Signing a document

This page follows a signer through the signing page, sign.automadoc.cc. Share it with the people you send requests to if they have questions. Signers need no account and install nothing: a current browser on a phone, tablet or computer is enough.

Opening the link

The invitation email has a Review and sign button. A colleague in the same AutomaDoc account may get the link by Lark bot message instead, and some senders pass the link on themselves, by chat for example.

The link is personal: anyone who has it can sign as you, so do not forward it. Each new email about the same request (a reminder, “Your turn to sign”, a link sent again) replaces the link before it, and the older link then shows “This link is not valid”. Always use the newest one.

The page is in the signer’s language when it is known, and the language menu at the top switches between the seven languages. The page runs no analytics and no third-party script.

Access code

If the sender protected the request, the page asks first: Enter your access code. “The sender protected this document with an access code. They gave it to you separately from this link.” Ask the sender for it if you do not have it.

A wrong code shows “That code is not right.” with how many tries are left, for example “4 tries left before this link locks.” After 5 wrong codes the link is locked: “This link is locked”. Only the sender can unlock it, by sending you a new link.

A code you entered is remembered in that browser tab for 30 minutes. After that you are asked again, and anything you already filled in is kept.

Agreeing to sign electronically

Before the document opens: Agree to sign electronically. “To view and sign this document online, you agree to receive it, and to sign it, electronically instead of on paper. You can ask the sender for a paper copy at any time.”

Read the Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure opens the full text: what you agree to, getting paper copies, withdrawing your consent, what you need, keeping a copy, and contacting the sender. Tick “I agree to use electronic records and signatures, as described in the disclosure.” and select Continue. Your agreement is recorded in the audit trail with the time, your IP address and the version of the disclosure.

You can also Decline from this screen, without agreeing first.

Reading and filling in the document

The top of the page shows the request’s title, From the sender, Sign by the deadline (in the request’s time zone), and Message from the sender when there is one.

The documents follow as page images, one under the other, each labelled “Page 1 of 3” and so on. Your fields are highlighted on the pages. Fields other people already filled in show what they put there: their signature, name, ticks and dates.

A bar at the bottom shows how much is left, for example “2 required fields left · 1 of 3 done”. Start, then Next field, takes you to your next empty required field, in reading order: document by document, page by page, top to bottom, left to right. Optional fields are skipped by Next field: tap them yourself if you want to fill them.

Tap a field to fill it:

Signature or Initials: the first time, you adopt one (below). After that, tapping an empty field signs it.
Name: starts with your name as the sender typed it. Correct it if needed.
Text and Company: a box opens with the field’s name, Save and Cancel. A field can refuse a value with “This field is required.”, “Enter a number.”, “Enter an email address.” or “At most 50 characters.”
Email: starts with the address the request was sent to, and cannot be changed then.
Checkbox: tap to tick or untick.
Date signed shows “Date (automatic)”: it is filled when you finish, in the request’s time zone.

Adopting your signature

Tapping your first signature field opens Adopt your signature (or Adopt your initials).

Check Full name, “As it should appear in the audit trail”. It needs at least 2 characters.
Make your signature, one of three ways:
- Draw: “Draw with your finger, a pen or the mouse”. Undo and Clear help.
- Type: type your name and pick a Style among three handwriting fonts.
- Upload: “PNG, JPEG or WebP. A photo of your signature on white paper works best: the paper is removed.” Up to 10 MB.
Select Adopt and sign (or Adopt and initial).

The adopted signature goes into every signature field of yours in this request, and the initials into every initials field. To take it out of one optional field, tap that field and choose Remove from this field. To change it, tap a signed field and adopt again.

The picture is rebuilt from its pixels on the server before it is stored, and it is recorded with your name and the time in the audit trail.

Finishing

When no required field is left, the bar shows a short statement of what selecting Finish means, and the Finish button. Select it to sign. Everything is checked again on the server; if something is missing, the bar says “Some required fields are still empty. They are outlined in red.” and takes you to the first one.

Then:

“Thank you, you have signed” when others still have to sign: “Others still have to sign. Once everyone has, come back to this link to download the signed PDF.” You also receive the signed PDF by email once everyone has signed, if the sender has your address.
“Signed. Everyone has now signed.” when you were the last. The signed PDF is made in a few seconds; until then the page says “The signed PDF is still being prepared. It will appear here in a moment.”

Waiting for your turn

If the sender set a signing order and you open your link early, the page says, for example, “2 people sign before you. You can read the document now. Come back to this link when it is your turn.” You can read the document and decline, but not sign yet. If the sender reaches you by email, you get “Your turn to sign” with a new link when your turn comes.

Declining

Decline is at the top of the page while you can sign, and on the agreement screen. The dialog, Decline to sign, warns: “The sender is told, with your reason, and nobody else can sign this document.” Choose a reason:

I am not the right person to sign
The document needs changes
I do not want to sign it
Another reason

Add details if you like; with “Another reason” they are required. Select Decline. The request closes for everyone, and the page shows “You declined to sign”.

Downloading the signed PDF

Once everyone has signed, the link shows Everyone has signed and a Get the signed PDF button. It lists:

Signed document, one per document;
Certificate of completion;
All documents in one PDF, when the request has two or more documents.

“These download links work for a few minutes. Reload the page for new ones.” A request protected by an access code asks for the code again before the download if you come back later.

Download the PDF to read it

Page images say nothing to a screen reader, and some people prefer their own PDF viewer. After you agree to sign electronically, Download the PDF to read it downloads the document exactly as everyone sees it, before any signature. It is there while you sign, while you wait for your turn, and after you have signed.

What each message means

A closed request shows its state and nothing else: no title, no names.

The page says	What it means
This link is not valid	The link is incomplete, or a newer email replaced it. Use the newest email, or ask the sender for a new link.
This link is locked	The access code was entered wrongly 5 times. Ask the sender for a new link.
This request was declined	Someone declined, so nobody can sign it any more.
You declined to sign	You declined. The sender has been told.
This request was cancelled	The sender cancelled the request. Nothing more to do.
This request has expired	Its deadline passed. Ask the sender to send it again.
Everyone has signed	It is complete. Download the signed PDF and the certificate.
The document could not be loaded	The page could not reach AutomaDoc. Check your connection and select Try again.
The signed PDF could not be made. Ask the sender for a copy.	Making the signed PDF failed after everyone signed. Every signature is kept, and the request shows the failure to the sender.
The files of this request are no longer stored. Ask the sender for a copy.	The sender deleted the request’s files.