Error when attempting to sign document

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jsp91470
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Error when attempting to sign document

Post by jsp91470 »

I have a digital signature that I'm trying to use to sign a document. When I try to sign the document, I get this error:

Error saving document to C:\etc\etc\filename.pdf":
Error [System]: Invalid provider type specified.

We are on a Windows domain with our own CA which automatically generates client certificates. I have configured our Active Directory so that our CA is trusted by all the clients on our network. I have done this before with PDF-Xchange, using a free certificate I got from startssl.com.

Is there a particular type of certificate that is required? Why would one certificate work and another not work? The one I am trying to use also includes the private key; the one I used that did work did not have the private key.

I've attached a copy of the certificate, without the private key (I had to rename the file to get it to upload... rename it from .zip to .cer)

Thanks,

Jeff
jsp91470
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Re: Error when attempting to sign document

Post by jsp91470 »

I fixed it. It had something to do with how the certificates were generated. We use Windows Server 2008 R2 Certificate Services. The certificates are deployed using Group Policy to enable autoenrollment, so every user is automatically issued a certificate. The certificates are controlled by templates. To enable autoenrollment, you select a certificate template you want and make a duplicate of it, and then customize it. When you create the duplicate, it asks you if you want to make the template compatible with Windows Server 2003 Enterprise or Windows Server 2008 Enterprise. We have Windows Server Standard, not Enterprise, but I had selected 2008 because I figured we were closer to 2008 Enterprise than 2003 Enterprise. There must be some feature of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise that creates certificates that PDF-Xchange doesn't like (and Adobe Acrobat too-- I discovered that I couldn't sign with that certificate in Acrobat X either). I deleted the template and created another, this time selecting Windows Server 2003 Enterprise. Now PDF-Xchange and Acrobat can both sign using the automatically-generated certificate.
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Paul - Tracker Supp
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Re: Error when attempting to sign document

Post by Paul - Tracker Supp »

Hi jsp91470

thanks very much for the explanation - I'm sure many will benefit from your experience!

regards
Best regards

Paul O'Rorke
Tracker Support North America
http://www.tracker-software.com
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Ivan - Tracker Software
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Re: Error when attempting to sign document

Post by Ivan - Tracker Software »

Can you send us some certificates generated for both W2003 and W2008? I suspect W2008 uses SHA2-256 hash while W2003 uses SHA1.
Tracker Software (Project Director)

When attaching files to any message - please ensure they are archived and posted as a .ZIP, .RAR or .7z format - or they will not be posted - thanks.
john g Buckley
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Re: Error when attempting to sign document

Post by john g Buckley »

This is the only post I can find on here with regards this error message and the posts seem old? I have just started signing documents - I have pdf XCHANGE EDITOR V3 BUILD 307.1

After I choose "sign" and the file is attempted to be saved it gives the error "cant save the nnn document ", "erro [system] invalid provider type specified" - it saves the file with 0 bytes

it uses signature hash algorithm sha1

it seems that things should have moved on here .. having to ask my signature certificate support team to allow for 2003 servers seems outdated - is there new information about this?
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Will - Tracker Supp
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Re: Error when attempting to sign document

Post by Will - Tracker Supp »

Hi John,

I'm not sure offhand of the status of this, given how old the topic is, but you are using a fairly old build. Please take a look at this KB article and try running the installer (below) to update to Version 5.5. Build 311 of the Editor:
https://www.pdf-xchange.com/knowled ... rade-Guide
https://www.pdf-xchange.com/PDFXVE5.zip

Cheers,
If posting files to this forum, you must archive the files to a ZIP, RAR or 7z file or they will not be uploaded.
Thank you.

Best regards

Will Travaglini
Tracker Support (Europe)
Tracker Software Products Ltd.
http://www.tracker-software.com
flur
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Re: Error when attempting to sign document

Post by flur »

Hi

We came across the same error message with both 3.0 (306.1) and 6.0 (317.1) PDX-xchange editors.

Is this still a problem/unresolved bug? And the only solution continues to be to create internal certificates with 2003 compatibility mode?

