How To Sign In Word Mac

How To Make Sign In Word Mac
How To Sign In Word Mac
How To Sign In Word Macbook

Open any Office app, like Microsoft Word and in the What's New box that opens, select Get Started. On the Sign in to activate Office screen, select Sign in. Note: If you weren't prompted to sign in, open a blank file and go to File New from template Sign in. Enter the email address associated with Office for Mac and click Next. Though Microsoft Word isn’t native to the Mac, it’s commonly used to sign Word documents. Unfortunately, Word offers many digital signature features to Windows users, these tools unavailable for Mac users with Office 365.

Apple Macs are one of many popular digital devices used during the electronic signature process.

Because most Macs run macOS (formerly OSX), the signing process is generally similar whether you’re adding signatures to PDF forms or inserting signatures through Apple Pages or Microsoft Word.

However, while it’s possible to add signatures with Apple apps and tools, there are potential legal ramifications when you sign documents in this way.

Let’s take a quick look at how e-signatures work, whether creating an electronic signature on your Macbook is the best idea, and what other alternatives are available to you.

What is an electronic signature?

Briefly, some electronic signatures are more than just a digital version of your handwritten signature.

At a fundamental level, most legal definitions define an electronic signature as a “sound, symbol, or process” that is logically associated with a contract and the person who intends to sign it.

From a legal perspective, this is key because of how signatures are determined to be valid around the world.

Online signatures

When you create an electronic signature on your Mac, this is exactly what you’re creating. Simply put, this is an electronic version of your handwritten signature.

It can be created using a mouse, trackpad, or stylus and can be inserted into a document using the native tools on your Mac.

In many situations, this kind of signature will serve its intended purpose and will accurately represent that you have signed a document.

However, in most cases, this type of signature does not carry the same legal weight as your handwritten signature when signed to a printed document. While they may look the same, a physical version of your handwritten signature is considered more authentic and realistic.

When signing documents for legal or business purposes, we recommend using more secure formats for additional protection.

Digital signatures

Digital signatures use additional technology to ensure that the document is authentic and the parties signing it can be identified. These signatures are considered equivalent to or better than traditional, handwritten signatures.

For businesses and legal documents, this additional layer of security provides defense against repudiation, the ability to deny the validity of a document or contract.

Most digital signatures rely on an audit trail to ensure that the person who signs the document is the intended signer. E-signature companies like PandaDoc try to ensure this by sending emails or generating secure links intended for specific signers.

If you’re using the Preview app or another native software tool to sign PDF documents, those signed documents may lack the required audit trails to maintain legal standing.

Digital signatures are a good fit for documents such as business agreements or contracts that may be challenged in a legal setting.

What software tools can I use to create an electronic signature on a Mac?

In macOS Big Sur and previous versions of OSX, it’s possible to create signatures on your Mac using a wide variety of apps.

Let’s take a look at a few key software tools that you can access when it’s time to sign your documents.

Preview

Apple’s support documentation changes depending on your version of macOS. Below, you’ll find the rough steps you need to fill out and sign PDF forms using Preview, but be sure to check the support documentation for additional updates.

Open Preview on your Mac and select the document or PDF file that you want to sign.
Click on the Show Markup Toolbar button to reveal the Markup Toolbar. Then, click the Sign button.
Follow the on-screen instructions to create your signature using the trackpad, your iPhone or iPad, or by holding up a signed piece of white paper to your camera.
Once the signature is captured, select it from the Sign drop-down menu and add it to the document. From there, you can resize your signature by dragging on the adjustment handles.

Quick note: If you have iCloud Drive enabled, your electronic signature will be available on your other Mac computers!

Apple Pages

Natively, Apple’s Pages doesn’t support any kind of electronic signature functionality, but it’s still possible to insert your signature as an image via Pages.

Open Preview using any document with white space in the margins. The document itself isn’t important; you just need a white background.
Insert your existing signature into the document (or create a new signature by following the steps in the previous section) and drag that signature into the margins.
Take a screenshot of your signature by pressing [CMD + Shift + 4]. This is the keyboard shortcut that allows you to capture a portion of your screen. Drag the crosshairs around your signature to capture the image.
Delete the image from your Preview document and close the app.
Open Pages and drag the image of your signature into the document. Resize to fit.

