Hi Team,
I have a few questions about docx digital signatures.
When using MSO Professional Plus 2024 to open a file signed with one of the two examples from the site, the signature panel is not displayed as if there are no signatures. If we add an empty signature line to the document before signing, the panel is there, so is the empty signature line, but the signatures added afterwards with GemBox.Document are missing. I think I had the same problem a while ago with Office 2021, but I didn’t pay attention to it then and ignored it.
How can a signature line be added at any place/paragraph in the document?
If in a 5-page document, we have pre-added two signature lines on each page, how can we sign signature line 2 on page 3. In general, can a pre-added signature line be signed and is there a way to access the pre-added signature lines to verify that they are signed and, if signed, to retrieve information about the certificate it was signed with, as with GemBox.Pdf .
Note that this is a hidden pre-released version, to install it you’ll need to run the above command on the NuGet Package Manager Console (Tools → NuGet Package Manager → Package Manager Console).
Regarding the signature lines, unfortunately, GemBox.Document currently doesn’t provide support for them in signed DOCX.
I created an internal support ticket for this feature and added your report. We’ll keep track of this feature’s priority, and when it increases (more users request it), we’ll start working on it.
Thanks Mario,
Works perfectly with Office 2021 and 2024.
Regarding Signature Lines, it would be nice to actually see it implemented because I’ve found that many users don’t know exactly what a digitally signed file is, and if they don’t see their names, or a picture of the signature, with the infamous X, in a specific place in the file, so it is not signed.
I would like to ask if there has been any progress regarding my original request for Signature Line support when signing DOCX documents.
More specifically, we still need the ability to select an existing unsigned Signature Line, sign the document using that line, and have a visual representation of the signature in the document, similar to signing directly with Microsoft Word.
In the meantime, I would also like to add another related request regarding XAdES support. Currently, GemBox.Document creates XAdES-EPES signatures, which Microsoft Word correctly recognizes as such, but there is no option to use an RFC 3161 TSA or to create signatures with higher XAdES levels.
The use of a trusted/qualified timestamp is becoming an increasingly important requirement, especially for electronic documents used in public administration, and in practice its absence limits the use of GemBox.Document in such scenarios.
It would be very useful if GemBox.Document could provide functionality similar to what GemBox.Pdf already provides for PAdES — selecting the signature level and using a timestamper. For us, it is important that the higher XAdES levels are compatible with Microsoft Office / Word, so that Word can correctly validate and recognize them as XAdES-T, XAdES-C, and the corresponding higher supported levels.
Microsoft describes the requirements for XAdES-EPES through XAdES-X-L here:
In short, we are interested in:
signing an existing Signature Line;
displaying a visual signature on that line;
RFC 3161 timestamp support for XAdES;
support for higher XAdES levels compatible with Microsoft Office / Word.
Are there any plans to further develop the DOCX digital signing functionality in these areas?
Unfortunately, there were no changes regarding this feature.
We are still keeping track of this feature’s priority, and we’re waiting for more users to request it.
Please note that there are still features with greater priority that are being addressed. So I’m afraid this feature won’t be available this year, and for later, I can’t say at this moment.
Just to clarify, does your answer refer only to the existing Signature Line feature request, or also to the new request regarding RFC 3161 timestamp support and higher XAdES levels?
I’m asking because the latter is a separate feature request that I added in my latest post.
I would also like to emphasize that the use of a trusted/qualified timestamp is increasingly becoming a practical requirement in some EU countries, particularly in public-sector workflows. As a result, the lack of timestamp support increasingly limits the scenarios in which GemBox.Document can be used for digitally signing DOCX documents, even in cases where a visible Signature Line is not required and an invisible signature would otherwise be sufficient.
Thank you for the clarification and for adding both requests.
I hope these features will receive higher priority in the future, especially XAdES-T support, as trusted/qualified timestamps are becoming increasingly important when working with electronic documents, particularly in public administration, and in our case they are already a significant factor when deciding whether GemBox.Document can be used for signing DOCX documents.
I will keep an eye on future releases and hope to see these features implemented.