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Create Service Accounts to send agreements under a functional entity

 

Adobe Acrobat Sign Guide

What's New

  1. Pre-Release Notes
  2. Release Notes
  3. Important Notifications

Get Started

  1. Quick start guide for administrators
  2. Quick start guide for users
  3. For Developers
  4. Video tutorial library
  5. FAQ

Administer

  1. Admin Console Overview
  2. User Management
    1. Adding users
      1. Add a User
      2. Add Users in Bulk
      3. Add Users from your Directory
      4. Add Users from MS Azure Active Directory
    2. Create function-focused users
      1. Technical accounts - API driven
      2. Service accounts - Manually driven
    3. Check for users with provisioning errors
    4. Change Name/Email Address
    5. Edit a user's group membership
    6. Edit a user's group membership through the group interface
    7. Promote a user to an admin role
    8. User Identity Types and SSO
    9. Switch User Identity
    10. Authenticate Users with MS Azure
    11. Authenticate Users with Google Federation
    12. Product Profiles
    13. Login Experience 
  3. Account/Group Settings
    1. Settings Overview
    2. Global Settings
      1. Account tier and ID
      2. New Recipient Experience
      3. Self Signing Workflows
      4. Send in Bulk
      5. Web Forms
      6. Custom Send Workflows
      7. Power Automate Workflows
      8. Library Documents
      9. Collect form data with agreements
      10. Limited Document Visibility
      11. Attach a PDF copy of the signed agreement 
      12. Include a link in the email
      13. Include an image in the email
      14. Files attached to email will be named as
      15. Attach audit reports to documents
      16. Merge multiple documents into one
      17. Download individual documents
      18. Upload a signed document
      19. Delegation for users in my account
      20. Allow external recipients to delegate
      21. Authority to sign
      22. Authority to send
      23. Power to add Electronic Seals
      24. Set a default time zone
      25. Set a default date format
      26. Users in Multiple Groups (UMG)
        1. Upgrade to use UMG
      27. Group Administrator Permissions
      28. Replace recipient
      29. Audit Report
        1. Overview
        2. Allow unauthenticated access on the transaction verification page
        3. Include reminders
        4. Include view events
        5. Include agreement page/attachment count
      30. In Product Messaging and Guidance
      31. Accessible PDFs
      32. New authoring experience
      33. Healthcare customer
    3. Account Setup
      1. Add logo
      2. Customize company Hostname/URL    
      3. Add company name
      4. Post agreement URL redirect
    4. Signature Preferences
      1. Well formatted signatures
      2. Allow recipients to sign by
      3. Signers can change their name
      4. Allow recipients to use their saved signature
      5. Custom Terms of Use and Consumer Disclosure
      6. Navigate recipients through form fields
      7. Decline to sign
      8. Allow Stamps workflows
      9. Require signers to provide their Title or Company
      10. Allow signers to print and place a written signature
      11. Show messages when e-signing
      12. Require signers to use a mobile device to create their signature
      13. Request IP address from signers
      14. Exclude company name and title from participation stamps
    5. Digital Signatures
      1. Overview
      2. Download and sign with Acrobat
      3. Sign with Cloud Signatures
      4. Include metadata for Identity Providers
      5. Restricted Cloud Signatures Providers
    6. Electronic Seals
    7. Digital Identity
      1. Digital Identity Gateway
      2. Identity Check policy
