A transaction is the experience of a OneSpan Sign user as they review, accept, sign, and potentially download documents. The sender of a transaction generally performs the following procedures :

Adding Fields to a Document

Fields enable the placement of additional data in a document at the time of signing. Like signature fields, non-signature fields can be placed anywhere inside a document. Nonetheless, each field is linked to a particular signature. Only the signer of that signature can assign or change the field's value. Once the signature is signed, however, the value of the field cannot be changed by anyone.

You cannot add fields to: (1) documents that are Accept Only; (2) the Electronic Consent form; (3) documents in an accessible transaction.

To add fields to an active document:

  1. Click the <Name of Recipient> from the RECIPIENTS section of the Prepare Transaction page.
  2. Drag and drop the desired fields (e.g., Signature) from the FIELDS section onto the document. The Available Fields are described below.
  3. Optional: Configure any additional settings for a selected field.
    • Field Name: Enter a title for this field.
    • Recipient: If desired, used the drop-down menu to select a different recipient for this field.
    • Field Tooltip: Enter any additional instructions or descriptions that could help a signer in understanding what this field is. This tooltip will be displayed in the Signer Experience when hovering over or tabbing into the actionable field. This tooltip will also be read by a screen reader when focusing on the field.
  4. If this field is not necessarily required to complete this transaction, select the Is optional option. For more information, see Optional Signatures .
  5. Optional: Use the Layout section to configure the position and size of the field. You can also do this manually, by dragging and dropping, or manually resizing the field.
  6. Optional: Configure conditional logic among some or all of the fields you added to the document in the previous step. How to do so is described in the section below called Conditional Fields.
  7. Optional: Use the Field Formatting section to configure font size for the field (i.e., the font size that will be used for text in the field when the parent document is printed). The options are: (1) a specific font size; (2) Auto-fit (which will scale the text to fill its input box); (3) Inherit from parent (this is the default, and will use the font size defined at the transaction/template level). You can also configure the Text Alignment for this field - for example, to have all text aligned to center of the field.

The following may be of use to you:

  • You can duplicate a field by clicking it, and selecting Duplicate from the Field Settings pane. The new field will duplicate the original field's properties (Is required, Is optional, default value, list values, max characters), but its Field Name will be reset to empty.
  • You can collectively align multiple fields to the top, bottom, left, or right. Press the keyboard SHIFT button + left-click to select multiple fields. Use the menu at the top of the document to align the fields to the top, bottom, left, or right.
  • For more information about signing a sent document, see Using the Signer Experience.
  • For more information on working with the Prepare Transaction page, see Preparing Transactions and New.

Available Fields

The FIELDS section of the Document Designer page contains every field that can be added to a document for a given recipient. Two types of fields can be added:

  • Signature Fields — These collect a variety of recipient signature types and initials.

  • Form-Building Fields — These collect informational responses from the recipients on the documents attached to the transaction.

Signature Fields

When you drop these signature fields into the document, the Field Settings panel displays to the right of the document. In this panel, you can name the field and specify which recipient(s) must complete the field.

Field Usage Field Settings
Signature Used to collect a signature from a recipient.

The following signature types are available:

  • Click-to-Sign

  • Capture Signature

  • Mobile Signature

  • Click-to-Initial

Click-to-Sign Upon clicking in this field, the signer's name is stamped on the signature field at the time of signing. This is the default signature type. Select this type of signature from the Field Settings panel to the right of the document.
Capture Signature

The recipient draws their signature using their mouse or another input device. The drawing of the signature is stamped on the signature field at the time of signing.

Optionally, if the From File setting is enabled, the recipient may upload an image file to be stamped on the field at the time of signing.

 Mobile Signature The recipient receives a link via email that redirects them to open the document on their mobile phone. The recipient is then required to draw their signature using their finger or a stylus. The drawing of the signature is then stamped on the box. Mobile Capture must first be enabled on your account. Select this type of signature from the Field Settings panel to the right of the document.
Click-to-Initial and Signer Initials At the time of signing, the recipient's initials are stamped on the signature field.  
Signing Date This autofield stamps the document with the date and time of the signature  
Signer Name This autofield stamps the document with the signer's name as it was entered on the transaction.  
Signer Title: This autofield stamps the document with the title of the signer as it was entered on the transaction. Since this is an optional field on the transaction, it is only available if the information is provided on the transaction.
Signer Company This autofield stamps the document with the name of the signer's company as it was entered on the transaction. Since this is an optional field on the transaction, it is only available if the information is provided on the transaction.

