Working with E-Signatures

If your administrator has configured and activated DocuSign or Acrobat Sign using the Integration node, you can send attachments for electronic signature (e-signature) from the Attachments tab. You can send one or more files for an e-signature to Unifier users and external users. You can send e-signature requests from the Document Manager or a specific business process (BP).

Note:

During the Creation Step for a workflow BP, a user can prepare an e-signature request without sending it to recipients. Unifier creates a provider draft request. When the BP record advances beyond the Creation Step, Unifier creates the record and begins sending the linked request in the background. This process helps prevent orphaned provider requests when a draft BP is deleted. This behavior applies only to the BP Creation Step. In later workflow steps, Send for E-Signature sends the request immediately.
Depending on how DocuSign and Acrobat Sign are configured, and which requirements are optional or required, you can define where signature-related fields appear before you send eligible documents for e-signature. In the Document Manager and supported business process (BP) flows, after you select documents and recipients, you can select Assign Signature Block to open the DocuSign or Acrobat Sign embedded tab-placement option, place supported tabs, save the placement, and return to Unifier to send the e-signature request.

Note:

The embedded experience and available tab types are controlled by the configured e-signature provider. Provider behavior differs between DocuSign and Acrobat Sign.

If you use envelopes in DocuSign or Acrobat Sign, you can group multiple documents into a single envelope. When Unifier receives the documents in an envelope, Unifier consolidates them into a single PDF instead of individual attachments.

Internal Users

When you use Send for E-Signature to send one or more documents to Unifier users, Unifier creates an entry in the E-Signatures node.

Internal users can act on the E-signatures task from the following locations:

  • The E-Signatures node
  • An email sent from Unifier, if email notifications are configured in the user's Email Subscription tab in Preferences

When you send an E-signature request to internal users, you can use type-ahead in the Internal recipients field of the Request eSignature dialog box to find a user or group. You can select one or more users or groups as recipients.

External Users

When you use Send for E-Signature to send one or more documents to non-Unifier users, DocuSign or Acrobat Sign sends an email to each assignee. The provider sends one email for each document.

Non-Unifier users can sign a document from the Documents log in the Document Manager. From the gear menu gear menu ("" ), they can select Sign. DocuSign or Acrobat Sign then opens the document for self-signing.

External users cannot act on the E-signature task from the email sent by Acrobat Sign or DocuSign.

When you send an E-signature request to external users, enter multiple email addresses separated by commas or semi-colons in the External recipients field of the Request eSignature dialog box, and then select Send.

If an external user's email address is invalid, Unifier records the signer's e-signature status as Failed in the E-signature Requests log. To view the reason for the failure, place the pointer over the Failed status. For example, the reason might be, Mailbox unavailable. You can also select Reason for Failure from the gear menu ("").

If an E-signature request contains only external signees and all the email addresses are invalid, Unifier sets the request status to Failed in the following locations:

  • The Documents log in the Document Manager
  • The Attachments tab for BP Upper Form or Detail Form
  • The Attachments Review tab

If an E-signature request includes at least one valid internal or external recipient, the request status is based on the status of the valid signers. The system ignores recipients with a Failed status.

Proxy Users

A proxy user can access the same E-Signature features as the original user. These features include the E-Signatures node, the Status column on the E-Sign Log tab in the Document Manager, and the Send for E-Signature and Self-sign actions.

When a proxy user performs an E-Signature action, such as Self-sign or Sign request from the E-Signatures node, the following changes appear:

  • The grid in the E-Sign Log tab displays a Proxy User column. The column contains the proxy user's name. The column appears only if when at least one signee in an E-signature request has performed an action through a proxy.
  • The Signee column shows the original signee's name. An exclamation-point icon at the end of the column indicates that a proxy performed the signature action. Place the pointer over the icon to display Signed by Proxy User: [Proxy Username].
Proxy User actions are available where the E-Sign Log is available, including the E-Signatures node, the Document Manager, and the BP Attachments tab.

Note:

The proxy users can see the E-Signature count on the company and project/shell home landing pages.

View Pending E-Signatures on the Project Landing Page

The project landing page shows the number of pending E-signatures in the Items Requiring Your Attention section. The e-signature count appears below the Tasks count in the following format: E-Signatures: [xx] Pending.

Note:

The e-signature count appears only when E-signatures are enabled for the project.

Internationalization

Unifier uses the user's language preferences when Acrobat Sign or DocuSign sends E-signature requests to external users. For example, if a user's preferred language is Chinese, the E-signature email request sent to external signees is in Chinese.

Unifier also translates the value of the E-Signature Status. When you export the structure and properties of a Document Manager file, the E-Signature Status column displays the translated status values.

DocuSign Reassignment

When an internal or external user opens a document for signing, the Other Actions menu includes Assign to Someone Else, which lets the signer reassign the document.

When a signer reassigns an e-signature task:

  • The document's E-Signature Status remains In-Progress in the Document Manager log, BP attachments, or Review Attachments window, depending on where the document was sent for e-signature.
  • The E-Sign Log tab records the original signer's E-Signature Status as Reassigned.
  • The Completion Date for the original signer displays the date that the task was reassigned.
  • The E-Sign Log tab adds a row for the new signer with the following information:
    • Signee: New signer's name
    • E-Signature Status: Delivered
    • Initiated Date: Date when the e-signature task was reassigned to the new signer
    • Completion Date: Date when the new signer changes the task to a terminal state, such as Completed, Declined, Reassigned, or Recalled
    • Signer Number: No Order if no signing order was selected, or the signee's position in the signing order if Sequential Order was selected

When an E-Signature task is reassigned, DocuSign sends two emails to the new signer:

  • The first email is from the original assignee who reassigned the task. After the new signer selects Review Document, DocuSign opens the document for electronic signing.

    After the new signer completes the signature, the E-signature Requests log in the Document Manager log or BP Attachments tab updates the new signer's E-Signature Status and Completion Date.

  • The second email is from the original sender of the E-Signature task.
    • When the new signer selects Review Document, DocuSign opens the document for electronic signing.
    • After the new signer completes the signature, the E-signature Requests log in the Document Manager log or BP Attachments tab updates the new signer's E-Signature Status and Completion Date.

Acrobat Sign Reassignment

When an internal or external user opens a document for signing, Unifier displays Delegate this document. After the signer reassigns the document, Acrobat Sign sends an email to the new signer.

When a signer delegates an E-Signature task to another assignee:

  • The original signer's E-Signature Status on the E-Sign Log tab changes to Reassigned.
  • The Completion Date displays the date that the signer delegated or reassigned the task.
  • The E-Sign Log tab adds a row that contains the new signer’s name.

When a new signer responds to the E-signature request email, the signer can review and sign the document or delegate the document to another signer.

Reports and Custom Prints

When you create a User-defined Report (UDR), Custom Print, or Custom Report in Unifier, you can include the E-Signature Status field or fields from the E-signature Requests log.

Completed Signature Requests

After all recipients sign the request, the recipients receive an e-mail notification.

For DocuSign, the email includes the individual attachments. For Acrobat Sign, the email includes a single file that contains the combined documents.

Unifier users can also view the signed file on the E-Signatures node. Each recipient's signature appears on the page that the recipient signed. Signatures are not grouped on a separate page.