QEST Platform 5.5 Documentation
Applies to Construction Hive

This article explains the necessary initial configuration that is must be undertaken by digital seal users prior to making use of the digital sealing functionality in Construction Hive.

Contents

Disclaimer

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Overview

Spectra QEST has partnered with Notarius (notarius.com) to deliver industry leading digital signing and sealing capabilities in Construction Hive. This page focuses on the initial setup that must be undertaken by digital seal users. For an overview and checklist of all necessary steps and prerequisites for using the digital sealing functionality please see this page.

There are two main steps related to user configuration that digital seal users must undertake in order to make use of the functionality, described in detail in the following sections. The steps are:

Obtaining an individual signing certificate from Notarius
Configuring digital seal appearance in Construction Hive

Prerequisites

The following steps from the Digital Sealing Company Checklist and Setup page must be completed prior to undertaking the steps described in the sections below:

Commercial agreement with Spectra QEST to use digital sealing must be in place
Commercial agreement with Notarius for CertifiO for employees must be in place
End user workstation must have CertifiO Manager and the Entrust ESP client installed
End user workstation is able to communicate with Notarius servers
User has been granted Digital Seal User role in Construction Hive

The QEST Platform administrator will be able to advise if the above prerequisites are in place.

Obtaining an Individual Signing Certificate

Each user that will be utilizing digital sealing will require an individual certificate in order to perform the requisite signing actions. Obtaining an individual certificate includes verification of the user's identity and employment with the relevant organization. The steps below describe how to obtain a signing certificate:

Go to https://notarius.com/usa and click Subscribe
Enter name and work email.
Entering the work email should allow the form to recognize the user's employer and allow the company to be selected from the Organization drop down
Complete the rest of the form and click Next
After the initial form is completed, a "face-to-face" identity verification will need to be scheduled and held, see the section below for details on the identity verification session and how to prepare for it.
After the identity verification has taken place, the company contact will be contacted to verify the end user's employment with the organization
Once approval has been received, the user will receive an email with a link to complete the creation of their signing certificate
Click the link and follow the instructions to generate a certificate

Preparing for Face to Face Identity Verification

The face to face identity verification session is performed via video conference by a Notarius appointed Identity Verification Agent (IVA). For information on the face to face identity verification and how to prepare for this process please see https://notarius.com/en/help/kb/iv-preparation-usa/.

Configure Digital Seal Properties

After a user is granted the Digital Seal User right in Construction Hive, it will be possible to configure the following properties of the digital seal's appearance:

Seal Size
Seal Image
Additional Text

These settings are accessed through the user's Settings page on Construction Hive.

This page will contain a new Digital Seal Settings section that allows the setting of these properties.

No Digital Seal Settings

If this section is not present on the user's Settings page it is likely that the user has not been granted the Digital Seal User role. This should be confirmed with the Construction Hive administrator.

Element	Description
Preset	A drop-down containing the majority of the United States. Initially set to None as a default. Selecting a preset in this drop down will pre-populate and set to read-only all the other elements except the seal image. These presets have been configured to meet the requirements of the various states in relation to seal size and additional information required. Please get in touch with the Spectra QEST service desk if a problem is discovered with a preset.
Seal Diameter	This will come from a limited set of sizes per the list below. It will determine the size of the seal when the seal is placed on the PDF document. 1 1/2 by default. Sizes available (inches): 1 1 1/4 1 3/8 1 1/2 1 4/7 1 5/8 1 2/3 1 3/4 1 7/8 2
Additional Text Required Checkbox	If checked, the user will be able to enter additional text that will appear next to the engineering seal. Un-checked by default.
Additional Text	Enabled only if the Additional Text Required Checkbox is checked. Any text entered here will appear to the right of the seal when a document is digitally sealed.
Seal Image	Allows the upload of an image to be used for the user's seal. Clicking on the Select seal image file... link will open a file browse dialog that will allow the user to select the image to use. Alternatively, drag and drop may be used to upload the file by dragging the file to the rectangular area around the link. Seal Image Best Practices For best results please see the following section for image best practices.
Clear Image	Clicking this button will remove any uploaded seal image.

Seal Image Best Practices

Supported File Types

Construction Hive will accept digital seals in PNG or JPG format. PNG is strongly recommended due to its support of transparency.

Transparency

It is strongly recommended that the digital seal image used has a transparent rather than white background so that any elements behind the seal will be able to be seen.

Size and Dots per Inch (DPI)

For better print quality, images at a minimum of 300 dpi are recommended. For a 2" seal this means a seal image with minimum dimensions of 600 x 600 pixels.

Cropping

When sealing a document in Construction Hive, the seal image will be sized to exactly the selected seal size. This means that any uploaded seal image should be tightly cropped, with no white space around the border of the seal in the uploaded image. Uploading an image with white space at the borders of the seal may mean that the resulting seals on documents do not match the relevant size requirements. An example of part of a tightly cropped seal image is shown below. Note that there is no gap between the edge of the seal image and the edge of the image itself.

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