    8. Report Settings
      1. New report experience
      2. Classic report settings
    9. Security Settings
      1. Single Sign-on settings
      2. Remember-me settings
      3. Login password policy
      4. Login password strength
      5. Web session duration
      6. PDF encryption type
      7. API
      8. User and group info access
      9. Allowed IP Ranges
      10. Account Sharing
      11. Account sharing permissions
      12. Agreement sharing controls
      13. Signer identity verification
      14. Agreement signing password
      15. Document password strength
      16. Block signers by Geolocation
      17. Phone Authentication
      18. Knowledge-Based Authentication (KBA)
      19. Allow page extraction
      20. Document link expiration
      21. Upload a client certificate for webhooks/callbacks
      22. Timestamp
    10. Send settings
      1. Show Send page after login
      2. Require recipient name when sending
      3. Lock name values for known users
      4. Allowed recipient roles
      5. Allow e-Witnesses
      6. Recipient groups
      7. Required fields
      8. Attaching documents
      9. Field flattening
      10. Modify Agreements
      11. Agreement name
      12. Languages
      13. Private messages
      14. Allowed signature types
      15. Reminders
      16. Signed document password protection
      17. Send Agreement Notification through
      18. Signer identification options
        1. Overview
        2. Signing password
        3. One-Time Password via Email
        4. Acrobat Sign authentication
        5. Phone authentication
        6. Cloud-based digital signature
        7. Knowledge-based authentication
        8. Government ID
        9. Signer Identity reports
      19. Content Protection
      20. Enable Notarize transactions
      21. Document Expiration
      22. Preview, position signatures, and add fields
      23. Signing order
      24. Liquid mode
      25. Custom workflow controls
      26. Upload options for the e-sign page
      27. Post-sign confirmation URL redirect
    11. Message Templates
    12. Bio-Pharma Settings
      1. Overview
      2. Enforce identity authentication
      3. Signing reasons
    13. Workflow Integration
    14. Notarization Settings
    15. Payments Integration
    16. Signer Messaging
    17. SAML Settings
      1. SAML Configuration
      2. Install Microsoft Active Directory Federation Service
      3. Install Okta
      4. Install OneLogin
      5. Install Oracle Identity Federation
    18. Data Governance
    19. Time Stamp Settings
    20. External Archive
    21. Account Languages
    22. Email Settings
      1. Email header/footer images
      2. Permit individual user email footers
      3. Customize the Signature Requested email
      4. Customize the To and CC fields
      5. Enable Linkless Notifications
      6. Customize email templates
    23. Migrating from echosign.com to adobesign.com
    24. Configure Options for Recipients
  4. Guidance for regulatory requirements
    1. Accessibility
      1. Accessibility Compliance
      2. Create accessible forms with Acrobat desktop
      3. Create accessible AcroForms
    2. HIPAA
    3. GDPR
      1. GDPR Overview
      2. Redact a user
      3. Redact a user's agreements    
    4. 21 CFR part 11 and EudraLex Annex 11
      1. 21 CRF part 11 validation pack
      2. 21 CFR and EudraLex Annex 11 handbook
      3. Analysis of shared responsibilities
    5. Healthcare customers
    6. IVES support
    7. "Vaulting" agreements
    8. EU/UK considerations
      1. EU/UK Cross-border transactions and eIDAS
      2. HMLR requirements for deeds signed electronically
      3. The impact of Brexit on e-signature laws in the UK
  5. Download Agreements in Bulk
  6. Claim your domain 
  7. Report Abuse links

