Sending a document for signature

Box Sign enables you to send documents to people for electronic signatures.  With Box Sign, you select who needs to sign, select the order in which people need to sign, and include additional fields such as date of signature, explanatory text, and checkboxes.

To receive and sign documents, recipients do not need to have Box accounts — anyone with an email address can receive and sign the documents you send.

 

Supported file types

• Documents: All supported document types
• Presentations: Presentations
• Text-based: .csv, .txt

 

Basic outline of sending a signature request

You can access Box Sign from the following locations:

• Preview Mode: Open the document, click the Box Sign icon in the right-side application bar, and select one of the options from the drop-down list. Options are Request Signature and Sign Myself.
• All Files: Hover on the document, then click the ellipsis button ("...") and select Sign. Select one of the options - Request Signature or Sign Myself.
  • For multiple files - select the documents and click the ellipsis button ("...") in the top right corner of your screen. Select Sign and choose one of the options: Request Signature or Sign Myself.
• Home Window: Click the Box Sign icon in the left sidebar. The instructions in the following sections follow this route.

To send a document for signature, Box provides these basic steps:

Step 1: Upload or select from Box the document you want to send for signature. Step 2: Add each recipient who needs to receive the document or be notified of the signature request. Step 3: Modify each recipient:

• Assign each recipient a role.
• Choose whether to apply an added signer authentication control.
• Specify the order of signature for each recipient.

Step 4: Prepare the request's signature fields and email notification settings.

Step 5: Set an expiration for the request.

Step 6: Send the request for signature.

Sending a signature request

Step 1: Uploading a document for signature

To upload a document for signature:

1. In your Box account's home window, in the left sidebar click Sign. Box displays the Sign home page window.
2. In the top-right corner, click Request Signature and select who needs to sign from the drop-down. Available options are Request Signature (Several Signers including yourself) and Sign Myself (Only you). The default option is Request Signature.
3. On the New Sign Request screen, under Choose or Upload a Document, click the + button, and then select either Choose from Box or Upload File.
4. Select a file.
5. Now add and modify a recipient.

When your file is uploaded, you can specify all necessary details: add and modify the recipients, specify the signing order, add various fields, set up notifications, and so on.

Steps 2 and 3: Adding and modifying a recipient

Define who will receive the request for signature. If you wish, also change the default location where the request is saved.

From Sign home page

1. Under Request Signature, select one of the following:
   1. Sign Myself (Only you): You will be the only signer of the document. After you upload the document, Box Sign displays it for your signature.
   2. Request Signature (Several Signers including yourself): The document requires one or more other people to sign. After you upload the document, Box Sign displays a preview of the document, enabling you to select the signers, their roles, and other signing options.In the top-right corner of the window, click Continue.
2. Click Send Request when it’s ready to send it to signers you selected, or Sign & Finish if only your signature is needed.

From All Files folder

1. Hover over the first file and click the Select checkbox .
2. Click the checkbox next to every other file you want to send for signature.
3. Click the ellipsis button ("...") in the top right corner of your screen.
4. Choose Sign from the drop-down list.
5. Select one of the options - Request Signature or Sign Myself.
6. Add your recipients in the New Sign Request screen.

From Preview

Open the document, then in the right-side application bar click the Box Sign icon. Select one of the options - Request Signature or Sign Myself.

After adding recipients, you can then assign each recipient a role, and assign a specific sequence for signatures.

To select where to save the request:

1. Under Where should the request be saved? select the location where you want to save the request in Box.
2. Click Continue.

To modify a recipient:

1. In the document preview window, click a recipient's email address. In the right sidebar, Box Sign displays the Modify Recipient panel.
2. Under Role, assign a role to the recipient. Choose one of the following:
   • Signer to request a signature from the recipient.
   • Get a Copy to send the recipient a copy of the finalized request after everyone has signed.
   • Approver to request approval of the file but not a signature.
   • In-Person to require the recipient to sign on your device. This process does not include steps for recipient authentication, and the signing log indicates “not verified by Box Sign”. Immediately after document preparation is done, Box Sign prompts in-person signers to sign, regardless of the selected signing sequence.
3. Apply Added Signer Authentication. Optionally click any of the following:
   • Require 2-Factor Authentication,
   • Require password for a one-time password (OTP),
   • Require Box Login from sender*
4. Click the left arrow at the top of the page.
5. To enforce a signing order, under Recipients, click the Specify Signing Order slider button.
   • In the right-hand sidebar beside each recipient's email address, Box Sign displays a number indicating the order in which the recipient receives the document for signature. To alter this order, click the number and change it.
6. Select Send Request once you have fully prepared your file for signing.
   • If you need to remove a recipient, select the recipient’s email and click Remove Recipient.

