E-signature fields

In Acrobat Sign, the e-signature field is mandatory for recipients assigned the roles of Signer, Acceptor, Approver, or Electronic Seal. Each recipient with a role that requires a signature must have at least one required, unconditional signature field in the agreement. If a required signature field is missing, Acrobat Sign automatically places a signature block at the end of the document to ensure compliance.

The e-signature field captures the recipient’s official signature along with a time and date stamp in one of three signature types:

E-signature - A single field that captures the recipient's signature through one of several methods (Typed, Drawn, Image) as an electronic signature.
E-signature block (with email) - A multi-field signature object that contains at least an E-Signature field and the Recipient email field. If the sending group requires either the recipient Title or Company, those fields will be present in the signature block also.
Digital Signature - A single field that captures the recipient's signature through one of two methods (Downloaded with Acrobat and Cloud Signatures) as a digital signature. If digital signatures are not enabled for the sending group, the option will not be available in the Signature type menu.

Availability:

Acrobat Standard and Acrobat Pro: Supported
Acrobat Sign Solutions: Supported
Acrobat Sign for Government: Supported

Note:

The Stamp field can be used as a signature field, but it's not a style element of the E-signature field. It's a discrete field type that must be enabled through separate controls.

Left-click field menu

Left-clicking (or CMD-clicking) a field opens a submenu that provides quick access to common customization options. This submenu offers a streamlined alternative to the entire field customization menu, making it especially attractive to experienced form builders.

Key features include changing the Signature type from the available options enabled by the sending group and a checkbox that lets you set the field as required or optional. These options allow users to tailor fields to meet their needs while building forms efficiently.

View of the e-signature field with the left click field menu exposed, and the Signature Type. drop-down menu expanded.

Settings impacting the field:

Digital Signatures > Signers may apply digital signatures through—At least one method of Digital Signature must be enabled, or you won't have the option to change the Signature Type to Digital Signature.

Digital Signature controls that must be enabled for the digital signature option to be available.

Require signers to provide their job title when e-signing—When enabled, a Title field must be placed for each recipient who must sign the agreement. If the field isn't present, a Signature block will be added to the bottom of the agreement.
Require signers to provide their company name when e-signing - When enabled, a Company field must be placed for each recipient who must sign the agreement. If the field isn't present, a Signature block will be added to the bottom of the agreement.

Additional Settings controls that must be enabled for the Title and Company pption to be required.

Customizing the field properties:

Double-clicking the field opens the full customization menu in the context panel.

E-signature fields have four sections that can be configured:

When added to an agreement, each field must be assigned to a specific participant (Prefill, participant1, participant2) or condition (Any recipient, All recipients). Field assignment determines who can interact with the field, ensuring that only the designated recipient(s) can complete it.

E-signature fields can only be assigned directly to one recipient. The relationship between the signature and the recipient is rigidly enforced and logged.

Key points to remember:

Every signer and witness must have at least one required, unconditional signature field.
- A signature block will be added to the end of the agreement if the field is omitted.
Other recipient roles can have assigned signature fields, but they are not required.
- A signature block will not be added to the agreement if the field is omitted.
A recipient can have multiple signature fields in a document.
- Additional signatures can be required or optional.
- Digital signatures are limited to 10 per recipient.

Assigning fields correctly helps maintain compliance in document workflows, prevents unauthorized edits, and keeps agreements structured and organized.

The Field Assigned To section of the field properties with three recipients and three signature fields

Tip:

Note that the colored dot next to a recipient’s name or email in the recipient list corresponds to the colored border of the fields assigned to that recipient. This visual cue helps quickly identify which fields belong to each signer, making it easier to manage and verify field assignments within the agreement.

The E-signature field includes four configurable elements:

Required field – When selected, the field becomes mandatory. The assigned recipient must interact with it to apply their signature. (Applying a signature in this case)
Field type – Allows the form author to change the field type from E-signature to another available field type.
- When a new type is selected, the field remains selected, and the context panel updates to show customization options for the new field type.
- Changing the field type does not affect field assignment.
Signature type – Allows the form author to choose from the signature types available through the sending group’s settings. Options include:
- E-signature - This is the most common and easiest option for signers. It captures a legally binding electronic signature in a single field with an adjustable footprint.
- E-signature block – Captures an electronic signature and the recipient’s email address. If required by group settings, Title or Company fields are also included below the signature. This option is useful when signatures must consist of these additional details.
- Digital signature – Accepts a digital signature certificate from a cloud-based provider. Electronic Seals also use this field. Digital signatures offer a higher level of signer verification but require the signer to have a digital signature.
Field name - The name of the field. Naming your field intuitively will significantly improve the experience when running reports and data exports. The default values will reflect the field type and an incrementing value. Consider changing the name to reflect the use of the field. e.g., Customer Signature, Internal Countersignature, Manager Approval.