A default signature type can be configured for the Signature field by contacting our Support Team. The available defaults are Click to Sign, Capture Signature, and Mobile Capture.

Form-Building Fields

When you drop these form-building fields into the document, the Field Settings panel displays to the right of the document.

Field Usage Field Settings
Text Field This field accepts any text entered by the signer prior to signing.

Field Name

Recipient: Specify which signer(s) must complete the field.

Default Value

Is Required: Make the field mandatory at signing.

Text Area

This is a multi-line area that accepts any text entered by the signer prior to signing.

Field Name

Recipient: Specify which signer(s) must complete the field.

Default Value

Is Required: Make the field mandatory at signing.

Checkbox

This is a check box that the signer can either select or clear. Use check boxes when you want to enable signers to choose more than one option in a list.

Use Checkbox Group to place selected checkboxes in a group of associated boxes. If the sender sets any box in a group as required, then during signing the signer must select at least one member of the group.

Field Name

Recipient: Specify which signer(s) must complete the field.

Checkbox Group: Use this to place selected checkboxes in a group of associated boxes.

Default Value: Toggle On to check the box by default.

Is Required: Make the field mandatory at signing.

Radio

Radio buttons enable signers to select one of many predefined options. Use radio buttons when you want signers to choose only one option.

Use Radio Group to place selected radio buttons in a group of associated buttons. You can identify one button in the group as the Default, thus ensuring that it will be pre-selected.

To add a group of radio buttons, first select the signature field you would like to associate with this group. Radio groups are associated with signature approvals, and thus the same radio group can be used multiple times, with different signature fields.

Field Name

Recipient: Specify which signer(s) must complete the field.

Radio Group: Use this to place selected radio buttons in a group of associated buttons.

Default Value: Toggle On to select the radio button by default.

Is Required: Make the field mandatory at signing.

List

This is a drop-down list that offers recipients multiple predefined options. The signer can choose one option from the list. Once that option is selected, only that option is displayed, thus minimizing the amount of space this element occupies on the screen.

  • Field Name
  • Recipient: Specify which signer(s) must complete the field.
  • List: Enter the items that should be available in the drop-down list, one item per line.
  • Default Value: Pre-populate the drop-down list with one of the list items or leave this blank to omit a default selection.
  • Is Required: Ensure that the signer selects one item from the list.
  • Label

    This is a read only label that will be stamped on the PDF.

    Field Name

    Recipient: Specify which signer(s) must complete the field.

    Default Value

    Custom Fields

    Custom Fields are created at the account level, and an account can have any number of Custom Fields. These fields are populated with signer-specific data at the time of signing.

    For example, if an account users Custom Fields to collect the Agent Number for senders in their account profiles, then the custom field for Agent Number may appear in the list of field options.

    Settings for custom fields are dependent on the type of field configured for the account.

    For all the above fields except Capture Signature, Mobile Signature, Radio and Checkbox, the Field Settings pane has a Field Formatting section that specifies a font size for the field (i.e., the font size that will be used for text in the field when the parent document is printed). The options are: (1) a specific font size; (2) Auto-fit (which will scale the text to fill its input box); (3) Inherit from parent (this is the default, and will use the font size defined at the transaction/template level).

    When a Form-Building Field is added to a document that is part of a Virtual Room transaction, the Field Settings pane displays a toggle switch called Mask field in Virtual Room. If the sender slides that switch ON, during the Signer Experience the associated field will be visible only to: (1) the signer to whom the field is assigned; (2) the host of the Virtual Room session.

    Optional Signatures

    The Optional Signature is a feature that may be enabled for your account. If the optional setting is enabled for a signature field, a recipient is not obliged to sign that field within a documents before completing the transaction.

    The following signature types may be set as optional:

    • Click-to-Sign
    • Capture Signature

    • Mobile Signature

    • Click-to-Initial

    • Signer Initials

    There are a number of safeguards in place to ensure that optional signatures are recognized and recorded on the transaction and that associated fields are managed correctly:

    • An autofield (such as the Signing Date or Signer Title) associated with an optional signature will only appear if the signature field is signed.
    • If an optional signature field is not signed, an empty signature field will remain on a transaction.

    • A signer must confirm a transaction before the system will retain the signer's optional signatures within the transaction's documents.

    • If a Signing Order has been set on a transaction, then the signer with the optional signature field must confirm the transaction before it can continue to the next signer.