*Visit Box Sign features in Box Individual and Business plans regarding which plan has this feature.

Step 4: Preparing the request

To prepare the signature request, you can add signature fields, text fields, dates, checkboxes, groups of radio buttons, and dropdown menus to the request, as well as provide instructions and select to send automated reminders.

A group of radio buttons enables the recipient to select one button from the group, and each group must contain at least two radio buttons. Dropdown menus enable recipients to select one option from a list of at least two options.

To add action fields to a request:

1. In the right sidebar, under Signatures & Fields, click a field you want to include in the signature request. You can include a field for any of the following:
   
   • Signature
   • Date Signed
   • Text Input (in which the recipient can type information.)
   • Checkbox
   • Name
   • Email
   • Company
   • Title
   • Initials
   • Stamp
   • Attachments

   • Groups of radio buttons

   • Dropdown menus

2. Hold down the mouse button and drag the field onto the document.
3. Hover over the area where you want to add the field, and release the mouse button.
4. Click the newly added field. Box Sign displays a configuration window. Click the options you want to apply to the field.
   • To define a date, checkbox, text field, radio button, or dropdown menu as required information to be provided by the recipient, click the field then click Required Field. By default, Box defines signature fields as required.
   • To set the current date into a date field, click the date field, then click Advanced Options > Prefill Date.
   • To make a text field span multiple lines, click the text field, then click Advanced Options > Multiline.
   • To add an external ID, click the field, then click Advanced Options > External Identifier. Use the external ID to pre-fill data from another application. Also use an external ID to export into an Excel file the data that users filled-in during signing. Add an ID to the fields by adding “id:examplename”.  For example, to add an ID to a text field, use [[t|1|id:examplename]].
5. Adjust the position of the field by clicking in the middle of the field and dragging it. Adjust the size of the field by clicking the bottom-right corner of the field and dragging.

Box automatically adds the associated signers' email addresses to the email field of the document. Signers cannot edit the value of the email field.

To change font size and font style:

• Senders can change the font size and font style across all text based fields on the document using the Input Formatting section in the sidebar.

• Senders can also make font size and font style changes for individual text based fields in the edit popover. Changes here only apply for that specific field.

To configure the email notification:

1. In the right sidebar, under Email Notifications:
   • In Subject, type a description of the request.
   • In Message, type instructions or other information for the recipient.
   • To send automatic reminders, click Send automatic reminders. Box Sign will send reminders 3, 6, 11, and 16 days after sending the signature request.
2. Now set an optional expiration.

Step 5: Setting an expiration

When you prepare a request, you're also enabled to set an optional expiration for the request. If you set an expiration, the request expires at midnight, GMT, after the time range you select.

To set an expiration:

1. In the right sidebar, click Options.
2. Under Expire after, click the drop-down field and select a range of time.
3. Now you're ready to proceed.

Step 6: Sending a request for signature

To send a request for signature:

• In the top-right corner of the document preview window, click Send Request.

Box Sign immediately sends the document and signature request.

When someone signs a document you've sent, Box sends you an email.

Sending manual reminders

After you send a signature request, Box Sign also enables you to send manual reminders. When you send a manual email reminder, Box Sign immediately again sends the original emailed signature request to all required signers who have not yet signed the document.

To send a manual reminder:

1. In your Sign window, click the title of an unsigned document.
2. Click the ellipsis button ("...").
3. Click Send Reminder.

Attaching files to a signature request

To add the attachment field to a signature request:

1. When sending a signature request, in the document prep screen:
2. Click and drag the attachment field over to where you want it in the document.
3. Fill out the file name “label” and description text boxes and then assign the attachment field to your selected recipient.
4. Select if you want the field to be required or not.

For API use, you can add the External Identifier from the Advanced section of the field menu.

On the signer side, the recipients upload their files by either dragging and dropping or selecting from their file browser.

To review files the recipients uploaded, go to the sign request in Box Sign and click View Details. From here, you can view and download the documents uploaded.