Send, Sign, and Manage Agreements

  1. Recipient Options
    1. Cancel an email reminder
    2. Options on the e-signing page
      1. Overview of the e-sign page
      2. Open to read the agreement without fields
      3. Decline to sign an agreement
      4. Delegate signing authority
      5. Restart the agreement
      6. Download a PDF of the agreement
      7. View the agreement history
      8. View the agreement messages
      9. Convert from an electronic to a written signature
      10. Convert from a written to an electronic signature 
      11. Navigate the form fields
      12. Clear the data from the form fields
      13. E-sign page magnification and navigation
      14. Change the language used in the agreement tools and information
      15. Review the Legal Notices
      16. Adjust Acrobat Sign Cookie Preferences
  2. Send Agreements  
    1. Send page overview
    2. Send an agreement only to yourself
    3. Send an agreement to others
    4. Written Signatures
    5. Recipient signing order
    6. Send in Bulk
      1. Overview of the Send in Bulk feature
      2. Send in Bulk - Configure a parent template
      3. Send in Bulk - Configure the CSV file
      4. Cancel a Send in Bulk transaction
      5. Add reminders to Send in Bulk
      6. Reporting for Send in Bulk
  3. Authoring fields into documents
    1. In-app authoring environment
      1. Automatic field detection
      2. Drag and drop fields using the authoring environment
      3. Assign form fields to recipients
      4. The Prefill role
      5. Apply fields with a reusable field template
      6. Transfer fields to a new library template
      7. Updated authoring environment when sending agreements
    2. Create forms with text tags
    3. Create forms using Acrobat (AcroForms)
      1. AcroForm creation
      2. Creating accessible PDFs
    4. Fields
      1. Field types
        1. Common field types
        2. In-line Images
        3. Stamp Images
      2. Field content appearance
      3. Field validations
      4. Masked fields values
      5. Setting show/hide conditions
      6. Calculated fields 
    5. Authoring FAQ
  4. Sign Agreements
    1. Sign agreements sent to you
    2. Fill & Sign
    3. Self-signing
  5. Manage Agreements
    1. Manage page overview
    2. Delegate agreements
    3. Replace Recipients
    4. Limit Document Visibility 
    5. Cancel an Agreement 
    6. Create new reminders
    7. Review reminders
    8. Cancel a reminder
    9. Access Power Automate flows
    10. More Actions...
      1. How search works
      2. View an agreement
      3. Create a template from an agreement
      4. Hide/Unhide agreements from view
      5. Upload a signed agreement
      6. Modify a sent agreement's files and fields
      7. Edit a recipient's authentication method
      8. Add or modify an expiration date
      9. Add a Note to the agreement
      10. Share an individual agreement
      11. Unshare an agreement
      12. Download an individual agreement
      13. Download the individual files of an agreement
      14. Download the Audit Report of an agreement
      15. Download the field content of an agreement
  6. Audit Report
  7. Reporting and Data exports
    1. Overview
    2. Grant users access to reporting
    3. Report charts
      1. Create a new report
      2. Agreement Reports
      3. Transaction Reports
      4. Settings Activity Report
      5. Edit a report
    4. Data Exports 
      1. Create a new data export
      2. Edit a data export
      3. Refresh the data export content
      4. Download the data export
    5. Rename a report/export
    6. Duplicate a report/export
    7. Schedule a report/export
    8. Delete a report/export
    9. Check Transaction Usage

Advanced Agreement Capabilities and Workflows

  1. Webforms 
    1. Create a web form
    2. Edit a web form
    3. Disable/Enable a web form
    4. Hide/Unhide a web form
    5. Find the URL or script code 
    6. Prefill web form fields with URL parameters
    7. Save a web form to complete later
    8. Resize a web form
  2. Reusable Templates (Library templates) 
    1. US Government forms in the Acrobat Sign library
    2. Create a library template
    3. Change a library template's name
    4. Change a library template's type
    5. Change a library template's permission level
    6. Copy, edit, and save a shared template
    7. Download the aggregate field data for a library template
  3. Transfer ownership of web forms and library templates
  4. Power Automate Workflows 
    1. Overview of the Power Automate integration and included entitlements
    2. Enable the Power Automate integration
    3. In-Context Actions on the Manage page
    4. Track Power Automate usage
    5. Create a new flow (Examples)
    6. Triggers used for flows
    7. Importing flows from outside Acrobat Sign
    8. Manage flows
    9. Edit flows
    10. Share flows
    11. Disable or Enable flows
    12. Delete flows
    13. Useful Templates
      1. Administrator only
        1. Save all completed documents to SharePoint
        2. Save all completed documents to OneDrive for Business
        3. Save all completed documents to Google Drive
        4. Save all completed documents to DropBox
        5. Save all completed documents to Box
      2. Agreement archival
        1. Save your completed documents to SharePoint
        2. Save your completed documents to One Drive for Business
        3. Save your completed documents to Google Drive
        4. Save your completed documents to DropBox
        5. Save your completed documents to Box
      3. Webform agreement archival
        1. Save completed web form documents to SharePoint Library
        2. Save completed web form documents to OneDrive for Business
        3. Save completed   documents to Google Drive
        4. Save completed web form documents to Box
      4. Agreement data extraction
        1. Extract form field data from your signed document and update Excel sheet
      5. Agreement notifications
        1. Send custom email notifications with your agreement contents and signed agreement
        2. Get your Adobe Acrobat Sign notifications in a Teams Channel
        3. Get your Adobe Acrobat Sign notifications in Slack
        4. Get your Adobe Acrobat Sign notifications in Webex
      6. Agreement generation
        1. Generate document from Power App form and Word template, send for signature
        2. Generate agreement from Word template in OneDrive, and get signature
        3. Generate agreement for selected Excel row, send for review and signature
  5. Custom Send workflows
    1. Custom Send Workflow Overview
    2. Creating a new Send Workflow
    3. Edit a Send Workflow
    4. Activate or Deactivate a Send Workflow
    5. Send an agreement with a Send Workflow
  6. Share users and agreements
    1. Share a user
    2. Share agreements

