Topaz MS Office Plug-Ins (for Word and Excel 97, 2000 & XP)
Version 1.4


COPYRIGHT NOTICES
Topaz MS Office Plug-In 1.4, Copyright 2002 Topaz Systems, Inc. 
All Rights Reserved.


FOR MORE INFO
For the most up-to-date information on Topaz software, visit the web site at 
www.topazsystems.com (e-mail to support@topazsystems.com)


WORD AND EXCEL PLUG-IN OVERVIEW
The Topaz MS Office Plug-In software allows the user to electronically sign a 
Word document or Excel spreadsheet. Each embeded signature is bound 
to the contents of the file at the time it is signed, so any changes made to 
the document/sheet after signing renders the signature(s) invalid. If the file's content 
is returned to the state it was in at the time signing took place, the 
signature(s) return, once again valid.


WHERE THE TOPAZSIG3.DOT FILE IS INSTALLED FOR MS WORD
The TopazSig3.dot file for MS Word is automatically installed into the 
location specified by MS Office within the WIN registry.  Most often this 
is in the WIN\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\Startup folder, or Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\StartUp, depending on the current Operating System and version of Office. 
Installed this way, TopazSig3.dot is treated as a global template, rather than a document template, and as such is available to all Word documents. 

As a global template, e-signature technology is available to any document you 
might have open, saved or new, and at any time. This is the suggested method of 
electronic signatures using the Topaz plug-ins.

If you prefer you may make TopazSig3.dot a document template, however, e-signature 
capability will be provided only for the New documents that the user bases on the 
Topaz template. To do this, cut or delete TopazSig3.dot from the aformentioned 
Startup folder and place in:

Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates, or  
 
WIN\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates, depending on operating system and version of Office.


WHERE THE TOPAZ.XLA FILE IS INSTALLED FOR MS EXCEL
The Topaz.xla file for MS Excel is automatically installed into the location 
specified by MS Office within the Windows registry.  Most often this is in the 
WIN\Application Data\Microsoft\Addins directory, or Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Library folder. Topaz.xla is an Add-in which can embed e-signatures into the open Excel spreadsheet. 


SIGNING IN MS WORD
To sign, press the 'Sign' button (the button with the pen image). Once the signing 
window is displayed, the 'Cancel' button will cancel the signature event, and put 
the user back into Word. The 'Clear' button will clear the signature if the 
user is not satisfied, allowing the user to sign again. The 'Done' button will 
finish the signature event and embed the signature in the document. 

When you sign in MS Word, the signature box's bottom, left edge will be positioned where the 
cursor is placed. The signature will then automatically size its height, based upon how much space is available vertically above the cursor, before any text is reached. Electronic signatures can be a maximum of .7 of an inch in height, and 3.5 inches in width. (For larger signatures in Word, contact the factory for custom versions of the Plug-in at (805) 520-8286.

Each signature can then be positioned by moving the cursor to the desired place in the document, then pressing the 'Sign' button. Once a signature is placed, changing or adding any textual data in the document will invalidate the signature(s), so be sure to plan ahead of time, and create spaces if several signatures are required in a particular document, before signing initiates.

The 'Signature Selection' list box will list the e-signatures already embeded in the 
document. The names in this list box will correspond to the name of a particular signature 
(Each signature's "name" can be found in the top-right corner of each signature's box). 
When you highlight a particular name in the 'Signature Selection' list box, you may easily 
delete it by pressing the 'Delete' button, or change it by signing again. Highlighting 'New' 
in the 'Signature Selection' list box will create a new signature. The user can also tell 
if they are creating a new signature or changing an existing signature by the message located 
just below the signature window on the signing form.  


SIGNING IN MS EXCEL
To sign, press the 'Sign' button (the button with the pen image). Once the signing window is 
displayed, the 'Cancel' button will cancel the signature event, and put the user back into 
Excel. The 'Clear' button will clear the signature out if the user is not satisfied, allowing 
the user to sign again. The 'Done' button will finish the signature event and embed the 
signature in the sheet. 

When you sign in Excel, the signature box's top-left edge will be placed in the active cell: the 
one that has been highlighted. 

Multiple signatures can be placed by choosing another cell and signing again, which will 
place the next signature at that new location.

The size of the signature box can be customized by entering the appropriate values in the 
'Height" and 'Width' text boxes on the signing form, which indicate the size in inches. 
(The default is set at 'Height'=0.5, and 'Width'=2.5). There is no limit to signature sizes in Excel.