Microsoft Word

Though Microsoft Word isn’t native to the Mac, it’s commonly used to sign Word documents. Unfortunately, Word offers many digital signature features to Windows users, these tools unavailable for Mac users with Office 365.

Using Word on a Mac, you’ll be able to insert your signature as an image, but you won’t be able to generate secure electronic signatures or digital certificates in the same way you would if you were using a PC.

Open Preview using any document with white space in the margins. The document itself isn’t important; you just need a white background.
Insert your existing signature into the document (or create a new signature by following the steps in the “Preview” section of this document) and drag that signature into the margins.
Take a screenshot of your signature by pressing [CMD + Shift + 4]. This is the keyboard shortcut that allows you to capture a portion of your screen. Drag the crosshairs around your signature to capture the image.
Delete the image from your Preview document and close the app.
In Microsoft Word, open the document that requires your electronic signature.
In the taskbar, select Images > Picture > Picture from File. In the selection window, select your signature and load it into your Word document.
Using the image box, adjust the size of your signature, and drag it to the appropriate location.

CreateMySignature

If you’re looking for a tool that you can use regardless of which Mac you own, CreateMySignature is a free online tool that can help.

With CreateMySignature, you don’t need a piece of paper or a download from the App Store.

Head to CreateMySignature.com
Select “Draw signature” if you need a downloadable image for use in Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or other software tools.
Draw your signature using your mouse or trackpad. For even greater control, you could use your finger or stylus by accessing the website via mobile device (iOS, iPadOS, or Android) and taking advantage of the device touchscreen.
Click on “Save.”
Click “Download” to download your new signature.

If you need to sign a PDF, select “Sign PDF document” and follow the workflow instructions to upload and sign your document. (This process is similar to the “Draw signature” workflow above.) From there, you can download your newly signed document!

Create secure electronic signatures on your Mac using PandaDoc

Every tool that we’ve discussed so far can help you insert signatures into your documents.

But, whether you use Preview or CreateMySignature to upload your sign off on a document, documents signed in this way may lack the security and authentication necessary to stand up to legal scrutiny.

If you need to ensure authenticity when signing documents, take the extra step, and use a dedicated platform like PandaDoc to create electronic signatures on your Mac.

Our free plan will allow you to upload PDFs and sign contracts while providing the necessary documentation to prove that your documents are legal and valid.

Get the best writing tool

Write undistracted and edit texts on the fly with Ulysses.

Since the 1980s, Microsoft Word has been dominating all the writing software worldwide. If you get a résumé, document, report, or memo today, chances are it would be in either .doc or .docx format. It’s the de facto internationally accepted way of corporate communication.

Not surprisingly, Microsoft Word is not free. As part of the Office 365 suite, Microsoft Word would cost households $6.99 a month ($9.99 for a whole family) or $12.50 a month per business user. You can also just buy a standalone version of Microsoft Word outright for $139.99. But if you just need to edit an occasional document or use the basic formatting features, you’d rather not spend anything.

Is there a free version of Microsoft Word for Mac? Is there a free version of Office for Mac? Let’s answer these and more questions relating to how you can get Microsoft Word for Mac free and also suggest some better alternatives altogether.

Can I Download Microsoft Word For Free On Mac?

When someone sends you a .docx file and you don’t have Microsoft Word for Mac installed, what do you do? You can, of course, open the file with Quick Look or Preview, but the styling might be off and you wouldn’t be able to edit it.

If you decide to look up something like “Microsoft Word free download” online, you’ll stumble upon dozens of YouTube tutorials and written guides on how you can get free Microsoft Word by downloading a trial version and using a code-cracking app on it to get the license key for it. Not only this is illegal, you also risk downloading all kinds of malware to your Mac.

Luckily, there are a few other ways you can get Microsoft Word free.

Use MS Word online

Is Microsoft Word for Mac free? No. Is Microsoft Word online, free? Yes! It’s not well-known, but you can use Word on the web at no cost. All you need is a free Microsoft account. The catch is that the MS Word online version is not as advanced as its desktop counterpart, but it’s still good enough for all the basic work with documents and for writing something on your own.

