Effective from version 3.1.1, you can have Grain Trader insert a digital signature image of the Trader on Contracts and Sale Contract Proformas. This facilitates the direct email and fax of these documents without needing to print them out to be signed first.

Digital signature images are stored in one or more Grain Trader databases. By storing the signature image in each database as required:

• You can easily restrict the signatures that are available to be used with different Grain Trader databases;
• Signatures are protected from unauthorised use, editing and accidental deletion;
• All users have access to all the relevant signatures, no matter where they are, without having to worry about special folders etc. and;
• Backups are simplified because you don't need to remember to include any extra files in your backups.

To use digital signatures you first need to store them in your database(s). You must first be logged in to Grain Trader as the Admin login, then select the Utility | List Management menu as shown below:

On the List Management window; select the Contract Traders managed list as shown below:

Select the name of the Trader whose signature you want to store from the list and click the Detail button, as shown below:

The Assign Signature window is displayed, as shown below. If you have not yet assigned a signature for this person the preview box will be blank. Click the Import button to assign a new signature.

The Select Image File dialog is displayed, as shown below. You can use image files in Bitmap (.bmp), JPEG (.jpg) or GIF (.gif) format. Note however that images are always stored in the database in Bitmap format so there is little benefit in saving your scanned images in other formats. If you do use one of the other formats make sure the image is not compressed, as compression will always result in lower-quality results.

Navigate to the folder where your image file is located. If the file doesn't appear in the file list check that the correct format is selected in the Files of type drop-down list. Click the Open button when you have selected the correct file.

You are returned to the Assign Signature window and the selected image is displayed in the preview box, as shown below:

Click OK on the Assign Signature window to assign the signature and return to the List Management window, and repeat the process if required to store more signatures. When you have finished, click OK on the List Management window to complete the process and store the image(s) in the database. The source image disk file may then be deleted if it is not required for other purposes - it is not needed by Grain Trader.

Once a Trader's digital signature has been stored, when you print a Contract that has been assigned to that Trader you will be prompted whether to include the digital signature, as shown below:

If you click Yes the signature will be embedded in the document, as shown below:

Once your signature images have been stored, the preview box will display it as shown below when you open the Assign Signature window as outlined above.

You can then:

• Replace the existing image by clicking Import and following the above procedures again;
• Save the image to a disk file by clicking Export (for example, you may wish to import it into another database), or;
• Delete the image by clicking Remove.

CDA offers a flat-rate service to scan and prepare your digital signature images. If you wish to use this service please download the Digital Signature Specimen and Order Form from the Downloads | CDA Grain Trader | Documents area of our website for more details.

If you wish to prepare your digital signature images yourself, you will need to follow a few guidelines to get the best results:

• Ensure your finished images are exactly 280 pixels wide by 100 pixels high. If yours are different, the final printed image may be scaled by the report printing engine with results that are often noticeably poorer.
• The optimum resolution is 96 dots per inch (dpi). Higher-resolution scans are not usually necessary.
• Use a medium-point black biro or (preferably) fine-tipped nylon pen to prepare your sample signatures. Better results are generally obtained with pen strokes that are slightly bolder than those normally achieved with a medium-point biro so press hard.
• Due to the limitations of typical scanners, your images will often have a very pale off-white background. Use an image editor to reset the background colour to pure white otherwise it may be visible in the printed document. Don't overlook the closed loops in characters such as d's, o's, p's etc.
• If possible, save your scanned files in Windows Bitmap (.bmp) format. This is a “lossless” format compared to other formats such as JPEG that reduce the quality to save a bit on file size. Images are saved in the database in a bitmap format so there is little to be gained by using a different one.

Depending on the individual signature some slight “jaggies” may be detected even after following the above guidelines. If the printed results are not acceptable you may get some improvement by consulting an external graphics specialist.