    • Senders on mobile applications (iOS or Android) cannot create optional signatures.

    • Consent documents cannot be optional.

    Conditional Fields

    Conditional Fields enable Senders to configure IF-THEN conditional logic among two or more fields in a document. For example:

    • You can specify that IF a highlighted Text Field is not empty, THEN a particular Signature Field will be enabled — i.e., the signer must add text to the Text Field before they can sign the Signature Field.
    • You can specify that IF a highlighted Checkbox is checked, THEN all other fields in the document will be enabled — i.e., the signer must check the Checkbox before they can interact with any of the document's other fields.

    • Conditions cannot be applied to Custom Fields, Notary Fields, Auto-populated Fields (e.g., Name, Title, Date), Labels, or attachments.
    • Conditional logic cannot be applied across documents or across signers.
    • A mandatory field conditioned to be enabled or disabled should always be accompanied with a second condition that also makes it optional if the first condition is set to disabled. Failure to do this could prevent a recipient from being able to sign. Your conditional logic then, should include two conditions. For example:
      1. If Field A is selected, make Field B disabled.
      2. If Field A is selected, make Field B optional.
    • This feature is also available via the REST API and SDKs.

    The following procedure describes how to configure conditional logic among a document's fields.

    To configure conditional logic among fields added to a document:

    1. Add fields to your document. Conditional logic requires that: (1) you add more than one field; (2) at least one of the added fields be of type Text Field, Text Area, Checkbox, Radio, or List.
    2. Conditional logic can act on all five of the above types, as well as on Signatures and Signer Initials types.

    3. Click an added Text Field, Text Area, Checkbox, Radio, or List field that you want to use as the IF part of your desired conditional logic. A FIELD SETTINGS pane appears on the right of your screen.
    4. If you have a narrow screen, getting the FIELD SETTINGS pane to appear may require clicking three vertically aligned dots on the upper right of your screen.

    5. In that pane, expand the Conditional Logic tab.
    6. Configure the conditional logic you want between the field chosen in Step 2 and the document's other fields. The following table indicates which conditions are available for the various field types.
    7. Available Conditions Field Type Description

      IF ...

         
      Empty/Not empty Text Field, Text Area Determines if a Text Field or Text Area must be empty or not empty (in the IF part of your conditional logic)
      Checked/Unchecked Checkbox, Radio Determines if a Checkbox or Radio Button must be checked or unchecked (in the IF part of your conditional logic)
      <Any Item in a List> List This is a specified item from the list of items in your highlighted List field. The signer must select this value to satisfy the IF part of your conditional logic.

      THEN ...

         
      Enable/Disable All

      Determines if the selected field will be enabled or disabled (in the THEN part of your conditional logic). This therefore determines if the signer will be able to interact with that field.

      CAUTION: If a mandatory field is conditioned to be disabled, the signer’s experience will be broken – i.e., the signer won’t be able to sign. Thus if a mandatory field is conditioned to be disabled, it should also be conditioned to be optional. This will ensure that disabling the field will not break the signer’s experience.

      Make required All

      Determines if the selected field will be required (in the THEN part of your conditional logic). This therefore determines if the signer will be required to interact with that field.

      Make optional All Determines if the selected field will be optional (in the THEN part of your conditional logic). This therefore determines if the signer may optionally interact with that field.
    8. Click Save. Small icons appear on the right edge of all the fields that have been configured with conditional logic.

    Video: How to use Optional Signatures

    Starting with the 11.42 release of OneSpan Sign, the Classic User Experience is no longer supported for SaaS customers. This section is thus only intended for on-premises customers who have not yet migrated to our Container deployment.

    Support for on-premises deployments, including those using Containers, ended on December 31, 2023.

    For more information, please see our OneSpan Product Life Cycle page, and consult the OneSpan End of Life policy.

    For any additional questions contact your Customer Service Representative.

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    Once you have created a package and added at least one document to it, you can prepare all of its documents for signing. This is done using the Classic.

    If a package is accessible, the Designer page will be read-only. That is, no one can: (1) add, modify or remove signatures or fields; (2) specify the documents as Accept Only; (3) apply layouts to the documents.

    To prepare a package for signing:

    1. Perform the procedure Adding Signature Blocks to Documents.
    2. Optional: Perform the procedure Adding Fields to Documents.
    3. From the Signers and Documents page, click Prepare.