Integrate with other products

  1.  Acrobat Sign integrations overview 
  2. Acrobat Sign for Salesforce
  3. Acrobat Sign for Microsoft
    1. Acrobat Sign for Microsoft 365
    2. Acrobat Sign for Outlook
    3. Acrobat Sign for Word/PowerPoint
    4. Acrobat Sign for Teams
    5. Acrobat Sign for Microsoft PowerApps and Power Automate
    6. Acrobat Sign Connector for Microsoft Search
    7. Acrobat Sign for Microsoft Dynamics 
    8. Acrobat Sign for Microsoft SharePoint 
  4. Other Integrations
    1. Acrobat Sign for ServiceNow
    2. Acrobat Sign for HR ServiceNow
    3. Acrobat Sign for SAP SuccessFactors
    4. Acrobat Sign for Workday
    5. Acrobat Sign for NetSuite
    6. Acrobat Sign for VeevaVault
    7. Acrobat Sign for Coupa BSM Suite
  5. Partner managed integrations
  6. How to obtain an integration key

Acrobat Sign Developer

  1. REST APIs 
    1. Methods documentation
    2. SDK/Developer Guide
    3. API FAQ    
  2. Webhooks 
    1. Webhook overview
    2. Configure a new webhook
    3. View or edit a webhook
    4. Deactivate or reactivate a webhook
    5. Delete a webhook
    6. Two-way SSL certificates
    7. Webhooks in the API

Support and Troubleshooting

  1. Customer Support Resources 
  2. Enterprise Customer Success Resources 

Adobe Acrobat Sign Service Accounts

Service Accounts are a vehicle to enable users in an enterprise-level account to send agreements under the authority of a userID explicitly generated for that purpose (vs. using their personal userID).

For example, a Service Account can be created to send legal documents. The user's profile can be designed to provide a functional name and email address that identify the Legal department and not an individual sender. All users that need to send NDA agreements (for example) can switch to the Legal Service Account and send under that profile, affording the transaction a more consistent and authoritative look. Additionally, agreements of a specific nature can be limited to the Service Account's group, constraining all agreements of a functional type to that one user instead of being distributed throughout the user base.

Service Accounts are available to enterprise customers that have enabled advanced sharing and manage their accounts through the Adobe Admin Console.

Tech Account product cards

Note:

The below process describes the use of Service Accounts accessed by users manually from the Acrobat Sign environment. Organizations that want to enable the API to send agreements on behalf of a centralized party should refer to the Technical Accounts for the API documentation.

Prerequisites

To enable a Service Account, your Acrobat Sign account must:

  • Have enterprise tier ETLA service
  • Manage users on the Adobe Admin Console*
  • Have Advanced Account Sharing enabled with Sending permissions enabled.
    • Users in Multiple Groups (strongly recommended).

* A note on the Adobe Admin Console

The Adobe Admin Console provides a framework for user management and license allocation. Most customers have only one Admin Console.

However, some customers with complex user/licensing requirements can have multiple Admin Consoles, which may become confusing in a process like Service Account creation, where one Admin Console may govern the federated user management, and another manages the Acrobat Sign licensing.

If you know you have multiple accounts or aren't sure, please read the below:

The difficulty with multiple Admin Consoles is ensuring that you are in the correct console for the actions you are trying to perform.

