Appearance

Name: ATick
Author: Axonate Tech

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

Sign.java

import io.github.aniketc068.atick.Atick;
import java.nio.file.*;

public class Sign {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        byte[] pdf = Files.readAllBytes(Paths.get("doc.pdf"));
        byte[] pfx = Files.readAllBytes(Paths.get("my.pfx"));

        byte[] signed = Atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx,
            "{\"cn\":\"Axonate Tech\","   // common name (shown bold after "Digitally Signed by:")
          + "\"org\":\"Acme Corp\","            // organisation line
          + "\"reason\":\"Approved\","          // "Reason: …"
          + "\"location\":\"New Delhi\","       // "Location: …"
          + "\"green_tick\":true}");

        Files.write(Paths.get("signed.pdf"), signed);
    }
}

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

Date / time

DateTime.java

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

The left side

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

LeftSide.java

Atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, "{\"cn\":\"Aniket\"}");                       // default: the ATick logo
Atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, "{\"cn\":\"Aniket\",\"image\":\"none\"}");    // no logo
Atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, "{\"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:

Mark.java

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

"green_tick":true — the classic validity mark 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 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.

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:

MarkColor.java

Atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, "{\"cn\":\"Aniket\",\"green_tick\":true,\"mark_color\":\"#E53935\"}");        // hex
Atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, "{\"cn\":\"Aniket\",\"green_tick\":true,\"mark_color\":\"blue\"}");           // CSS name
Atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, "{\"cn\":\"Aniket\",\"green_tick\":true,\"mark_color\":[255,140,0]}");        // RGB array
Atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, "{\"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

Dn.java

Atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx,
    "{\"cn\":\"Axonate Tech\",\"dn\":\"CN=Axonate Tech, 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. Because the value lives in a JSON string in Java source, escape each line break as \\n:

Body.java

Atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx,
    "{\"body\":\"*APPROVED*\\nReviewed by: *Axonate Tech*\\nThis document is *legally binding*.\"}");

In Java source \\n produces the two characters \n in the JSON string, which ATick reads as a line break. A literal Java newline would break the JSON.

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].

Position.java

Atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx,
    "{\"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,
    "{\"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:

Invisible.java

Atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, "{\"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

Fine-tuning the layout

When the default placement of the logo, mark, and text needs a nudge, these keys adjust the box without changing its size. The mark and text offsets are in PDF points; top_reserve is a fraction of the box height.

Key	Purpose
`top_reserve`	fraction of the box height reserved at the top for the logo / validity mark (e.g. `0.32`)
`mark_scale`	scale the validity mark
`mark_dx`	nudge the mark horizontally
`mark_dy`	nudge the mark vertically
`text_dx`	nudge the text block horizontally
`text_top`	nudge the text block down from the top
`border_color`	`[r, g, b]` border colour (with `border`)
`border_width`	border width in points (with `border`)

FineTune.java

Atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx,
    "{\"cn\":\"Aniket\",\"green_tick\":true," +
    "\"top_reserve\":0.32," +              // reserve top 32% for the logo / mark
    "\"mark_scale\":1.1,\"mark_dx\":4,\"mark_dy\":-2," +  // resize + nudge the mark
    "\"text_dx\":6,\"text_top\":8," +        // nudge the text block
    "\"border\":true,\"border_color\":[80,80,80],\"border_width\":1.0}");

Errors

Every failure throws Atick.AtickException:

Errors.java

try {
    Atick.signPfx(pdf, pfx, "{\"cn\":\"Aniket\",\"image\":\"missing.png\"}");
} catch (Atick.AtickException e) {
    System.out.println("signing failed: " + e.getMessage());
}