Visual Basic 6.0

Sign PDF using PAdES-Baseline-B

See more PDF Signatures Examples

PAdES-Baseline-B is the most basic, entry-level profile of the PDF Advanced Electronic Signatures (PAdES) standard.

It means:

• A PDF contains a CMS/PKCS#7 detached signature over the document’s byte range.
• /SubFilter must be ETSI.CAdES.detached.
• The signer’s X.509 certificate is included inside the signature.
• The signature uses recognized secure algorithms (e.g., SHA-256 with RSA/ECDSA).
• It proves document integrity (no changes since signing) and signer authenticity (certificate identifies who signed).
• It does not include time-stamps, revocation data (CRL/OCSP), or long-term validation information — those appear only in higher levels (PAdES-Baseline-T, -LT, -LTA).

In short: Baseline-B = a standard PDF digital signature that ensures integrity and origin, but without time or revocation guarantees.

Visual Basic 6.0

Dim success As Long
success = 0

Dim pdf As New ChilkatPdf

' Load a PDF to be signed.
success = pdf.LoadFile("c:/someDir/my.pdf")
If (success = 0) Then
    Debug.Print pdf.LastErrorText
    Exit Sub
End If

' Options for signing are specified in JSON.
Dim json As New ChilkatJsonObject

success = json.UpdateString("subFilter","/ETSI.CAdES.detached")
success = json.UpdateBool("signingCertificateV2",1)
success = json.UpdateBool("signingTime",1)
success = json.UpdateString("signingAlgorithm","pkcs")
success = json.UpdateString("hashAlgorithm","sha256")

' -----------------------------------------------------------
' The following JSON settings define the signature appearance.
success = json.UpdateInt("page",1)
success = json.UpdateString("appearance.y","top")
success = json.UpdateString("appearance.x","left")
success = json.UpdateString("appearance.fontScale","10.0")
success = json.UpdateString("appearance.text[0]","Digitally signed by: cert_cn")
success = json.UpdateString("appearance.text[1]","current_dt")
success = json.UpdateString("appearance.text[2]","Hello 123 ABC")

' --------------------------------------------------------------
' Load the signing certificate. (Use your own certificate.)
' Note: There are other methods for using a certificate on an HSM (smartcard or token)
' or from other sources, such as a cloud HSM, a Windows installed certificate,
' or other file formats.
Dim cert As New ChilkatCert
success = cert.LoadPfxFile("c:/myPfxFiles/myPdfSigningCert.pfx","pfxPassword")
If (success = 0) Then
    Debug.Print cert.LastErrorText
    Exit Sub
End If

' Once we have the certificate object, tell the PDF object to use it for signing
success = pdf.SetSigningCert(cert)
If (success = 0) Then
    Debug.Print pdf.LastErrorText
    Exit Sub
End If

' Sign the PDF, creating the output file.
Dim outFilePath As String
outFilePath = "c:/someDir/mySigned.pdf"
success = pdf.SignPdf(json,outFilePath)
If (success = 0) Then
    Debug.Print pdf.LastErrorText
    Exit Sub
End If

Debug.Print "Success."