In ELMA365, an electronic digital signature (EDS) can be used to sign items of any app: a Standard app, an Event, or a Document. For instance, you can approve and sign a loan request or a contract.
The following types of digital signatures are used in the system:
- Advanced qualified electronic signature. For this type of signature, the public key is contained in a certificate issued by a qualified trust service provider.
- Advanced non-qualified electronic signature. This type of signature is only valid for the participants of the electronic document exchange. It can be used to sign legal documents if the participants agree to it.
начало внимание
Only users who have a certificate issued by a supported provider installed on their PC can use digital signatures in ELMA365.
конец внимание
With a digital signature, you can sign:
- A file uploaded to an app item (for example, a contract in the .docx format).
- An app item’s attributes. Attributes are fields you fill in when creating or editing an app item. For example, a loan request may have the Loaner name, Approver, Loan sum, and Loan security attributes.
Configure a digital signature
Step 1. Enable a digital signature provider module.
Go to Administration > Modules > Digital signature. Enable the appropriate module.
Step 2. Configure the signature settings in the app.
Open the app and click the gear icon next to its name. In the menu, select Signature Settings. There are two sections: Access permissions and Field exclusions.
Access permissions
By default, no one has permission to sign app items. You need to specify the appropriate users, groups, or org chart items in the Users with signing permissions field.
Field exclusions
Values of specific fields may change when a business process is executed (for example, the system field Changed on). If a field like this is signed, the signature will become invalid when the field’s value changes. To avoid that, you need to add the field to the list of exclusions.
Two options are available:
- Exclude system fields by default. System fields are the fields that are the same for all apps, such as Identifier, Index Number, or Created on. They are added automatically by the system and often used in business processes. If you select this option, all system fields except for Name and File will not be signed. For event type apps, you cannot exclude the Start date and End date.
- Set up the fields manually. Manually select the fields that should not be signed. The list of fields includes both system fields and the fields you added when creating the app. Make sure you exclude all fields that can change during a business process, such as Status.
Sign an app item
After you configure signing in an app, you will see the Sign app item widget on app item pages. It is displayed on the top panel as the Sign button. Click the button and configure the signature parameters:
- Select the signature type. For apps of any type, you can sign the app item’s attributes. For Document type apps, you can also sign the file attached to the app item.
- Select a digital signature provider that issued the certificate you are going to use for signing.
- If your ELMA365 URL is not added to the list of trusted websites in the settings of your signature provider, an additional window will open. Grant access to the certificate file. The certificate selection window will open.
- Specify the certificate.
- Click Sign.
The system checks whether the certificate is valid and notifies once the app item is signed.
Sign a decision in the approval task
Apart from files and attributes, you can sign a decision in the approval task assigned during a business process. To do that, enable the corresponding option in the Approval activity’s settings when you set up the business process.
When the activity you configured is executed during the process, the approver will be assigned the task to approve the document or app item. When the user clicks Approve, he or she will be able to check the Sign decision box. The rest of the procedure is similar to signing an app item on its page.
Page of a signed app item
Digital signature details are shown on the right panel of the app item page. Here you can find the following data:
- The signature type (document file or app attributes).
- Users who signed the current app item version, including signatures in tasks to approve or view the app item.
- The date of the signature.
- Signatures archive. The archive stores information about all signatures, including the ones added during approval and view tasks. Signatures are grouped into the following sections: Approval decision signatures, Version signatures, and App attributes signatures. Here you can view information about all signed versions of the app item and download the following files:
- A signature in the .sig format.
- A decision in the .txt format.
- A .cms file with a signature.
Until the signature becomes invalid, you cannot sign the same app item again. That’s why the Sign button is hidden from the app item’s page if it is already signed. The signature remains valid until the signed data is changed.
Edit a signed app item
If you edit a signed app item or it’s changed during a business process, the signature becomes invalid. Its status on the right panel changes to Signature not valid, and the Sign button becomes available.
You can sign the app item again. The details of each signature are saved in the Signatures archive, so you can always see who and when signed each version.
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