Thank you
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Tracker Supp-Stefan
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Re: Error when attempting to sign document

Post by Tracker Supp-Stefan »

Hello flur,

We are constantly making changes to our products - and the digital signatures area is quite dynamic as new certificates and devices appear daily, so we do make changes in that area of the Editor frequently.
Please do test with build 321 and your certificates and if you still have issues - do let us know. Please also make sure to test with the Editor, as the Viewer is now no longer developed and it does not get improvements in the digital signing area!

Regards,
Stefan
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Re: Error when attempting to sign document

Post by flur »

Hi!

Thank you for prompt reply


Same error occurs with 6.0 (321.0) PDF-Xchange Editor Plus.

Q: Is there some certificate structures that pdf-xchange cannot handle (extensions maybe)? Can you pinpoint what is not supported?

f.k
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Re: Error when attempting to sign document

Post by Tracker Supp-Stefan »

Hello flur,

Can you please contact us via e-mail (write to support@pdf-xchange.com) - with the exact make and model of the certificate device - and we will try to work with you on supporting it. We do strive to support all possible types of signatures - but as I mentioned above - there are new ones appearing all the time - so we need to keep making changes to support them all :)

Cheers,
Stefan
ANI
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Re: Error when attempting to sign document

Post by ANI »

We are also experiencing this same problem with Editor Plus V6 build 321.0.

The certificate used is a new qualified certificate produced by the national authorities. The certificate can be used to digitally sign e.g. a Microsoft Word document, but the signature fails with PDF-XChange Editor (=> "Sign Document - Placement of the signature failed. Error [System]: Invalid provider type specified.")

I have contacted support via email about a week ago but have received no reply so far...

Hopefully this problem can be solved soon since it effectively prevents us from signing PDF documents (which is our main reason for using the product).
andreas schwinn
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Re: Error when attempting to sign document

Post by andreas schwinn »

Hello,
I have experienced the same error: "Invalid provider type specified"
We work with XChange Editor Plus V8, build 339.
My qualified certificate is a Trans Sped TSP Mobile QCA.
Signature works with Acrobat Pro. My preference would be to use it with PDF-XChange.
None of the previous responses appears to match my problem.
Could you please help me?
Thanks in advance!
Andreas
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Tracker Supp-Stefan
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Re: Error when attempting to sign document

Post by Tracker Supp-Stefan »

Hello andreas schwinn,

Can you please try the current latest build (341)? As even 1-2 builds older versions could be missing improvements that we have added in the latest one which would allow you to use your certificate correctly.

Kind regards,
Stefan
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Re: Error when attempting to sign document

Post by andreas schwinn »

Hi Stefan,
I installed build 341, thus, got the same result:
The Qualified Certificate cannot be selected in PDF-XChange in the signature dialogue.

Thus, the Qualified Certificate is available in the certificate store.
Signature works well with Acrobat.

The TSP is Trans Sped TSP.
I had opened a ticket with them and they confirmed the above behavior with the free PDF-XChange version.
On their website, the certificate is labeled "Qualified digital certificates with cryptographic keys stored in the Cloud".
Please see at https://www.transsped.com/certificates
In my Certificate Store, the certificate is labeled as "Trans Sped Mobile eIDAS QCA G2".

Please investigate this further!
Is there something I can do to support this?
Please let me know!

Best Regards,
Andreas
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TrackerSupp-Daniel
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Re: Error when attempting to sign document

Post by TrackerSupp-Daniel »

Hi, andreas schwinn

My apologies for the delay, we have been discussing your issue here, and I feel it would be best to continue this discussion in a more private manner, as it pertains to your personal signature certificate. Could I ask you to please send us an email via support@pdf-xchange.com with a link to this topic, as well as the following.

1. A copy of a document signed by Adobe with that signature.
2. Screenshots of the following form the certificate properties (you should be able to open this from Adobe by clicking on "view details" beside the certificate).
  • The entire window, with the Summary tab opened
  • The Trust tab
  • From the "Details tab" click on each of the following (if they are available) and send screenshots of them to us as well
    - Signature Algorithm
    - Public Key
    - Key usage
With these details, our development team should be able to identify the issue, and if not, they should at least be able to tell us exactly what we will need to find the cause.

Kind regards,
Dan McIntyre - Support Technician
Tracker Software Products (Canada) LTD

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