    This section also describes Creating and Using Templates, which is related to preparing documents for signing.

    Adding Signature Blocks to Documents

    Signature Blocks define: (1) where each signer must sign a document; (2) fields that contain information about the signer.

    In a given document, you can insert multiple Signature Blocks for a given signer.

    However, you are not obliged to add a Signature Block for a signer. For example, a package may include several documents, one of which requires signatures from only two of three signers.

    To add Signature Blocks to the documents in a package:

    1. Click Prepare to Sign in the document toolbar. The Preview window appears for the package' first document.
    2. Using the drop-down arrow in the Signers list, select the signer whose signature you want to add.
    3. Click Add Signature.
    4. Drag the Signature Block to where you want it to appear in the document.
    5. If you want to change certain settings: (1) hover your cursor over the Signature Block; (2) click the gear icon.
    6. For each Signature Block you want to add to the document, repeat Steps 2 to 5.
    7. If the package has multiple documents: (1) open the next document by clicking the navigation arrow in the Preview window's toolbar; (2) repeat Steps 2 to 6 to add Signature Blocks to that document.

    Adding Fields to Documents

    Fields are associated with a specific signer, and are optional. You can include any number of each type of field. If the signer has a OneSpan Sign account, fields such as the signer's name and title will be filled in automatically, even if that information is not provided by the sender.

    A field does not appear if the document that contains it is displayed to a signer other than the user for whom the field was created. For example, if you add Signer Name, Date, and Checkbox fields for a specific signer, those fields will never appear to the package owner.

    Field Types

    You can add any of the following field types:

    • Signing Date: At the time of signing, the system automatically populates this field with the current date.
    • Signer Name: At the time of signing, the system automatically populates this field with the signer's first and last names. These names are provided when the signer is added to the package.
    • Signer Title: If the signer's title is available, the system automatically populates this field with that title at the time of signing. Otherwise, the field is left blank. The signer's title is usually provided when the signer is added. However, if the signer is a Contact, Lead, or User in Salesforce, this field is automatically populated with the information stored in Salesforce.
    • Signer Company: If the name of the signer's company is available, the system automatically populates this field with that name at the time of signing. Otherwise, the field is left blank. The company name is usually provided when the signer is added. However, if the signer is a Contact, Lead, or User in Salesforce, this field is automatically populated with the information stored in Salesforce.
    • Date: This field enables the signer to add a date of their own choosing. The Name, Format, Is Required, and Type values can all be specified in the field's settings.
    • Text Field: This field provides a box where the signer can enter additional information at the time of signing.
    • Text Area: This is similar to the Text Field type, in that it provides an area where free-form text can be entered by signers. However, unlike Text Fields, it provides automatic wraparound. Each Text Area can accept up to 4000 characters. The Name, Default Value, whether the text area Is Required, and the Maximum Length of the text area can all be specified in the field's settings.
    • Checkbox: Prior to signing, the signer can either select or clear this simple check box. It can be useful to indicate that the signer has completed a particular action. The Name, Default Value, and whether the box Is Required can all be specified in the field's settings.
    • Radio: Radio buttons provide the ability to select one of many options. Multiple radio buttons can be grouped together by associating each with a common Group Name. The Required field, if enabled, indicates that at least one button in the group must be selected. Identifying one button in the group as the Default will pre-select that option. The Name, Default Value, whether the radio button Is Required, and the Radio Group can all be specified in the field's settings.
    • List: A drop-down menu list also provides the ability to select one of many options. Once an option has been selected, only that value is displayed (this reduces the amount of space taken by this UI element on the screen). The Name, Default Value, and List Items can all be specified in the field's settings.
    • Label: The package sender can add a label field to embed text in a document. This is a read-only field with a value that will be simply stamped on the PDF. During the Signer Experience, the label is displayed as non-editable text.

    If you don't see some of the above field types when you perform the next procedure, it's because they have been disabled for your account. For help, see your System Administrator.

    To add a field to a document:

    1. Hover your mouse over a relevant Signature Block, click the Gear icon, and then click Add Field.
    2. Choose the field type you want to add (see Field Types).
    3. Drag the field to where you want it to appear in the document.
    4. Repeat Steps 1-3 for each field you want to add.
    5. If your package has multiple documents, and you want to add fields to other documents, use the navigation arrows to open the next relevant document, and repeat Steps 1-4.

    Application Administrators can configure default values for the field-type settings Is Required and Format. These settings can be edited by users.