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Sign a PDF with a saved signature

In Sign mode, press + to draw, type or upload your signature, then choose it and click the page where it goes. Drag and resize it, save an edited copy, and the signature is saved on your computer for the next PDF.

Studios and AI · 3 min read · Updated

Sign puts your signature on a PDF without printing it. You create the signature once, and it is saved on your computer for every document after that. In the example, Alex Rivera signs Northwind Studio's agreement with Juniper Bakery.

Step 1: Create your signature

Click Sign in the mode tabs. Under Your signatures, press + to open Create a signature, then choose how to make it:

  • Draw: sign with your mouse or trackpad. Clear drawing starts again.
  • Type: type your name and Hangar writes it in a script font.
  • Upload: use a photo or scan of your signature. A PNG with a transparent background gives the cleanest result.
The Create a signature dialog on the Type tab, with Alex Rivera written in a script font and the Save signature button
  1. Draw, Type, Upload
  2. Your name
  3. Preview
  4. Name
  5. Save signature

Give it a Name, such as "Alex Rivera" or "Initials", and press Save signature.

Step 2: Place it on the page

Choose a signature in the rail, then click the page where it goes. It lands centred on your click. Each click places another copy, so click once per spot.

Sign mode with Alex Rivera's saved signature placed on the agreement's signature line and the header reading Edited draft
  1. Create a signature
  2. Saved signatures
  3. Placed signature
  4. Save edited copy

Step 3: Adjust it

Drag the signature onto the line. Its handles resize and rotate it, and its × removes it. The rail's Selected signature section has exact controls:

  • Size, from 3% to 80% of the page.
  • Rotation, from −180° to 180°.
  • Opacity, from 8% to 100%.

Duplicate (⌘D, Ctrl+D on Windows) adds a copy just beside it, and Delete removes it. On this page lists every signature placed on the page you are viewing.

Step 4: Save the signed copy

Press Save edited copy and choose where the signed PDF goes. Until then the signature stays movable in your draft; in the saved copy it becomes part of the page.

Initial every page

Place your initials on one page and press Repeat on all pages. A copy goes on every other page, slightly offset from the original spot, so check each one and nudge it if needed.

Manage your saved signatures

Saved signatures appear as cards under Your signatures. Press a card's × to delete it from this computer. Hangar will not delete a signature that is placed in the open PDF, or one set as your workspace's default; remove it from the page, or choose another default, first.

A visual signature, not a digital one

To sign a batch of PDFs with the same signature, use the Sign PDF tool instead; Sign PDF: settings and best results covers it.

Common questions

Is this a digital signature?

No. Sign places an image of your signature on the page, like signing a printout. It does not add a certificate-based digital signature, so use a signing service when a contract requires one.

Where is my signature stored?

On your computer, in Hangar’s own data folder. It is never uploaded, and it is ready in PDF Studio every time you sign another document.

Can I initial every page?

Yes. Save your initials as a second signature, place them once, then press Repeat on all pages.

Can I move a signature after I place it?

Yes, until you save a copy. Drag it, resize it or remove it in the draft at any time. In the saved PDF it is part of the page.

Still stuck?

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