Appearance

The signature appearance is controlled entirely by JSON option keys passed to atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, optionsJson). By default ATick shows its logo on the left, the signer details on the right, and the validity mark.

const atick = require("atick");
const fs = require("fs");

const pdf = fs.readFileSync("doc.pdf");
const pfx = fs.readFileSync("my.pfx");

const signed = atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, JSON.stringify({
  cn: "Aniket Chaturvedi",   // common name (shown bold after "Digitally Signed by:")
  org: "Acme Corp",          // organisation line
  reason: "Approved",        // "Reason: …"
  location: "New Delhi",     // "Location: …"
  green_tick: true,
}));

fs.writeFileSync("signed.pdf", signed);

Long signer names wrap onto more lines instead of shrinking the font, so the box never overflows.

Date / time

atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, JSON.stringify({ cn: "Aniket" }));                              // current time (default)
atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, JSON.stringify({ cn: "Aniket", date: "Signed on 10-Jun-2026" })); // a fixed string
atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, JSON.stringify({ cn: "Aniket", date: "" }));                    // no date line

The left side

The image key controls what is drawn on the left of the appearance:

atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, JSON.stringify({ cn: "Aniket" }));                  // default: the ATick logo
atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, JSON.stringify({ cn: "Aniket", image: "none" }));   // no logo
atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, JSON.stringify({ cn: "Aniket", image: "cn" }));     // the CN as large text on the LEFT (Adobe-style)

image value	Result
omitted	the default ATick logo
"none"	no logo on the left
"cn"	the signer name as text on the left instead of a logo

The validity mark — ATick’s signature look

The mark sits centred in the appearance and tells the reader the signature’s status at a glance:

atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, JSON.stringify({ cn: "Aniket", green_tick: true }));    // the "?" mark — Adobe paints it GREEN if valid+trusted, RED if invalid
atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, JSON.stringify({ cn: "Aniket", always_check: true }));  // ATick's green-tick graphic as the base (Adobe still reds a bad signature)
atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, JSON.stringify({ cn: "Aniket", green_tick: false }));   // no mark — a plain signature

• green_tick: true — the classic validity mark: a ? that Adobe Acrobat repaints green for a valid, trusted signature and red for a broken one.

• always_check: true — uses ATick’s own green-tick graphic (above) as the base, so the tick shows in every viewer; Adobe still overlays a red mark if the signature is actually invalid.

• green_tick: false — no mark; a plain signature appearance.

What it looks like

The appearance ATick draws — the signer details with the green tick centred over them:

How Adobe shows it

When the certificate is valid and trusted, Adobe Reader / Acrobat reports “Signed and all signatures are valid” and paints the tick green — exactly the reassurance your readers expect:

Every state Adobe can show

ATick draws the appearance and the mark; Adobe then colours the mark based on the signature’s validity and whether it trusts the certificate, so your reader instantly sees the status:

Valid & trusted

Signature intact and the certificate chains to a root Adobe trusts - “Signed and all signatures are valid.”

Validity unknown

Signature intact, but Adobe doesn’t trust the certificate’s root - “Validity unknown.”

Not verified

Adobe hasn’t validated the signature yet (no trust information) - “Signature not verified.”

Invalid

The document was changed after signing (or the signature is broken) - “Signature is invalid.”

So the green tick appears only when the signature is valid and the signer’s certificate chains to a root Adobe trusts (the Adobe Approved Trust List, or your organisation’s trust). The same ATick appearance shows the question-mark or red-cross state automatically — you don’t draw those; Adobe does.

Colouring the mark

Colour the mark with a hex string, a CSS colour name, or an [r, g, b] array — or fill it with an axial gradient:

atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, JSON.stringify({ cn: "Aniket", green_tick: true, mark_color: "#E53935" }));        // hex
atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, JSON.stringify({ cn: "Aniket", green_tick: true, mark_color: "blue" }));           // CSS name
atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, JSON.stringify({ cn: "Aniket", green_tick: true, mark_color: [255, 140, 0] }));    // RGB array
atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, JSON.stringify({ cn: "Aniket", green_tick: true, mark_gradient: ["red", "orange", "yellow"] }));  // gradient

Use mark_scale to resize the mark relative to the appearance box.

Distinguished name

atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, JSON.stringify({
  cn: "Aniket Chaturvedi",
  dn: "CN=Aniket Chaturvedi, O=Personal, C=IN",
}));

The DN is shown directly under the “Digitally Signed by:” line.

Custom-text-only appearance

Show only your own text — no “Signed by”, no date, no CN structure. Inside body, \n starts a new line and *word* makes that run bold:

atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, JSON.stringify({
  body: "*APPROVED*\nReviewed by: *Aniket Chaturvedi*\nThis document is *legally binding*.",
}));

Note

In a JavaScript string literal, \n is a real newline character. JSON.stringify then encodes it correctly inside the JSON, and ATick reads it as a line break.

Positioning the appearance

Place the appearance with page + rect, or stamp several positions at once with placements. Coordinates are PDF points as [x1, y1, x2, y2].

atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, JSON.stringify({
  cn: "Aniket", green_tick: true, page: 1, rect: [300, 55, 575, 175],
}));

// one stamp per entry: [page, [x1,y1,x2,y2]]
atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, JSON.stringify({
  cn: "Aniket", green_tick: true,
  placements: [[1, [300, 55, 575, 175]], [2, [300, 55, 575, 175]]],
}));

You can also size the box directly with width and height.

Invisible signature

A cryptographically valid signature that draws nothing on the page — pass an empty placements array:

atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, JSON.stringify({ cn: "Aniket", placements: [] }));   // empty placements

Other appearance options

Key	Purpose
heading	the heading line at the top of the appearance
text	extra free text line
ou	organisational-unit line
font_size	size of the appearance text
text_color	colour of the text
bg_color	background fill of the box
border	draw a border around the box
width, height	the box size
mark_scale	scale factor for the validity mark

Errors

Every failure throws an Error:

try {
  atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, JSON.stringify({ cn: "Aniket", image: "missing.png" }));
} catch (err) {
  console.log("signing failed: " + err.message);
}