Here’s how to get Microsoft Word online for free:

Visit the MS Word online page
Click “Sign up for free”
Create your account
Choose to start a new document or drag and drop an existing one right onto the web app

Get a free Microsoft Office 365 trial

In case you have a complex project coming up that requires more of the features not available in MS Word online, you can access everything that the regular Microsoft Word has to offer by subscribing for a free Microsoft Word trial via Microsoft Office 365. You get one month to finish your project and you can use all the apps in MS Office 365, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, etc.

Here’s how to sign up for the Microsoft Word free trial:

Visit the Microsoft 365 page
Click “Try 1 month free”
Sign in with your free Microsoft account or register a new one
Get your Microsoft Word free download

Try free alternatives to Microsoft Word

If you need to use Microsoft Word for an extended period of time, and a one-month trial won’t cut it, you can try to actually substitute for another similar free app that’s fully compatible with Microsoft Word.

Google Docs, as part of G Suite, has improved greatly over the years and now supports custom styles, tables, in-line images, and more. Although it’s an online app, it feels native and can both edit and export .docx while keeping all the formatting intact.

LibreOffice (also known as OpenOffice) is another suite of text-editing apps available for free to anyone. Its Microsoft Word alternative is called LibreOffice Writer, which has many desktop publishing compatibilities of its paid competitor and is also completely compatible with it.

Use Microsoft Word with iPad

A surprisingly lesser known trick to get a full working version of Microsoft Word free is to load it on your iPad. Yes, the iPad version of Microsoft Word doesn’t cost anything and, with the release of iPads that feature Bluetooth keyboard support, it’s just as capable as its macOS counterpart.

Embrace third-party Mac apps

While Microsoft Word dominance is still apparent, it’s hardly the best app for all the word-processing jobs we need to do today. With the release of Mac App Store, we’ve seen a great proliferation of niche text editors, journals, desktop publishers, and more — every one of which is best at solving a specific problem.

Let’s look at a few of the best apps for working with words out there today.

Collabio Spaces is a text editor with unique ad-hoc collaboration features. This app goes beyond creating and formatting text (although you can do it too, obviously). Collabio turns your device into a server and transmits your document to other people. All you have to do is share a password with them and start co-editing in real time, without uploading your document to a cloud.

Ulysses is one of the most popular writing apps of recent years. From small notes to manuscripts, its distraction-free environment just lets you get things done. The app has a built-in support for Markdown as well as grammar and style checkers. When you’re done, simply export your results as a PDF or publish to WordPress or Medium directly.

Focused is another app for writing purists that does everything to get you concentrated on the words that flow from your keyboard. The app supports beautiful typography, various themes suitable for different times of day as well as ambient soundtracks to make it so you fully immerse in your environment.

MarsEdit allows you to transport your complete blogging setup offline. You can edit HTML, rich text, or plain text to write and design blog posts with images, infographics, and videos with zero internet connection. Then upload your new blog post on schedule to the blog when you’re back online. As MarsEdit saves everything as you go on your Mac, you’ll never lose any data because of WiFi troubles.

Manuscripts empowers you to take on even the most complex writing projects possible: research papers, textbooks, novels, screenplays, etc. The app supports a variety of formats, multi-level outlines, templates, tables, graphs, LaTex, document versioning, and citation editing. Instead of trying to adjust Microsoft Word to your needs, let Manuscripts adjust to you.

Diarly enables you to think freely. The app encourages your daily journaling practice and makes the writing habit easy and beautiful. You can organize your notes, add lists, calendar events, sync across devices, and more. Diarly also takes your security seriously, encrypting all the entries on the fly.

So is Microsoft Word for Mac free? Not exactly. But you can get a lot of the same features from MS Word online, sign up for the Microsoft Word free trial, take a look at Google Docs or LibreOffice Writer, and use Microsoft Word free on iPad. Even better, give a wealth of more specialized apps a try. Sketch notes in Ulysses, concentrate on your writing in Focused, finish your blog post in MarsEdit, create your life’s work in Manuscripts, and keep a journal with Diarly.

Best of all, Collabio Spaces, Ulysses, Focused, MarsEdit, Manuscripts, and Diarly are available to you absolutely free with a seven-day trial of Setapp, a platform with 200+ outstanding apps for your Mac. Try every single one today and discover the latest and greatest feats of Mac engineering at no cost.

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