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If your PDF file contains digital signatures, the chances are that the signatures will disappear when you try to attach or merge this file with other PDF documents. This is a cautionary measure to ensure that digitally signed documents cannot be tempered with or additional pages are not attached to the signed document. However, if you do need to keep the digital signatures during merging or attaching, here are 3 ways of doing that.
Method 1: Print the File as a PDF
By printing your digitally signed Adobe PDF document as a Adobe PDF file, you will be able to create a new file which maintains the signatures during merging or attaching. This is the simplest way of keeping the digital signatures. To do this, follow these steps:
Step 1: Open the original PDF file which contains the Digital Signature.
Step 2: Click on File > Print. Under Printer Name, select Adobe PDF as shown below and click OK. Adobe will generate a PDF file and prompt you to save it. Save the file using a different file name than the original (for comparison purpose).
Step 3: Open the newly created PDF file and compare with the original to ensure they are identical. Now you can attach this new file with the digital signatures without any issues.
Method 2: Exporting the Digitally Signed PDF as an Image
Another way of maintaining the digital signature on a PDF file for attachment is to export the PDF as an image and then converting it back to a PDF file. Here are the steps:
Step 1: Open the original PDF file which contains the Digital Signature.
Step 2: Click on File > Export > Image > JPEG as shown below. Save the image.
Step 3: Open the folder which contains the newly created exported image file. Right click on this image and select Combine supported files in Acrobat. Follow the prompts and create your new PDF file which will maintain the digital signatures during merging or attaching to other PDF documents.
Method 3: Print & Scan the PDF File
This is the old fashion way. Simply print your PDF file which contains the digital signature and scan it back for attachment or merging. However, this method will reduce the quality of the document.
