Feature Request: Signature Design Editor and Improved Signature Management

Brainstorm
1

Summary

Introduce a Signature Design Editor that allows users to visually design and manage reusable signature layouts, including precise background placement and customizable signature elements (name, date, location, etc.).

Current Behavior

Okular’s PDF signing works well once the certificate database is configured. However, signature customization is currently limited to selecting a background image that applies to the entire signature appearance. This makes it difficult to:

  • Control background placement and scaling

  • Align text elements with the background

  • Create visually consistent signatures

  • Reuse multiple signature styles

The existing “recently used background” option does not provide sufficient flexibility for real-world signing workflows.

Proposed Improvement

Add a Signature Design Editor that enables:

  1. Background Control

    • Set background position (alignment, offset)

    • Control scaling and aspect ratio

    • Preview the background within the signature bounding box

  2. Signature Element Management

    • Enable/disable individual elements (name, DN, date, location, reason, etc.)

    • Position elements freely or via alignment tools

    • Adjust font, size, and spacing (where applicable)

  3. Reusable Signature Designs

    • Replace or complement “recently used background” with Signature Designs

    • Each design includes:

      • Background image and its configuration

      • Layout and formatting of signature elements

    • Designs can be:

      • Created

      • Edited

      • Duplicated

      • Deleted

  4. Workflow Integration

    • When signing a document, the user selects a Signature Design

    • This maintains the current UI flow while significantly improving flexibility

Benefits

  • Easier creation of professional-looking signatures

  • Better support for institutional and legal signing requirements

  • Improved usability for frequent signers

  • Aligns Okular with expectations set by other PDF signing tools while keeping KDE’s clean UI philosophy

Additional Notes

This proposal builds on the existing signature infrastructure and UI concepts (see Fancy signatures: Add background image, reason and location (!745) · Merge requests · Graphics / Okular · GitLab ) , extending them in a backward-compatible way while offering a more powerful and intuitive signing experience.