Box Sign enables you to create templates so you can automatically add the same fields and format to requests for signature. With templates, you don't need to repetitively add the same fields to each request every time you send a new document for signature. Making and testing a template takes a few minutes, but when done it makes working with Box Sign easier and faster.
Box Sign offers two ways to create a template:
- Templates within Box Sign
- Templates with tags in a base document
Template tags are a way you can add data to a base document in your chosen text editor programs such as Word, Google Docs, PowerPoint, PDF readers, etc that are automatically recognized by Box Sign. Tags can be leveraged via API, Salesforce integration, and the document preparation phase within the Box Sign web experience.
To use tags in your template:
- When you create a template, add special tags to each input field of the template to automate the formatting of that field.
- For a text fields: type "[[t|0]]"
- For a date field: type "[[d|0]]"
- For a checkbox field: type "[[c|0]]"
- For a signature field: type "[[s|0]]"
- For a stamp field type "[[st|0]]"
- For a initials field type "[[i|0]]"
- For a name field type "[[n|0]]"
- For a first name field type "[[fn|0]]"
- For a last name field type "[[ln|0]]"
- For a company field type "[[co|0]]"
- For a email field type "[[e|0]]"
- For a title field type "[[ti|0]]"
- for a attachment field type "[[a|0]]"
- To define the size of the font in a template field, click the field and in the window's menu bar select the font size.
- After you've defined and adjusted a field, select the field and then in the window's menu bar set the font color to white. This conceals the tags from view.
In all instances, "0" indicates the sender, and is always reserved for the sender. Other values refer to signers.
When the signer adds input to a field, the width of the field adjusts to its contents.
When you're done, Box automatically detects where input from the signer is needed, and you no longer need to prepare the input fields manually.
- It is not possible to set the signing order within the template tags. The signing order must be set in the document/template prepare view.
Note: the number displayed in the template tag refers to the recipient in the document, not the signing order position. - You can change the size of the text, date and signature fields by adjusting the size of the font and adding spaces.
- The font color of the tags should be made white, so they aren't visible in the contract.
- You should keep a distance between the tags, preferably by using <enter> or a proper line-height.
- For best results, you should put the tags into a table format or make the tags have a different text style than the body of the document.
- Make sure to test the template before sending it.
Examples of using tags
Example 1: Defining tags for two signers
In this example, we use two signers. If fewer signers are added to the signature request by default, these are not shown.
- To test and view all tags, add at least two email addresses.
- Open the tag with " [[ " and close the tag with " ]] ".
- To create a text field, use " t ", for a date field use " d " and for a signature field use " s ". Then, add a " | " and a number for every different user.
Defining Signer 0: this is the first person who needs to sign (including you).
Important: Signer "0" always refers to the sender. Even if the sender does not need to sign this document, you must start with "1" for your signers.
Defining Signer 1: this is the second person who needs to sign (including you).
The result in Box Sign is:
Which tag is for which signer?
The numbers in the tags make distinctions between the signers, and also assign multiple tags (input fields) to one specific signer.
The template tags are assigned in the order in which the email addresses are added to the contact field, and are not the same as the order of signing. For example “s|1” can be the first or last signer depending on what you specified in the order of signing.
More or fewer signers than tags?
Given a document with template tags for three signers, if you add only two signers the last tags (in this example t|2, d|2 and s|2) are not used. In order to send a request, you must remove any unused template tags. If you add more signers than tags, those extra signers are able to sign the document, but are not directed to the locations in the document, and have the ability to add text, dates and signatures wherever they want in the document.
Example 2: You need to sign, and have two external signers
In this case, by default you’re assigned to the t|0, d|0 and s|0 tags, as the sender is always the first added email address. The t|1, d|1 and s|1 tags are reserved for the next added email address and the t|2, d|2 and s|2 tags are reserved for the other email address.
Example 3: You don’t need to sign, and have two external signers
In this case, the t|0, d|0 and s|0 tags are associated with the sender of the document, so do not use them here. The t|1, d|1 and s|1 tags are for the next added email address, and the t|2, d|2 and s|2 tags are for the second signer.
Tip: to easily test documents with tags, you don’t need to send them. After uploading and adding the email addresses, easily view the result by clicking Prepare document.
Making a field optional or required
By default, the text fields and signature fields are required. The checkbox field can be skipped by default.
To make the text optional instead of required, add “r:0” to the tags, as follows:
Text field: [[t|1|r:0]]
To make the checkbox fields mandatory, add “r:1” to the tags, as follows:
Checkbox field: [[c|1|r:1]]
Adding a name or description to the fields
Add a name to the fields by adding “n:examplename”. The name/description replaces the word “Text” in the placeholder field. See below:
Text field: [[t|1|n:example name]] - Required field
Text field: [[t|1|r:0|n:example name]] - Optional field
Automatically pre-filling a date field
By default the date field is pre-filled automatically with the date of signing:
Date field: [[d|1| ]]
Making a field read-only
To lock the content from being modified by signers, senders can mark fields as read-only.
To make the field read-only, add “ro:1” to the tags, separated by a “|” as follows:
Text field: [[t|1|ro:1]] - where “t” indicates the text field, “1” indicates the signer, and “ro:1” indicates Read-Only enabled.
The following fields support Read-Only:
- Name Field
- Text Input
- Company
- Title
- Checkbox
- Radio Button
- Drop-down
All other fields do not support Read-Only.
Adding an ID to a field
Add an ID to the fields by adding “id:examplename”.
Text field: [[t|1|id:examplename]]
Making a text field multi-line
By default, text fields are single-line. If you'd like the text field to support multi-line capacity, add "m:1" to your text field tags. It should look like this:
[[t|1|m:1| id:contact_name]]
Testing tags
Quickly test this feature with our example documents.