Request a digital certificate

Digitally signing a form template authenticates you as the designer of the form template in the same way that a digital signature on a form authenticates the user who filled out the form. Adding a digital signature to a form template also enables the form template to operate at the Full Trust level. For example, a form template that contains managed code that uses the Full Trust level of security must either be installed on a user's computer or digitally signed by the form template designer so that it can be used.

Note: When Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 users send a copy of an InfoPath form as an e-mail message to other Office Outlook 2007 users, and that form is set to run at the Full Trust security level, the associated form template must be signed with a digital signature in order to work properly.

To add a digital signature to a form or a form template, a digital certificate is required. You can obtain a digital certificate through a commercial certification authority or from your internal security administrator. The decision to purchase a digital certificate depends on how widely your organization plans to deploy form templates.

If there is a default certificate authority on your company or organizational intranet, you can request a digital certificate from a certificate authority by using the Certificates snap-in. You can also request a certificate from a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Certificate Authority, if one is available.

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Request a digital certificate from the Certificates snap-in

Request a digital certificate from a Windows Server 2003 Certificate Authority

Request a digital certificate from the Certificates snap-in

If you are running Microsoft Windows XP or Windows Vista, you can request a digital certificate by doing the following:

In Windows Vista

Note: You must be an administrator on the computer to complete this procedure.

1. Click the Start button, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then point to Run as administrator.

2. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, do one of the following:

   • If you are logged on as an administrator, confirm that the action displayed is what you want, and then click Continue.

   • If you are logged on as a user without administrator privileges, but you have the credentials to log on as an administrator, type the administrator credentials, and then click OK.

     The command prompt window opens.

3. Type mmc.exe, and then click Enter. A MMC snap-in Console window opens.

4. On the File menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in.

5. Under Available snap-ins in the Add or Remove Snap-ins dialog box, click Certificates, and then click Add.

6. In the Certificates snap-in dialog box, click My user account, and then click Finish.

7. In the Add Standalone Snap-ins dialog box, click OK.

8. In the list of folders in the MMC console tree, click Certificates - Current User.

9. In the details pane, under Logical Store Name, double-click Personal.

10. In the details pane, under Object Type, right-click Certificates, point to All Tasks, and then click Request New Certificate on the shortcut menu.

11. Follow the steps in the Certificate Request Wizard.

In Windows XP

1. On the Start menu, click Run.

2. In the Open box, in the Run dialog box, type mmc, and then click OK. A MMC snap-in Console window opens.

3. On the File menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in.

4. Under Available snap-ins in the Add or Remove Snap-ins dialog box, click Certificates, and then click Add.

5. In the Certificates snap-in dialog box, click My user account, and then click Finish.

6. In the Add Standalone Snap-ins dialog box, click OK.

7. In the list of folders in the MMC console tree, click Certificates - Current User.

8. In the details pane, under Logical Store Name, double-click Personal.

9. In the details pane, under Object Type, right-click Certificates, point to All Tasks, and then click Request New Certificate on the shortcut menu.

10. Follow the steps in the Certificate Request Wizard.

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Request a digital certificate from a Windows Server 2003 Certificate Authority

1. Open the Microsoft Certificate Services Web page (request this information from your system administrator).

2. Click the Request a certificate link, and then click the advanced certificate request link.

3. Click the Create and submit a request to this CA link.

4. On the Advanced Certificate Request page, enter the requested information, making sure to select Signature or Both for the Key Usage option under Key Options.

5. Click Submit, and then click Install this certificate. If the certificate for the issuing certificate authority is not already in your Trusted Root Certification Authorities folder, click Yes when you are prompted to add the certificate authority to this folder.

Note: You can also obtain a digital certificate from a commercial certificate authority such as VeriSign, Inc., or from your system administrator.

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