Annex

Supported document formats

A qualified electronic signature can generally be provided for any electronic document (file); however, not every file format is suitable. The Adobe PDF format has proven to be convenient and the preferred format for sending invoices and credits. Adobe Standard enables signatures to be embedded directly into a PDF document. Adobe Reader’s tools support verification of provided and saved signatures.

Supported signature exchange formats

Retarus eSign currently supports the following signature formats:

PDF Signature – Generation and verification of signed PDF documents (Version 1.4, see http://partners.adobe.com/asn/tech/pdf/specifications.jsp). This signature format, which in turn essentially accesses PKCS#7 oder PKCS#1, not only permits regular use of signed PDF documents in the freely available Adobe Reader without the installation of additional software, but also signature verification (it should be mentioned that an additional software plugin is required for signature-compliant software verification in accordance with the chain model, e.g., using OCSP). If adequate signature verification is necessary, e.g., due to official requirements such as GdPDU standards in Germany, a specialized plugin for Adobe Reader must be inserted or, alternatively, standalone test software for Acrobat, e.g., the MultiSign Verifyer has to be utilized.

You have the option of using the following signature exchange formats:

CMS/PKCS#7 – Generation and verification of signatures Cryptographic Message Syntax (CMS) format in accordance with RFC 3369 and PKCS#7 in accordance with RFC 2315.
XML DSIG - Generation and verification of XML signatures in accordance with RFC 3275.
EDI AUTACK - Generation and review of signed EDI-Autack messages in accordance with DIN 16560-15.

Format definitions for individual fields

Sum format

In order to be able to accurately read and interpret sums from the PDF documents, the displayed sums’ format must be communicated to the system. Please pay particular attention to the decimal- and thousands notation for each sum format. If you expect to use negative sums, please be sure to position the minus sign as displayed below:

Date format

To correctly interpret the date in the data extraction from PDF documents, the format has to be specified. A period (.), a hyphen (-) and a slash (/) are accepted. The following formats are supported:

Example

Email addresses

Email addresses must conform to the following sample format:

TEXT

“My Name” <my.mailbox@mydomain.com>

In this example, "My name", is the friendly name displayed in the majority of email clients. The system supports both single (’) and double (”) quotation marks. To ensure accurate formatting within the XML file, both the angle brackets and quotation marks have to be as follows:

TEXT

&quot;My Name &quot; &lt;my.mailbox@my.domain.com&gt;

Additional transmission protocols

There are some additional transmission protocols available for you to use when transferring a file to to Retarus or retrieval of provided archive data:

AS2
SAP RFC, SAP TRFC
X.400
HTTPS

Additional protocols are available upon request.

Signature cards

The signature cards carry the private and public keys, the certificate information, and contain the software used to calculate the signature object’s hash value. The signature cards are always issued to Retarus GmbH employees. The signature cards can always be provided with Retarus’ own cards. We also offer our customers the option of using cards with their own pseudonym, i.e., Retarus-issued signature cards that are restricted exclusively to use with the pseudonym.

Samples from various XML files

The following examples will assist you in visualizing the XML file structure.

The following XML sample contains both the text and the email signature. The corresponding data is extracted from the document and integrated as an archive badge.

XML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-15"?>
<ESignDocument
  toAddresses="&quot;Buchhaltung&quot; &lt;rechnung@kunde.de&gt;"
  charSet="iso-8859-15"
  documentId="2007-12321"
  fileName="Rechnung_12321.pdf"
  pdfBadgeConfigName="archiveBadge_DE"
  pdfPatternSetName="Invoice_DE"
  >
  
Ladies and Gentlemen,
&lt;p&gt;
This email provides you a qualified signed invoice. We have already verified
this invoice for you and the test report has been integrated into the PDF file.
Please archive this invoice in compliance accordance with all applicable legal
requirements.
&lt;p&gt;
We are always happy to answer any inquiries.
&lt;p&gt;
Best regards,
&lt;p&gt;
Invoice GmbH & Co.KG
&lt;p&gt;
</ESignDocument>

The following example displays an XML configuration with an email text stored on Retarus’ system. An archive badge is also generated here; however, the data extraction feature was disabled and several archive fields were completed manually.

XML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-15"?>
<ESignDocument
  toAddresses="&quot;Buchhaltung&quot; &lt;rechnung@kunde.de&gt;"
  charSet="iso-8859-15"
  documentId="2007-12322"
  fileName="Rechnung_12322.pdf"
  pdfBadgeConfigName="archiveBadge_DE"
  pdfPatternSetName="skip-pattern"
  mailSignatureName="MailBody_DE"
  docCustomerNo="54354"
  docInvoiceNo="2007-12322"
  docInvoiceAmountFormat="#.###.##0,00"
  docGrossValue=" 119,00"
  docNetValue=" 100,00"
  docCurrency="EUR"
  >
</ESignDocument>