How to sign a PDF on a Chromebook

Sign with the Gallery app

These steps follow Google's Chromebook Help. Gallery is the default app for PDFs on ChromeOS; if yours opens in Chrome instead, right-click the file in Files and open it with Gallery.

1. 1

   Open the PDF from Files

   Select the Launcher at the bottom left, open Files, find the PDF (usually in Downloads or My Drive) and double-click it.

2. 2

   Type your answers

   Fill any fillable fields directly. For a blank with no field, choose Text in the menu at the top and click where the words go.

3. 3

   Create your signature

   Select the signature button in the toolbar at the top. Draw your signature with the touchpad, your finger or a stylus, then select Place signature.

4. 4

   Move it onto the line

   Use the Select tool to drag the signature into place. Drag a corner to resize it, or drag the dot above the box to rotate it.

5. 5

   Save

   Select Save at the top right. To keep the unsigned original as well, press the arrow on the right side of Save and save the signed version as a new file.

Gallery also has Annotate, with a pen, highlighter and eraser, for marking up a page by hand. On a touchscreen Chromebook, tap Annotate at the top right and write with a stylus. Undo and Redo fix a stray stroke.

Or use Chrome's viewer

Chrome's own PDF viewer works on a Chromebook too. Open the PDF in a tab, select Draw, then Pen, sign, and select Done. Google's Chrome Help says Chromebook users select Save to keep their changes. See how to sign a PDF in Chrome for every step.

When the signature you need isn't yours

Chromebooks are everywhere in schools, front desks and small offices, so the PDF on screen often needs a parent's, client's or new hire's signature, not yours. Gallery can't send it to them, track it or record who signed. Emailing the file and waiting for a scan to come back is how forms go missing.

Get it signed with SignMaster on a Chromebook

SignMaster runs in Chrome, so it works on any Chromebook, including managed school and work ones that block app installs. Each send is an envelope: one or more documents going to one or more signers.

1. 1

   Upload the PDF

   Click New envelope and choose the file from Files. Holding paper? Click Scan with your phone, point your phone's camera at the QR code, and photograph the pages; they arrive in the draft as one PDF.

2. 2

   Add the signers

   Add each person by name and email. Click Add me if your own signature goes on it too.

3. 3

   Place their fields

   Drop signature, initials, date signed and text fields where each person signs. Save it as a template if the same form goes out every term or every hire.

4. 4

   Send, or sign at the desk

   Send links that open on any phone or computer, with no account. If the person is standing at your desk, open the envelope and choose Sign in person to turn the Chromebook into their signing screen.

After an in-person signature on the web, SignMaster asks you to confirm the handback before your account comes back. When everyone has signed, each person receives the signed PDF by email with a certificate of completion.