Define the recipients and the order in which they gain access to interact with the document.

• Configuring agreements with multiple signers is the same process as a single singer, just with more recipients. Add each and configure them as needed.
• Adding the same email in the agreement multiple times (eg; if someone has actions at different stages of the process) is allowed.
  

In the Recipients section, the very top switch asks you select the basic signature order:

• Complete in Order is selected (as shown above), a sequential signing process is observed from one signing step to the next and recipients are numbered to indicate the exact participation order
  • Hybrid signature flows start as a sequential (Complete in Order) workflow
• When Complete in Any Order is enabled, parallel signing can take place and recipients are not numbered to indicate that there is no specific participation order.

To the right of the signature order switch, you will see two links:

• Add Me – Click this link to include yourself as the next recipient in the participation order
• Add Recipient Group – Click this link to create a group of recipients where one needs to participate on behalf of the entire group. For example, create a group for the HR team, where only one person from HR actually needs to sign the agreement.

Each recipient is created with five elements:

A. Participation Order – When Complete in Order is selected the participation order provides a clear indication of when each recipient will interact with the agreement.

B. Role – How is the recipient best characterized?

C. Email address – This is the recipient’s identifying email address and is used for all email communication with the recipient, including the request to sign.

D. Authentication Methods – How should the recipient be vetted? Do you want to use additional authentication?

E. Private Message (optional) – The sender can supply individual instructions to each recipient which appear when the recipient is viewing the agreement.

The Show CC link under the recipient list exposes a field where you can carbon copy (CC) any email address that you want to view the agreement, without them having signing/approval authority. 

A “Hybrid” workflow is an instance of the sequential participation order where one or more of the steps includes two or more recipients gaining access to the document at the same time. All of the signers/approvers of the “parallel” step will need to complete their part before the sequential process moves to the next step.

Recipient Groups are useful when you need sign-off from a team or an organization, but not from a specific individual in that group. Any member in the group is authorized to sign or approve on behalf of the entire group. 

The Message section contains two fields that can dramatically improve your success.

The Agreement Name field allows you to enter any string that will identify the agreement.  This string will populate in the Subject line of the recipients’ email (highlighted in yellow below), and also as the name value on the Manage page. Providing a unique and meaningful agreement name will help your recipients identify your email more readily, and can improve your ability to search for the agreement if needed.

The Agreement Message is a plain text field where you can enter any instructions or comments that are warranted (highlighted in green below). This message appears on the Please Sign email sent to all recipients (unlike the Private Message which only appears for the recipient it is configured for).

Message Templates

Enterprise level customers will have access to Message Templates which are configured by your Administrator. Message templates are directly tied to the Recipient’s Language feature in the Options sections, so when you select “Spanish” from the language drop-down, all of your Spanish templates will become available.  

The Options section allows you to better control the agreement after it has been sent:

• Password Protect - Require recipients to enter a password to open and view the signed PDF file.  This password is defined by the sender and would be communicated out of band. Acrobat Sign does not record this password, so don’t forget it!
• Completion Deadline - Set the number of days after which the agreement expires and can no longer be completed.
• Set Reminder - Set the frequency (daily or weekly) of reminders to be sent until the agreement is completed. Only the current recipients will be notified.
• Recipients' Language - Select the language to be used in emails sent to recipients and during the signing experience.
  • This setting also defines the visible Message Templates if your account is configured to use them.

The File section is where you attach the documents to the transaction.

Acrobat  Sign will combine all documents into one inclusive PDF agreement for the signature process, and will build that PDF based on the order that the documents are listed. Documents can be rearranged by clicking and dragging one document to a new list location.

Files can be attached from the Acrobat Sign library, Google docs, Box.net, Dropbox, OneDrive, uploaded from your local system using file search, or you can drag and drop a file into the Files box.

File types allowed are: Word, Excel, PowerPoint,  PDF, JPG, GIF, TIF, PNG, BMP, TXT, RTF, HTML

Preview & Add Signature Fields

Just under the Files list you will see the Preview & Add Signature Fields check box.  This option allows you to open the documents that you upload and place form fields as needed on them. 

You should place at least the signature fields, but there are many other fields you can use to build complex forms if you like.

Sending a document to just one recipient is one of the most common agreement workflows and a great way to learn the basic process. All you need is:

• The recipient’s email address
  • This email must be different than the email you log in with (you cannot send to yourself)
• A document or file that you want signed

Sending to Multiple Recipients

Sending an agreement to multiple recipients follows the exact same steps with two notable differences:

• You have to include each recipient in their own line of the Recipients section, in the order you want them to sign.
• When placing fields, you have to declare which recipient should have access to that field by double-clicking the field and setting the Recipient value.