Adding Signatures in Excel
Apr 30, 2021Whether it’s an invoice to send to a customer, a timesheet, or an expense report, there are many cases in which we’d want to validate data and ensure accountability in our Excel files. Usually, the paper form of these documents would require a suggested signer to leave his or her signature on the signature line to pass the document off as complete or accurate. Ensuring the authenticity of any documents mentioned above creates healthy accountability and helps assess where an error may have occurred. Those squiggly lines above the signature lines mean life or death for many businesses. In this day and age, electronic signatures have become mainstays. You can digitally sign a spreadsheet by adding a signature in your Excel documents, inserting a handwritten signature, adding a signature line, or even creating a custom auto-text signature - complete with your name, credentials, and other details you wish to include using the Microsoft Office signature line. As we transition from paper to digital, the need for authentication is more significant than ever. The internet has created a collaborative environment allowing many people to edit and access a single document, which necessitated digital signatures, more commonly known as electronic signatures or 'e-signature' in our Word documents and Excel Spreadsheets. While this is generally a good thing that leads to increased productivity and innovation, it also means mistakes are more likely to happen. Tracing those mistakes back to their root ensures you don’t make even bigger mistakes like working off insufficient data. This post will walk you through How to Add, Remove and Edit Electronic Signatures in a Microsoft Excel Workbook on Windows PC.
Authenticate Your Signature with a Certificate Signature
A digital signature is an encrypted electronic stamp that ensures that the information in the digital document is from the signer. It also ensures that the data remains unchanged during the transition period. Before creating a digital signature, you must have signature certificates. You raise your certificate and a public key when you submit a digitally signed document. This ensures that the Excel document has not changed during the transition period. Certification is usually valid for a year, depending on the issuing authority. You can create your signature certificate through Microsoft here or obtain one through a recommended third party here. Let’s dive into our step-by-step guide to working with digital signatures on Office programs such as Excel.
Create a Signature Line in Excel Using the Microsoft Office Signature Line
- Point your cursor where you want to create a digital signature in your document.
- From among the tabs at the top, click on the Insert tab.
- Click the arrow in the Signature Line menu in the story. Define Microsoft Office Signature Font. This opens the Signature Setup dialog box or signs dialog box.
- You will find boxes for the following details - the full names of the signers, the signature address, the email identifier for the signature, and instructions to the signer. The only box you need to fill in is giving instructions to the site. This creates a signature line in the document, which the signer must fill in. Be sure to take note of any other pertinent details, such as the suggested signer's title and sign date, depending on your company preferences.
Signing an Electronic Signature or Digital Signature in Excel
- Right-click on the signature line in the Excel document and click Sign.
- You can select an image for your written signature by clicking and browsing on the selected image to affix your electronic signature or digital signature.
- If you are a tablet user, you can log in with the touchpad after clicking on the Inking option next to X, above the signature line, to affix your digital signature.
- The tag is added for the digital signature at the bottom.
Remove Digital Signature in an Excel Document
Simply right-click on the signature line and hit Remove Signature.
Add Invisible Digital Signatures in Excel.
An invisible digital signature protects the origin of the document. However, the Excel documents are read-only unless the site makes the necessary changes.
- Click on the File tab, then on Info, then choose Worksheet (for MS Excel).
- Select the option to add a digital signature from the list.
- Fill out the dialog box and save the settings.
Remove invisible digital signatures in Excel.
- Click on the "File" tab, then "Information," then "View Signatures."
- Click the arrow next to the signature name and select Remove from the options.
You can finally add electronic signatures to your Microsoft Excel Workbooks using the steps above. You can now sign Excel documents using your digital signature or signature image file. Just remember to treat it as if it were an actual paper document. To maintain the company standard theme and the signing date if you need an invisible or visible signature. This tool allows you to add a digital signature. It becomes a compelling means to operate when collaborating in the office is not an option when paired with authenticated digital certificates.
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