Adding graphical signatures to Excel worksheet

[Cornofsky]

Is it possible to add a signature (not an electronic one, but a visible signature using a jpg or gif file) to a worksheet by way of entering a password; or similar.

Here is an example of what I am trying to do:

- a user agrees with a report and wants to sign it (in the same way they would do on a paper form).
- the worksheet can then be printed/distributed with the signature visible.

Signature should appear in the same way as their normal handwritten signature.

I know it can be done by inserting a file manually, but wish to automate this process so the correct signature appears depending on who "signs" the worksheet.

Any assistance is appreciated.

Cornofsky

 

[Damon Ostrander]

Hi Cornofsky,

Yes, this is possible. It requires a bit of VBA code, as well as a table of user names and corresponding passwords. The table could be hard-coded into the VBA code if the number of users is not too large (say, a dozen or so), and the code (and thus the table) protected from view by password-protecting the VBAProject. The current user's name can be obtained from the Excel Application.UserName property--but beware that some users don't have the discipline to enter their names when they first use Excel on a given computer, and thus their name will appear as a default organization name. You would have to ask each user to tell you what their Excel UserName is, and if they don't have one explain how to set it (Tools > Options > General > User Name field. It is important that they tell you the precise text string that they entered as their user name, complete with embedded spaces, periods, etc.

An alternative to using the Excel UserName property (which is an easily readable name like "John M. Smith") is to use the users' login names, but these may not be as clearly readable (might be something like "smithjm"), and require using a Windows API to obtain.

The table of user names and passwords should also include a filename for the corresponding gif file that will be pasted into the worksheet.

This problem is a bit big for a complete response on this board, but if you break the problem into bite-sized pieces and post each one you can probably piece together a complete solution.

I hope this helps.