Notes:
- Shared signature requests available for Business, Business Plus, Enterprise, Enterprise Plus, and Enterprise Advanced accounts.
- This feature is enabled ‘on’ by default, however Admins can toggle additional enablement settings at the enterprise level.
The Shared Signature Request feature in Box Sign enables managed users to share their sent signature requests with anyone within the same enterprise providing team members with the flexibility to track the progress of signature requests sent in Box Sign by other managed users. This also allows teams to move requests forward when original senders are out of the office or otherwise unable to revise, cancel, or delete signature requests.
Shared Signature Requests allows users to access signature requests sent by other users, enabling them to collect mission-critical signed content whenever they need it, as well as modify the following properties of sent signature requests if needed:
- Modify email addresses of recipients
- Modify recipient authentication method
- Remove recipients
- Modify fields and field properties
Users can also perform the following actions with signature requests that have been shared with them:
- Cancel the request
- Delete the request
- Send reminders
- Save the request as a reusable template
- Download the files within the request
Users can access signature requests that have been shared with them through a separate tab that appears on their Box Sign home page labeled Shared with Me, allowing them to easily view or co-manage signature requests. This tab will contain all sent signature requests that have been saved to folders, or contain files, that you have viewer or editor permissions to - see ‘Collaboration permission levels and available actions’ section later in this article.
The ability to share signature requests in Box Sign helps address the following needs:
- Teams that work in different time zones can easily pick up from where their teammates left off when they start their work day.
- Multiple teams can easily collaborate on projects that need input from multiple people with the ability for team members to view and revise active signature requests.
- Users can take responsibility for signature requests when the original sender takes time off or leaves the company resulting in unmanaged signature requests that still need to be tracked and completed.
Sharing sent requests
Similar to how reusable templates are shared within Box Sign, the file/folder access permissions define actions available to the user and can only be configured at the file(s) or folder level within Box. Permissions can be configured natively within Box before or after a signature request is initiated, as well as after the signature request is completed, in order for the request to be shared with other users.
To add collaborators to a signature request, users will need to be invited as collaborators natively in Box on either:
- The save location folder of the signature request
- The duplicate file(s) that is created from the source file(s) used when a signature request is initiated
If a user is added as a 'Viewer' within the save location folder of a signature request, they can:
- Send reminders
- Save a signature request as a reusable template
- Download the files within a signature request
If the user is added as an 'Editor' on the save location folder within a signature request, they can perform all the actions of a 'Viewer' as well as the following actions:
- Revise
- Cancel
- Delete a signature request
Read more in the Collaboration permission levels and available actions section in this article and go to Understanding Collaborator Permission Levels to learn more about overall Permission levels at Box.
Collaboration permission levels and available actions
Depending on the permission given at a file or folder levels within Box, users will have the following “viewer” or “editor” actions available to them:
Not a collaborator | Collaborator Viewer | Collaborator Editor |
These users do not have the permission to collaborate on the sent request. They won’t see the requests on the ‘Shared with Me’ tab. |
These users won’t be able to directly participate in the sent request. They can view the request and have a set of limited actions available: Request In Progress
Request Completed
|
These users can actively participate in the sent request. They can make changes to the request and have a broader set of actions available. Request In Progress
Request Completed
|
Some Box Sign configuration settings can override collaborator permissions on shared signature request files:
- Managed user - A user can only be a collaborator on a signature request if they are a managed user within that enterprise.
- Box groups - An entire Box group can be a collaborator on a signature request if they have access to the signature request files. Each member of the group will have collaborator privileges.
- Enablement of Box Sign - If a user has access to all the files in a signature request, but they are not enabled to use Box Sign, they will not be a collaborator on the request until they are enabled to use Box Sign within the Admin console.
- 21 CFR Part 11 - Users who are not enabled with the 21 CFR Part 11 workflow setting will not be able to view or manage signature requests sent using the 21 CFR Part 11 workflow regardless of whether they have collaborator access to the files used within a 21 CFR Part 11 signature request. Only users who have been enabled with the 21 CFR Part 11 workflow enablement setting can view and manage signature requests that have been sent using the 21 CFR Part 11 workflow setting.
Learn more in the Revising a sent request and Sender notifications sections within this article.
Shared with Me list
In the Shared with Me tab, users will find all signature requests shared with them by their colleagues. Depending on the permission setting they have at a folder and/or file level, they will be able to collaborate and perform different actions on the signature request.
See the roles and permissions above.
Within the Shared with Me tab, users can utilize any of the aforementioned available actions within a request depending on the file and folder permissions. To access a list of available actions, select the Shared with Me tab and click More options or View Details.
Revising sent request
When revising a sent request, the user cannot add, delete, replace, rename, or reorder files within a signature request that is “In Progress”. Additionally, users will not be able to save the request in a different folder location when revising a signature request.
When a user revises a signature request, they become a co-manager. The co-manager will be listed in the Signing Log. If the co-manager is interested in receiving a copy of the signature request file(s) and signing log, they should revise the signature request, add themselves as a recipient and modify the recipient role to ‘Get a Copy’.
Sender notifications
The sender of a shared signature request will get an email notification when the following actions are taken:
- A user revises the signature request
- A user cancels the signature request
- A user deletes the signature request
Revoking access
If a user’s access to a shared signature request is revoked, they will no longer see it listed in their Shared with Me tab, and they will not be able to perform any actions related to the signature request from Sign home page.
Filter ‘Shared with Me’ list
In the Shared with Me tab the user can filter by:
- ‘From’ (Senders)
- ‘To’ (Recipients)
- ‘Method’
- ‘Status’
- ‘Compliance’
To learn more about Box Sign signature request filters, visit View sign request.
Known Limitations
- If the file(s) within a shared signature request is locked, any user who attempts to revise the signature request containing the locked file(s) will not be able to edit, cancel, delete, or download the signature request. Additionally, if the ability to download the file(s) is disabled, the request will not be listed in the ‘Shared with Me’ tab.
- If the ‘Download and Print Restriction’ Box Shield restriction is applied to the save location folder of the signature request, the signature request will not be listed in the Shared with Me tab for other users (except for Owners, Co-owners, and/or Editor roles depending on the restriction level for managed users).
Admin Enablement
As an admin, you can enable shared signature requests for your organization by going to your Admin Console and then Enterprise Settings -> Box Sign.
In the Box Sign tab, select Edit Configuration under the “Shared Signature Requests enabled for all managed users” option.
From here, you can select from four options for your users and groups:
- Disable for all managed users
- Enable for all managed users (selected by default)
- Enable for select users and groups
- Enable for everyone except select users and groups
If you enable for select users and groups, add the names of the users and groups to use shared signature requests for them. Once you have selected your users and group preferences, click Save.