DocumentationExperience Cloud KCS

AEM Forms: Resolve slow PDF opening by updating signature-dsc component

Last update: October 30, 2026

This article explains how to resolve slow PDF opening in Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms after a deployment or service pack upgrade by updating the signature-dsc component.

Description description

Environment

  • Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms
  • JBoss application server

Issue/Symptoms

After deploying a new build or upgrading to a recent service pack in AEM Forms, PDF documents open slowly.

  • PDF opening performance is noticeably degraded.
  • Typically, no specific error messages appear in the logs.

Cause

The signature-dsc component is outdated or wasn’t updated correctly during deployment.

Resolution resolution

Follow the steps below to resolve the issue:

  1. Ensure you have a current backup of your environment, including a VM snapshot and a database backup, before making any changes.

  2. Update the CRX (lc) password to a secure value if required by your organization’s security policy.

  3. Run the necessary Configuration Manager CLI commands for your environment using your deployment-specific property files:

    • configureLiveCycle
    • configureCRXRepository
    • initializeLiveCycle
    • validateLiveCycleServer
    • prepareForComponentDeployment

Refer to your deployment documentation for the exact command syntax and property file locations.
4. Obtain the fixed version of the signature-dsc component from Adobe Support or your internal repository, as applicable.
5. Replace the existing signature-dsc file with the fixed version in the appropriate deployment location.
6. Deploy the LiveCycle components using the Configuration Manager CLI and validate the deployment.
7. Restart the JBoss application server.
8. In the AEM Forms Admin UI, navigate to Services > Application and Service > Service Management and verify that the signature-dsc component shows the updated version.
9. Complete any additional deployment steps required for your environment, such as installing fragment JARs, service packs, or Forms add-ons.
10. Test PDF opening performance to confirm that documents now open as expected.

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