To determine if you have multiple Admin Consoles:

1. Log in to the Admin Console.

2. In the upper-right corner of the console, click on the organization name.

If you have a drop-down menu with multiple organizations, you have multiple Admin Consoles.

Admin Console organization drop down

If you only have one Admin Console, user creation and licensing operations occur in the same organization, and you don't need to worry about switching between consoles.

If you have multiple Admin Consoles, take a moment to determine which organization manages federated user creation and which governs the Acrobat Sign license provisioning.

Companies with multiple Admin Consoles may deploy Acrobat Sign from more than one. You must identify the correct Admin Console where you want to establish the Service Account.

You should inspect each organization to determine which should contain the Service Account.

  1. Select the organization.
  2. Select Products from the top rail of options.
  3. Look for the Adobe Sign - Enterprise product card

For the purpose of this document, we will call this your Licensing Admin Console. This is the organization where your Service Account is created and managed.

Tech Account product cards

Organizations that use federated user management must de-sync the federated solution to create the Service Account outside of the federated environment.

To do this, you must inspect each organization to find which one controls the domains that enable the federated trust relationship. Multiple Admin Consoles can Trust a domain, but only one actively controls it.

  1. Select the orgnaization
  2. Select Settings from the top rail of options.
  3. Select Identity from the left rail of options.
  4. If there are directories listed with the Type being Federated ID and the Status is Trusted, click the row the directory is on to expose the Owning Organization.
Navigate to Identity

The Owning Organization is the correct Admin Console to manipulate your federated ID synchronization controls.

  • An email is provided for the console admin if you do not currently have access.

If the Type is Federated ID and the Status is Active, click the Name of the directory to open the directory settings.

Active domain

On the settings page, select the Sync tab, which opens the IDP sync information.

For the purpose of this document, we will call this your Federated Sync Admin Console.  

Directory settings - sync tab

Note:

If you do not see a Sync tab, your account may have a Global Admin Console that you do not have access to.

You will need to contact your internal Adobe administrators to gain access.

Organizations that

  • utilize the User Sync Tool (UST) to automatically sync users between Adobe and their Active Directory
  • do not allow users to be manually added or created in Acrobat Sign  

must create an "exception" group for all Service Account userIDs. All Service Account userIDs must be created in this exempt group to ensure they are not deactivated and do not have their license removed by the automatic user sync.

The exception group must be configured as exempt from the sync within the UST configuration.

In cases where Adobe hosts the UST on behalf of the customer's organization, the customer admin must communicate the Group Name to their Success Manager, Technical Account Manager, or account representative so they can work with the Adobe Customer Solutions team to ensure this group is exempt from the sync.

Overview

Creating a Service Account is a multi-step process that requires administrator-level access to the Adobe Acrobat Console and account-level administrator authority in Acrobat Sign.

The process requires the admin to:

  1. (Optional) Create a new Group in the Acrobat Sign system.
    • Creating a dedicated group for the Service Account allows a very tight configuration of the agreement properties that may be too strict or different from other group configurations.
  2. Create a new Service Account in the Adobe Admin Console.
    • This creates a Service Account that other users can switch to (via advanced account sharing) and send agreements.
  3. Share the Service Account's account with the users and groups that should be allowed to use the Service Account.
    • Sharing the Service Account with other users and groups allows those users to switch to the Service Account and generate new agreements that will be sent under that userIDs profile.

Consider generating a unique group in Acrobat Sign for the application

Adding a Service Account to a unique group allows the function of the Service Account to dictate the sending and signing parameters of the group, as well as the available workflows, templates, and reporting features.

In the example of a Service Account designed for Legal transactions, the group can define the default authentication requirement, expiration date, automatic CC parties, and PDF attachment rules, all of which would likely not be suitable for Sales transactions.

Additionally, constraining specific library templates to the Service Account's group ensures that all agreements using that template are associated with only the Service Account and not distributed throughout your user base.

To create a discrete group:

  1. Log in to Acrobat Sign as an account-level administrator.

  2. Navigate to the Groups tab in the admin menu.

  3. Click the plus icon to create a new group.

  4. Enter an intuitive name for the group (i.e., the name of the function for which the Service Account is created).

  5. Save the group.

    Create a group

  6. (Optional) Open the new group and configure the default settings needed for the type of agreements to be sent.

    1. Select the new group from the list of groups to expose the action bar at the top of the list.
    2. Select Group Settings action to open the group-level configuration.
    Access gorup level settings

Note:

If your organization is

  • using the User Sync Tool (UST) to automatically sync users between Adobe and your Active Directory
  • not permitting users to be manually added or created in Acrobat Sign

you must create an exception group to be the primary group for all Service Account userIDs.

The name of the group is added to your UST configuration to ensure the sync process does not impact the userIDs, causing them to be deactivated or to have their entitlement removed.

Create the new Service Account

Note:

Before creating the new Service Account, you must identify an email address that can be used for inbound replies/questions from your recipients. (e.g., legal_agreements@my_domain.dom)

To create the new Service Account:

  1. Log in to your (Federated Sync) Admin Console as an administrator.

  2. Navigate to:  Settings → Identity

    Select a directory to create the new user.

    Active domain

  3. Select the Sync tab.

  4. Select Go to Settings

    Directory settings - sync tab

  5. Select Enable Editing.

    When editing is enabled, the Adobe Admin Console allows edits to the user data within the Admin Console only. Your IdP is not updated with the edits.

    Tech Account

    Note:

    Editing will remain enabled for one hour only, or until manually disabled.

  6. Log in to your Licensing Admin Console (if you are working with multiple Admin Consoles).

  7. Navigate to: Users → Add user.

  8. Configure your new Service Account with:

    • Email or username: Use the email address that you want to capture any reply-to eamils from your recipients.
    • ID Type: Federated ID
    • First/Last name: this value is used in the Acrobat Sign system and is reflected in the audit report. Use a value that provides context. e.g.: Legal Department
    • SSO username: Use the same email value.
    • Country/Region: Select the appropriate country or region for your company.
    • Select the Acrobat Sign product profile.
    • Set the users role to User.

    Click Save when done.

    Tech Account

  9. Log back into the Federated Sync Admin Console to enable the synching of your IdP data.

  10. Navigate back to Settings → Identity → {Directory} → Sync → Go to Settings.

    Click Disable editing to re-enable the syncing of data with your IdP.

  11. Your new Service Account will automatically be generated in the Acrobat Sign system.

Share the Service Account with the groups or users that are authorized to use the Service Account

Creating a share to a group establishes a sharing connection with all users in the group, thereby allowing the group's users to switch into the Service Account interface and create agreements.

Sharing directly to one user establishes a connection to just that user.

  1. Log in to Acrobat Sign as an account administrator.

  2. Navigate to the Users tab in the admin menu.

  3. Select the Service Account from the user list, and then select Edit User Details from the actions at the top of the list.

    Edit User Details

  4. Select Sharing Status in the left rail menu.

    • Ensure the User's Account Shared With tab is selected.
    • Select the plus icon  to create a new share relationship.
    User's account shared with

  5. Select the group or user to share the Service Account account with:

    1. Click the three lines icon to the right of the search box..
    2. Click the plus icon  next to the group or user to select it.
      • Individual users can be added by expanding a group and then selecting an individual user form that group.
    3. Enable Sending unser the Additional Permission beyond Viewing options.
    4. Click Save.
    Tech Account

Test your new Service Account

To test that your users can access the Service Account:

  1. Log in to any user with which the Service Account has shared their account.

  2. Select your name in the upper-right corner to expose users sub-menu.

  3. Select Switch Account from the menu.

    An overlay displays the list of user accounts shared.  Select the Service Account and click OK.

    Switch Accounts

  4. The user view is refreshed to show the Service Account interface.

    • This can be identified by the blue banner.

    Navigate to the Send page and send an agreement to yourself.

    • Note that any templates assigned directly to the group the Service Account is in are available for sending.
    Shared user account

  5. The email you recieve will be properly formatted to show the Service Account's name and eamil address.

    Proxy email

 Adobe

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The Creativity Conference

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Oct 14–16 Miami Beach and online