View of the Field customization menu with the Customizable Field Type section highlighted.

The advanced field actions are the same as those available when you right-click a field to open the quick menu.

Copy field – Copies the field and its current values to your clipboard. The only difference between the original and copied field is the field name.
- To paste, right-click where you want the field and select Paste from the menu.
- You can also use the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl/Cmd + C to copy and Ctrl/Cmd + V to paste.
Delete field – Removes the field.
- You can recover a deleted field using the Undo shortcut: Ctrl/Cmd + Z if needed.
Repeat Field on All Pages – Adds a copy of the field to every page of the agreement in the same position as the original (using the same x and y coordinates).

The Advanced Field Actions section of the field properties.

You can set conditions to control how fields interact with each other, allowing fields to appear or be hidden based on user input.

A condition determines whether a field is shown or hidden when specific values are met. This can be triggered by a single event (such as checking a box) or a series of events where any or all conditions must be met (such as checking a box, applying a signature, and selecting a radio button).

Setting Field Conditions in Acrobat Sign

When configuring conditional logic for a field, you define how it behaves when specific conditions are met.

Field state: How does the field change?

The Field state setting determines whether the field is shown or hidden when triggered by a condition:

Show this field – The field is hidden by default and appears when the condition is met.
Hide this field – The field is visible by default and disappears when the condition is met.

When: What is the scope of conditions for changing the field state?

The condition scope defines if one or all conditions must be met to effect a change in the field state.

Any – If any defined conditions are met, the action is triggered.
All – Every condition in the set must be met before the action is triggered.

Conditions: What has to happen for the field state to change?

Conditions define which criteria must be satisfied before the action occurs. The condition must identify a specific field and evaluate that field's state or contents based on the operator.
Define a condition by:

Select a field – Choose the field that will act as the trigger. All fields currently on the form are listed.
Choose an operator – Define how the trigger evaluates the field's state. The available options vary based on the field type (e.g., for checkboxes: is/isn't selected; for text fields: comparisons such as equals, greater than, or contains)
Set the trigger value – Define the value that activates the condition. For checkboxes, this is checked or unchecked. For text fields, this can be a specific value or a Contains/Doesn't contain type of expression.

Multiple conditions can be set by selecting the plus icon under the existing condition. This adds a new condition that can be configured, expanding the scope of the existing condition.

By setting up conditions, you can create dynamic, interactive forms that adjust based on user input, improving efficiency and usability.

The Add or Edit Conditions section of the field properties.

Text tag examples for E-signature fields

Optional Electronic Signature Text Tag

Sig1_es_:signer1:signature:optional

Breakdown of the Tag:

Sig1 → Unique field name (you can modify as needed).
_es_ → The text tag signifier. Do not edit or omit.
signer1 → Assigns the field to the first signer.
signature → Defines the field as an electronic signature field.
optional → Makes the signature field optional instead of required.

This tag ensures the recipient can sign but isn't required to do so before submitting the agreement.

Electronic Signature Text Tag

Signature2_es_:signer2:signature

Breakdown of the Tag:

Signature2 → Unique field name (you can modify as needed).
_es_ → The text tag signifier. Do not edit or omit.
signer2 → Assigns the field to the second signer.
signature → Defines the field as an electronic signature field.

This tag creates a required electronic signature field named Signature2 for the second signer.

Digital Signature Text Tag

Customer_Digital_Signature_es_:signer3:digsig

Breakdown of the Tag:

Customer_Digital_Signature → Unique field name (you can modify as needed).
_es_ → The text tag signifier. Do not edit or omit.
signer3 → Assigns the field to the third signer.
digsig → Defines the field as a digital signature field.

This tag creates a digital signature field named Customer_Digital_Signature for the third signer.

Other useful parameters for the E-signature field:

:width=X → Sets a custom width for the field in pixels (replace X with the desired pixel value).
:height=Y → Sets a custom height for the field in pixels (replace Y with the desired pixel value).

Example:

Sig1_es_:signer1:signature:width=200:height=50

Breakdown of the Tag:

Sig1 → Unique field name (you can modify as needed).
_es_ → The text tag signifier. Do not edit or omit.
signer1 → Assigns the field to the first signer.
signature → Defines the field as an electronic signature field.
width=200 → Sets the field width to 200 pixels.
height=50 → Sets the field height to 50 pixels.

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