Create Templates in Vinesign

This article discusses how to create templates in Vinesign. Templates are pre-designed files that can be used for frequently sent documents.

• Upload Files
• Design a Template
• Review and Save

Upload Files

The first step to using Vinesign is uploading one or multiple files. Those files can be saved in Vinesign as a template to be used in multiple documents. If you have already uploaded and saved the template you’d like to edit, you can begin designing your template.

To upload, click the Templates tab at the top of the page. On the templates page, select Create Template.

On the upload page, drop files in the dropbox, or click Upload Files to select a .pdf, .docx, or .doc from your computer files. You can upload up to 10 files. 

Uploaded files appear in a list to the right in the Selected Items panel, in the order they were uploaded. The order of the list determines the order in which the selected items will appear in the template. To reorder the list, click the vertical dots icon beside an item and drag it to the desired position. To remove an item, click the X icon beside the item.

After uploading and ordering all desired files, click Next to continue on to designing the template.

File Types and Limitations

Docx and .doc files will be converted to a .pdf upon upload. Vinesign does not support other file types.

For best performance, we recommend uploading files of no more than 5 MB.

Errors will occur if your file is too large or unoptimized. If you encounter problems uploading your .pdf, try optimizing the .pdf for “minimal size” or saving it to the .pdf/a format through Adobe Reader.

Design a Template

To design a new template, skip to the next paragraph. To edit an existing template, select Templates from the top menu. Beside the template you’d like to edit, click the vertical ellipsis in the Actions column, and select Edit from the dropdown.

In the Design page, multiple files appear in one collated document, in the order that was chosen when the files were uploaded. Designing a template includes adding signers as needed, and then choosing and placing fields on the document. In the signer panel on the left, you can manage and add signers and add fields. Adding a custom Text Field will open the Field Properties panel on the right, where you can view the new custom field options.

Manage Signers

In the left-hand panel, click + Add to add a signer. To switch between signers, click the Choose Signer dropdown and select the desired signer. Signers and their assigned fields are color-coded for ease of use, so Signer 1’s fields will appear yellow in the document, Signer 2’s blue, and so on.

Signers are named Signer 1, Signer 2, and so on by default, but signer names can be changed by clicking Manage. For example, a user might name Signer 1 “Client” and Signer 2 “Attorney.”

For Multisign documents, the document will be sent to signers sequentially, simultaneously, or in groups in the selected order. The order of signers cannot be changed once they have been added, so use caution when determining which fields are assigned to which signer.

Signers can also be removed in the Manage Signers modal. Removing a signer will also remove all of their assigned fields. Only the last signer can be removed, so use caution when adding signers. For example, if you’ve added four signers, and you’d like to remove Signer 2, along with all of their fields, you would first need to remove Signer 4 and Signer 3.

Add Standard Fields

Vinesign offers four standard fields: Signature, Initials, Name, and Current Date. The client will be able to draw or--if you choose--enter or upload their signature and initials for the respective standard fields. Name and date fields will be filled automatically and will not need to be entered by the recipient.

To add a standard field, select the signer you’d like to assign the field to from the Choose Signer dropdown, scroll to the correct page in the document, and drag the field to the desired place. Fields cannot be dragged across document pages, so be sure to scroll to the desired page before clicking to add the fields.

Person Name and Current Date fields can be customized. You choose the font type, size, justification, formatting, and color in the Properties panel. 

Add Custom Fields

Vinesign offers three types of document custom fields: Text Fields, Check Boxes and Links. 

To create a custom field, click the desired field in the left-hand panel. The field will be added to the Predefined Fields list below, where it can be used again or for other signers. 

Once a custom field has been created, you can adjust the name and other options in the Field Properties panel, which will open on the right. 

Custom field types can be renamed or marked required. Rename the field to make it easily identifiable. Text fields can also be made read-only or marked to allow for a multi-line response. Field properties for link fields include the URL and the display text. The font of text and link fields can also be customized, including font type, size, justification, formatting, and color.

If your Vinesign account is linked to a Lead Docket account and you’d like to auto-fill the field, enter a merge code for the field. Learn more about adding merge codes for Lead Docket. Filevine merge codes cannot be added in a Vinesign template. Learn more about using Filevine with Vinesign. 

Review and Save

Once the signers and fields for the template have been created and set, click Next to continue to the Review & Save page. Here, you can: 

• create or edit the template name
• preset the signers
• change the signature and message settings
• select preferred notifications and reminders

When you have named the template and added these options, you have the choice of either saving the template and returning to the Templates page, or saving and continuing on to the Send page.

Preset Signers

Click the dropdown caret next to Recipients to set a specific contact for any of the signers. Setting a signer for the template means that the name, contact information, and authentication settings for that signer will always be automatically filled when sending the template. 

If you have a template that will always need to be signed and filled by the same individual, presetting that individual as a signer will save you time. 

Signature Settings

Click the dropdown caret next to Signature Settings to choose your signature color and allow additional signature options like a typed signature. 

Message Settings

Customize the message for the signees under the Message Settings section. Custom messages are saved as part of the template when added in the Review & Save page.

To create a custom message for a single document, without saving the message to the template, edit the message in the Send page when sending a document. Admins can also set a custom message for their entire organization in the Settings tab.

To revert to the default SMS message and email subject and body text, click Load Default.

To change the language of the default message to Spanish, select Spanish. Selecting Spanish changes the signee experience (prompts, buttons, and confirmation email) to Spanish as well. 

Notifications

Click the dropdown caret next to Notifications to choose your preferred notification settings for this template. By default, the options are set to your user notification settings or, if you have not chosen any, your organization’s notification settings.

In the Notification Email(s) field, enter the email addresses that you’d like to send notifications to. By default, the Email(s) field will contain the email address of the user who’s sending the document. When entering multiple email addresses, separate each address with a comma.

In the Type section, you can select from the following notification types:

• Click the Sent checkbox to send a notification email when a document is sent and received by the recipients, but not yet opened. 
• Click the Viewed checkbox to send a notification email when the document’s recipients have opened the document, but haven’t signed yet.
• Click the Declined checkbox to send a notification email when a signer has declined to sign the document.
• Click the Signed checkbox to send a notification email when a signer has signed the document.
• Click the Completed checkbox to send a notification email when all signers have finished signing the document.

In the CC Recipient(s) field, enter any desired email addresses. Email addresses entered here will receive emails when the document is sent, and when the document is signed, along with a copy of the signed document. When entering multiple email addresses, separate each address with a comma.

At the top right of the Notifications section, click Use Org Notifications to revert to your organization’s notification settings.

Reminders

Click the dropdown caret next to Reminders to choose your preferred reminder settings for this template. By default, the options are set to your organization's reminder settings.

Select Send Signers Reminders to choose the desired reminder frequency. The reminder frequency options appear below. Select the desired reminder days. For example, selecting the 1 day and 5 days checkboxes will send signers an email reminding them to sign the document on the first and fifth day after sending.