ācta

Verify a document

ācta is in beta. This guide will change as the product changes.

Verification shows that a document is the version that someone approved in ācta. You check a PDF or a hash against the sealed records of your workspace.

Why verification works

When you approve minutes, ācta stores a SHA-256 hash of the content and a checksum of the PDF. If one character changes, the hash changes. A match therefore proves that the document is the approved version.

Note

What verification proves

A match proves that the document is identical to the version that someone approved in ācta. It does not prove that the minutes are accurate or complete. It also does not prove that the meeting took place as the minutes describe it. The people who approve the minutes are responsible for what the minutes say.

Check a PDF or a hash

  1. In the sidebar, open Tools.
  2. Select Verification.

To check a PDF, use these steps.

  1. Drop the PDF on the drop zone.

If you prefer, select browse in the drop zone and choose the PDF instead of dropping it.

To check a hash, use these steps.

  1. Paste the 64-character hash into the hash field.
  2. Select Verify.

ācta computes the hash of a PDF in your browser. The file never leaves your computer. A dropped PDF is checked as soon as ācta computes its hash.

Note

The Document tab of an approved session has a similar check. It tests a PDF against the record of that one session.

Read the result

Document verified means that the file or hash matches an approved document in your workspace. The result shows the meeting, the approval date, the version, and the match type. The match type is PDF file checksum or Content hash.

No matching document found means that the file is not a sealed ācta record in your workspace, or that the file changed. Select Download Certificate to save a verification certificate for a verified document.

Chain of custody

For a verified document, the page also shows the chain of custody. The chain lists the audit events of the document in order. Each event stores its own hash and the hash of the event before it.

A badge shows Chain Valid when the links are intact. It shows Chain Broken when ācta finds a link that does not match.

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