Similarly, the horizontal and vertical position (again, in inches) of a signature on the sheet 
can be customized by setting the 'H Position' and 'V Position' text boxes. By default, each 
signature's position will be determined by the horizontal and vertical position of the active 
cell at the time of signing, and so will place the signature's top-left corner in the currently active cell. If you wish the signature to be placed somewhere other than the 
active cell, then set the text boxes accordingly.

The 'Signature Selection' list box will list the e-signatures already embeded in the spreadsheet. 
The names in this list box will correspond to the name of a particular signature. A signature's 
"name" can be found in the bottom-right corner of each signature box on the sheet. When you 
highlight a particular name in the 'Signature Selection' list box, you may easily delete that 
signature by pressing the 'Delete' button, or change it by signing again. Highlighting 'New' 
in the 'Signature Selection' list box will create a new signature. The user can also tell if 
they are creating a new signature or changing an existing signature by the message located 
just below the signature window on the signing form.

At the bottom of the signing form, the user is notified of the spreadsheet area they are signing 
to; in other words, their signature will correspond to the contents of the sheet that falls 
(horizontally and vertically) between the two indicated cells.


PRE-PLACING BLANK SIGNATURES
You may also pre-place blank signatures in a Word document or Excel spreadsheet by following these steps:

1. Place the cursor in the general location of the desired signature position

2. Press the pen icon (brings up the signing window), and press the Done button without signing...this will create a blank signature box

3. In the menu at the top, click on View, then Toolbars, and choose the Control Toolbox

4. There should be a new floating toolbar. In the upper-left corner of this toolbar, you'll find an icon with a triangle/pencil/ruler on it, calledDesign Mode. Click this icon to activate Design Mode

5. You may now use the mouse to position and size the blank signature box to your needs

When finished, be sure to click again on the Design Mode icon to turn it off, and then close the Control Toolbox toolbar by clicking on the X in the corner.

(A hint: holding down the ALT key while you size the signature box with the mouse will allow for fine-tuning the size.)

In order to sign these pre-placed signatures, press the Pen icon. On the right side of the signing window, you will find the Signature Select list. Choose the pre-placed signature box of choice (SigPlus1, SigPlus2, etc.), then sign, When you click Done, the signature will be placed into this signature box. (By default, you will see that the highlighted choice is New, which creates a new signature where the cursor has been positioned.)

Be sure that you save the signed document/spreadsheet under a different name, leaving the original template with the pre-placed blank signatures intact for the next time it is needed.

The benefit of pre-placed signature blocks are:

1. Consistent placement and size of signatures
2. Ease of use (it doesn't matter where the cursor is when you sign) 
3. The time needed to complete the signing process decreases dramatically


THE CHECK (VALIDATE) BUTTON
The check button, found next to the sign button, will check the validation of each signature in 
the document or spreadsheet. If changes have been made to the file's contents since signing took 
place, the signature(s) will be rendered invalid. If a signature is invalid, the ONLY way to 
restore it to a valid state is to return the document/spreadsheet content to the state it was 
in when it was signed.  There is no "back door" to access a signature.  Similarly, a valid 
e-signature, such as is placed into the document using this Topaz software, is not a bitmap or 
image, since an image of the signature (fundamentally not a valid e-signature) can be easily 
transferred to another document, and also easily detected as a fraud.  A Topaz e-signature is 
original, biometric data in secure encrypted form residing within the "signature control" on 
the document.  It is useful only in the context of the document it is signed to and cannot be 
transferred to any other document and be valid.


WHAT WILL CAUSE SIGNATURE VALIDATION TO OCCUR
In Word 2000 and XP, any of the following events will trigger signature validation:

1. Pressing the Check button
2. Closing a document
3. Saving a document
4. Opening a document
5. Printing a document
6. Changing from one open document to another


In Word 97, any of the following will trigger signature validation:

1. Pressing the Check button
2. Opening a document
3. Changing from one open document to another


In Excel 97, 2000, and XP, any of the following will trigger signature validation:

1. Pressing the Check button
2. Closing a workbook
3. Saving a workbook
4. Opening a workbook
5. Printing a sheet
6. Changing from one sheet to another

For technical support, contact Topaz at 805 520-8286, or e-mail support@topazsystems.com