.
create signature
  1. You can view and use this saved signature by using the Signature icon

5. Apple Pages.

Another way to do an electronic signature on Mac is via the Pages app. It is pre-installed on most Apple devices. But if you can’t find it, you can easily download it for free from the App Store. 

Even though the adding signature feature is absent in the Pages app, you can still insert your sign as an image to your essential documents on the go. Here’s how:

  1. Launch the Pages app
  2. Next, click on the Create button from the bottom-right corner. 
apple pages
  1. After that, save the blank document by going to File
  2. Click on Export to and choose PDF
export to PDF
  1. Now, go to the Preview app and open the newly saved PDF. 
  2. Click on the Sign icon from the toolbar and select your signature. 
  3. Press Command + Shift + 4 keys from your keyboard to take a screenshot. 
  4. Go to Pages again and drag and drop your signature screenshot into the document where you want to add it. 
  5. Finally, resize it accordingly. 

6. Microsoft Word.

Although Microsoft Word gives you the option of digital signatures on Windows PC, this option is unavailable for Apple users. This is because Office 365 isn’t included on Apple devices by default. 

Fortunately, there is a workaround through which you can add signatures in documents using Microsoft Word on a Mac. However, you will have to insert the sign in an image format. 

Follow these steps below to do it:

  1. Go to Microsoft Word from your Mac, and create a new document. 
  2. Afterward, click on Save as and choose Save it as a PDF
do an Electronic Signature on Mac
  1. Now, head over to the Preview app and open this saved PDF. 
  2. Click on the Signature icon and choose your sign.
  3. Then, take a screenshot of your sign by pressing CMD + Shift + 4 keys.
  4. Relaunch Microsoft Word and open the document where you want to insert your signature.
  5. From the taskbar, choose the Insert tab and click on Picture. 
Pictures in microsoft word
  1. Next, click on Picture from file. Now, select the screenshot of the picture you took in the previous steps to add it to the Word document. 
  2. Finally, resize the image and move it where you want your signature to appear.

This brings us to the end of our guide on how to do an electronic signature on a Mac. Hopefully, you’ve managed to add your signature to the document by using one of the methods mentioned above. Feel free to use the comments section if you have further queries. We’ll try our best to assist you further.

If this guide helped you, please share it. 😊 

Author

  • Aimen Choudhry

    Aimen Choudhry is an architecture student who has always been fascinated by science. She now finds her therapy researching and writing about the latest technology and the issues that come alongside. Otherwise, you’ll find her playing video games, listening to music, or watching fantasy/sci-fi movies.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *