Additional information on signing agreements can be found here.
Before you begin using Adobe Acrobat Sign, we’ve got some basics to run through. The purpose of this guide is to get you familiar with Acrobat Sign and the functionality available to you as a user.
This guide covers all the important processes in Acrobat Sign and familiarizes you with the user interface. The
Acrobat Sign Help system provides more in depth information where needed. If you are connected to the Internet, you can click on the links in the grey boxes that begin with the text “Additional information …” to view the related help topics.
Where applicable, features and functions specific to business and/or enterprise levels of service are noted. This guide documents the features and functions available at the highest level of license agreement, Acrobat Sign for enterprise. To determine your license type, go to My Profile. If you have questions about the features available for your license, please contact your Client Success Manager or Adobe Acrobat Sign Support.
Acrobat Sign is a highly customizable application with a wide range of features that may or may not apply to how you do business. Your account administrator or group administrator may have disabled some of the options described. If you have a need for something you don’t see available to you, contact your group or account administrator. Our service supports different configurations for different groups so even if it’s best to have a feature disabled for one group, it’s possible to have it enabled for another.
By the end of this guide, you’ll be familiar with all of the standard “send” workflows in Acrobat Sign as well as how to manage your agreements, and how to generate reports so you can stay on top of what’s complete, and what is still pending.
When you first log into Acrobat Sign, take a minute to review your personal user information. This information is used in several templates, so it’s important to ensure it is correct.
The profile page shows the specific values that Acrobat Sign will use when personalizing any of your transactions. Of particular interest are:
If you need to adjust any of the content, click the Edit Profile button, make the required changes, and then Save your edits.
After configuring your personal information, take a quick look through the other personal preferences you see listed on the left side of the screen. These options are specific to you as a user, and may be useful automation:
The Home page is the first page that most users will sign in to. (The Send page is the other option as configured by your account administrator.)
The Home page is a view composed of the following sections that give you a quick view and access to most of the Acrobat Sign features:
The Send page is where you configure and send new ad hoc agreements. There are five functional sections to configure:
As a sender, recipient, or even as a CC’d party, if you were a participant with an Acrobat Sign agreement, it will be available on your Manage page. As a portal to all agreements tied to your user, the page is designed with two goals in mind: find the agreement you want to examine, and perform management tasks for that agreement.
The main body of the page is the listing of your agreements, filtered by the status of the agreements in the left rail (In Progress, Waiting for You, Complete, Canceled, Expired, and Draft). Template filters are also available just under the agreement filters (Templates, Web Forms, and Send in Bulk).
Input text filters at the top of the page can help locate individual documents by searching for the email, name of the agreement, Name of a recipient (if known to the system), date, notes, etc.)
Regularly scheduled reports can help you quickly assess how your documents are progressing, and where your attention is needed. Reports can be custom designed to trigger any day at any time to include the scope from all agreements to only documents with a specified name.
Sending documents and collecting signatures and approvals is what Acrobat Sign is all about! Every customer has different requirements regarding who needs to interact with the document and in what order, so there are a number of workflow features available in the Send page interface you should know about.
If you are in an account that has Users in Multiple Groups (UMG) enabled, select the group you want to send the agreement from before configuring the agreement.
If you do not see the Send from dropdown at the top of the page, your account is not UMG enabled.
Define the recipients and the order in which they gain access to interact with the document.
In the Recipients section, the very top switch asks you select the basic signature order:
To the right of the signature order switch, you will see two links:
To change the order of the recipients, you can click and drag the recipients to the correct stack order, or you can directly edit the numbers and the stack will adjust accordingly.
Each recipient is created with five elements:
A. Participation Order – When Complete in Order is selected the participation order provides a clear indication of when each recipient will interact with the agreement.
B. Role – How is the recipient best characterized?
C. Email address – This is the recipient’s identifying email address and is used for all email communication with the recipient, including the request to sign.
D. Authentication Methods – How should the recipient be vetted? Do you want to use second-factore authentication?
E. Private Message (optional) – The sender can supply individual instructions to each recipient which appear when the recipient is viewing the agreement.
The Show CC link under the recipient list exposes a field where you can carbon copy (CC) any email address that you want to view the agreement, without them having signing/approval authority.
A “Hybrid” workflow is an instance of the sequential participation order where one or more of the steps includes two or more recipients gaining access to the document at the same time. All of the signers/approvers of the “parallel” step will need to complete their part before the sequential process moves to the next step.
Recipient Groups are useful when you need sign-off from a team or an organization, but not from a specific individual in that group. Any member in the group is authorized to sign or approve on behalf of the entire group.
The Message section contains two fields that can dramatically improve your success.
The Agreement Name field allows you to enter any string that will identify the agreement. This string will populate in the Subject line of the recipients’ email (highlighted in yellow below), and also as the name value on the Manage page. Providing a unique and meaningful agreement name will help your recipients identify your email more readily, and can improve your ability to search for the agreement if needed.
If no agreement name is entered before a document is attached, the agreement name will adopt the file name of the first file attached. This value can be edited until the agreement is sent.
The Agreement Message is a plain text field where you can enter any instructions or comments that are warranted (highlighted in green below). This message appears on the Please Sign email sent to all recipients (unlike the Private Message which only appears for the recipient it is configured for).
Enterprise level customers will have access to Message Templates which are configured by your Administrator. Message templates are directly tied to the Recipient’s Language feature in the Options sections, so when you select “Spanish” from the language drop-down, all of your Spanish templates will become available.
If you have a language selected that has no templates tied to it, the Message Template option will not be visible on your Send page.
The Options section allows you to better control the agreement after it has been sent:
The File section is where you attach the documents to the transaction.
Acrobat Sign will combine all documents into one inclusive PDF agreement for the signature process, and will build that PDF based on the order that the documents are listed. Documents can be rearranged by clicking and dragging one document to a new list location.
Files can be attached from the Acrobat Sign library, Google docs, Box.net, Dropbox, OneDrive, uploaded from your local system using file search, or you can drag and drop a file into the Files box.
File types allowed are: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, JPG, GIF, TIF, PNG, BMP, TXT, RTF, HTML
Just under the Files list you will see the Preview & Add Signature Fields check box. This option allows you to open the documents that you upload and place form fields as needed on them.
You should place at least the signature fields, but there are many other fields you can use to build complex forms if you like.
If no signature fields are placed, Acrobat Sign will automatically add a new page to accommodate the signatures at the end of the document.
Sending a document to just one recipient is one of the most common agreement workflows and a great way to learn the basic process. All you need is:
Sending an agreement to multiple recipients follows the exact same steps with two notable differences:
Experiencing the signing process is helpful in understanding the end result of the configurations done by the sender.
1. An email is delivered to the recipient’s email box.
○ The subject line will start with: Signature requested on {The document name}
2. The agreement is opened by clicking the Review and sign button
3. The Agreement opens in a new browser window
Other options on the page include:
A. Options – This list includes the options the recipient has based on their role
○ Read Agreeement - Opens the agreement in a view only format
○ Delegate signing to another– The option allows the recipient to delegate their authority to another individual. For example – a colleague or a manager
○ Decline to sign – This action terminates the agreement
○ Print, sign and upload -Allows the signer to convert the workflow from an electronic signature to a physical signature. The signer then uploads the signed document.
○ Clear document data – This options will clear all field contents
○ View history - Opens the current aaudit report for view
○ Download PDF - Downloads the current version of the agreement in PDF format
B. Message – The speech bubble icon will pop-up the messages again
C. Required Field Counter – This counter shows the number of required fields on the document that still haven’t been filled. Clicking this field will navigate the signer through the required (not optional) fields available to them
D. Next Field Tab - This yellow arrow can help find the next fields if you are scrolling through a large document. This tab will cycle all fields, not just the required ones.
This document only has one signature field, and it is required (as noted by the red asterisk). For documents with multiple fillable fields, you can tab through them.
4. To apply a signature, double-click the field to open the signature panel.
5. Type your name into the top field of the signature panel.
Finalizing your signature can be done in one of four ways:
○ Typeset font (default) – Acrobat Sign will apply a script-like font to the name you enter.
○ Physically drawn – Using a mouse, stylus, or any other pointer device, physically draw your signature. Using your finger on a tablet provides an excellent result.
○ Image – If you have a stamp image of your signature, you can upload it.
○ Mobile - The Mobile option allows you to cast the signature panel from your desktop to a mobile device, permitting an easier device to physically draw your signature on.
6. Click Apply to place your signature in the signature field and return you to the document.
7. Once all of the required fields are completed, click the Click to sign button at the bottom of the window (you can’t miss it).
Additional information on signing agreements can be found here. |
At the bottom of the Acrobat Sign page is a toolbar containing tools for navigating in the agreement, zooming in or out, and downloading the document. You can hide this toolbar by clicking the X in the lower right-hand corner. To temporarily redisplay the hidden toolbar, hover your cursor at the bottom of the window, and the controls will reappear.
Additional information on using the zoom controls can be found here. |
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Managing your agreements is an important part of working with Acrobat Sign. Use the Manage page to track, process, and customize agreements. Whether it’s canceling an agreement or replacing the signer, these processes allow you to influence the transaction’s progress in the system.
The Manage page has a lot of embedded features to explore. For simplicity it can be broken up into three functional areas:
A. Filters
B. Agreement list
C. Agreement tools
The multiple status "folders" on the classic page have been consolidated into a more practical series of filters that return the agreements of a given status type. In the top section you have the Agreement filters, which return agreements based on the current status of the agreement.
There are two "active" statuses. Each indicates the volume of content parenthetically after the status name:
There are three "terminal" statuses:
There is a Draft status that contains all of the partially built agreements.
The lower section is dedicated to template "parent" objects. The "child" agreements that are created from these templates are filtered above in the agreement status filters.
Parent objects are not agreements themselves but are used to produce high volumes of individual agreements. These parent objects include:
Users that have content shared to them from other user accounts can filter for that content by clicking the down arrow next to Your agreements.
The pop-down menu shows a list of all users (and groups when advanced sharing is enabled) that have shared content to you. Select the user, and your Manage page reloads with the content of the selected user.
The main body of the page contains the lists of agreements that you are related to. Every agreement that involves your email address will be reflected somewhere on the list. Not just the agreements that you have initiated, but the agreements that have been sent for you to sign/approve, as well as any agreement you have been CC’d on.
The agreement list is always filtered by the document status selection on the left.
The headers along the top of the lists will sort the contents of each section by single-clicking them. Clicking them again will reverse the sort order.
The individual records contain the following information:
The Agreement Tools panel will allow you to access a few controls to better manage or understand your agreements.
The report feature lets you check on how your account is using Acrobat Sign. Build your own reports and gain complete visibility into your document signing process, while seeing how individual groups or users are doing.
To create a new report, navigate to the Reports page by clicking the Reports tab, then click on the Create a new report link.
The Create a New Report page displays:
Additional information on creating reports can be found here. |
When setting up a report, multiple parameters can be set to customize the results. All of the parameters described below are available.
The creation date is the time frame you want the report to encompass. This can be one of the four predetermined time frames (this week, last week, this month, last month) or enter a custom date range.
This parameter lets you run the report on specific users or groups. One or more can be chosen for either, or you can run the report against all users in the account.
Specific documents can be chosen to include in the report with this option. The documents listed in this field are the library documents used throughout the account. Individual, one-off documents will not be listed here.
This parameter is used to include or exclude documents that contain or do not contain a given variable. You can choose to include or not include the string entered.
Enabling this parameter includes Send in Bulk agreements in the resulting report
You can set thresholds for performance, using the Performance Goal view. The gauges reflecting performance are displayed in the resulting report.
By default, the benchmark parameter is disabled for reports. Click the report settings link to enable it.
Benchmarking provides an expanded method for keeping track of agreement progress and signing rates.
Each enabled option (by Date, Sender, Group, Form, Workflow, and Signature Type) provide a different type of graph on the report.
The parameters in this section are for altering the graphics on the resulting report. Changing these from the default parameters can speed up the report process.
Once you click the Run Report button, the report will be generated based on your parameters. There are multiple actions you can take with your report.
Clicking this link is similar to refreshing the page. The new report will include recent transactions and activity.
Saving the report allows you to run this report again in the future.
Sharing allows you to send the report results to someone else. You just need to enter their email address and a message.
Setting a schedule for this report will run it with the same parameters at the frequency you define.
Clicking this link will prompt you to open or save a .CSV file. CSV files can be opened in Excel and all transaction information for the agreements in the report, will be categorized in the various columns.
Clicking this link will open a printer-friendly version of the report.
The Authoring environment provides the form-building functionality for Acrobat Sign. Beyond placing signature fields, you can include fields that auto-populate content, like the date or the signers signature values (when known), or text fields that do content validation and/or complex calculations. Other common field types such as dropdown boxes, radio buttons, and checkboxes are also available
Accessing the Authoring environment is done by:
○ You can only edit the templates you have uploaded. In the below image you can see that the second template is shared by another user, and thus not editable.
Once the Authoring environment is launched, take a moment to identify the five key areas:
A. Form Field Template—This option only displays if you have created at least one form field library template.
B. Field Layout and Alignment—This displays the form field size/alignment toolbar
C. Select Recipient (Role)—This drop-down lists the recipients for the agreement
D. Form Field Tabs—You can select fields from these tabs to add to your document
E. Back / Reset / Save Template / Save Progress:
►Back - The Back button allows the user to navigate back to the Send page to edit the name and message of the agreement, the email addresses of the recipients, and the files attached to the agreement
► Reset removes all modifications made to the template since it was loaded or last saved
►Save as template - When checked, the template is saved as a discrete library object once the agreement is sent. Upon clicking Send, the user is prompted to provide a name for the new template
►Save Progress - Clicking this link will save the current state of the template
If you’ve created a form field template for your document, you can select and apply that template using this set of tools.
The drop-down lists the form field templates that are available and you can choose which page to start the template on. Multiple templates can be applied.
Additional information on using form field templates can be found in the Acrobat Sign Help by clicking here. |
This menu option displays the tools for aligning and resizing fields relative to one another. You can control click on multiple fields, or hold down the shift key and select an area with your mouse, to adjust them as a group.
The six icons on the left will align the fields to the top, horizontal mid line, bottom, left, vertical mid line, and right (as viewed from left to right).
The next three icons will snap all fields to the same width, height, or both.
Alignment and sizing is based on the first field you select.
Arguably the most important element of form building is associating the various recipients to the fields they need to populate. By selecting the recipient from the Recipients list first, any subsequent field you place on the form will be automatically related to that recipient. Change the recipient, and any new fields placed will be related to that new recipient.
When a specific recipient is selected, the fields assigned to them will be highlighted on the document, giving you a good visual indicator as to which fields are related to any selected recipient.
Once a field is on a document, you can modify the recipient the field is assigned to by double-clicking the field to open the field menu, and then changing the Recipient drop down.
All of the fields available in Acrobat Sign can be found in the menus on the right rail of the window. These fields are categorized by use and field type, and most can be manipulated to the height and width demanded by your form.
Detailed information on the types of form fields can be found in on the Field Types article. |
After you have added the new form fields to your agreement, you can save a copy to your library before you send the agreement out for signatures.
Click the Save as template checkbox on the bottom right side of the authoring window before you click the Send button, to add the modified agreement to your library.
First, the document will be saved to your library.
Then your agreement will be sent for signature.
The remaining options allow you to zoom in and out of your document, reset or delete all of the fields you’ve placed or save/send the document in its current state.
Save as template will saved the form as a new library templae once the agreement is sent. The sender will get the option to name the template once the the Send button is clicked
As a best practice, you should save progress often. However, if you navigate away from the authoring environment, the document is automatically saved. You can access it later from the Manage page in the Draft section.
A library template is a reusable object. Acrobat Sign supports two types of library templates: document templates and form field templates.
Instead of creating a new library document every time a document is updated, the same form field layer can be applied. Form field templates can be edited to facilitate changes in the arrangement of fields or field properties. Again, all the tools in the authoring environment are available when creating a form field template.
As a best practice, a single user (Document Administrator) should be responsible for creating and maintaining templates. Creating a Doc Admin user login eliminates confusion as to what templates to use and provides version control for your reusable documents.
We recommend using a distribution list or functional email for the Doc Admin user login. This allows you to control access to this Doc Admin login while at the same time allowing the responsibility to be shared as needed.
Additional information on using the authoring tools to create templates can be found here. |
1. Click the Home tab. Then click Create a reusable template
The Create a Library Template page displays.
2. In the Template Name field, enter a name for your template. This can be changed at a later time if necessary.
3. Click the Browse button to navigate to the file on your local system to be used to create your reusable template. If you are creating a reusable document, this file and its content will be used. If you are creating a reusable form field layer, the content of the file will not be included in the template.
4. Select the appropriate Template Option, either Create as reusable document, Create as a reusable form field layer, or both.
5. Select the appropriate permissions option for sharing the template.
Group permissions can only be granted to the group you are currently in. You cannot grant permissions to other groups.
6. Click the Preview or Add Fields button. The Authoring experience displays.
7. Place the required fields that are for the intended participants by dragging them from the form fields tabs and dropping them onto the document
8. When you're done adding fields, click the Save button
The template will now display under the Templates section of your Manage page. If you have shared the template with users in your group or in your organization by granting permission, the template now also displays in the Templates section of their Manage pages, and they can use it to send as often as they like.
Only the user who created the library template can edit it or delete it (unless advanced sharing is enabled)
There are a number of workflows you can use to send documents for signatures, collect signatures, and send a signed document including the following:
The following sections discuss each of these processes in more detail.
Additional information on sending agreements can be found here. |
Depending on your business requirements, multiple recipients may need to act on an agreement. For example, you may need two people to sign an agreement and another to approve it or delegate it to an additional signer. When sending to multiple recipients, you also have additional options for how the agreement should be routed: sequentially, in parallel, or using hybrid routing.
Additional information on sending an agreement to multiple signers can be found here. |
This process is exactly as it’s named. This is used for situations where only you need to sign a document and send it to one or more people. For example, you might need to send a signed W-9 or non-disclosure agreement or both to one or more people. You can send the signed document to yourself as long as you don’t use the same email address as you used to login. This is because a copy of the signed document is saved, and you can access it through the Manage tab. Note that the “Fill & Sign” function is found only on the Home page.
Additional information on using “Fill & Sign” can be found here. |
1. Click Fill and sign a document on the Home page.
3. Enter an Agreement Name
4. Drag and drop the file that you want to sign, or click the Add files link and find/attach the document from your local system or networked drive
5. Click Next.
6. The Fill & Sign page loads.
Place any content (Text, checks, signatures) as needed.
7. When finished, click Done
8. The post-sign page displays with options to send the document, download a copy, view the document on the Manage page, or sign another document
This Send in Bulk process allows you to send a document to hundreds of individuals at once. Each signer signs their own copy of the document and these individual agreements are returned to you. This process can be used to collect NDAs, HR documents, or permission slips. The link to Send in Bulk can be found on the Home page.
Send in Bulk recipients can be entered by either adding the email addresses to the “To:” field or by uploading a Comma Separated Value (.CSV) file with the recipient’s information included. The .CSV process allows you to prefill data for each signer, thus giving you the opportunity to customize the field information for each person. For example, you can customize the message in the “Please sign…” emails sent to each signer.
Additional information on using Send in Bulk can be found here. |
Web forms are hosted documents that can be signed by anyone who has access to them. They are ideal for sign-up sheets, waivers, or any document you need many people to access and sign online.
Web forms can be generated in two different forms, as JavaScript or a URL. The JavaScript option provides the code needed to embed the web form into your website. The URL option provides a web address hosted by Acrobat Sign that senders can use to get the document signed. The link to Create web forms can be found on the Home page.
While the web form signing experience is the same as a regular transaction through Acrobat Sign, web forms can only be signed by one signer and counter-signed by anyone you designate.
Signing is one of the main functions of Acrobat Sign. Anyone can sign via an email link on any web browser on their computer or using their mobile device. If you have an Acrobat Sign account, you can also sign using the “Acrobat Sign manager” iOS or Android native app. You can also initiate signing from the Manage page. Signing is also built into the “Fill & Sign” process.
Additional information on signing documents using an app can be found here. |
Acrobat Sign supports the latest web browsers on smartphones and tablets that run the iOS or Android operating systems.
Use the intuitive dashboard in Acrobat Sign Manager to access your documents from your mobile device for sending and signing agreements. The new dashboard works well with iOS 9 and iPad Pro. The improved Send experience simplifies the way you send documents for signature.
Acrobat Sign Manager for Android Is localized into 19 languages to match Acrobat Mobile.
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