Adobe Acrobat Sign for Microsoft Dynamics 365 On-Premises: Installation Guide

Admin Tools

Commonly used tools for Admins to extend the value of the Adobe Acrobat Sign service:

• Create new data mapping – Opens the New Data Mapping interface
• Create new agreement template – Opens the New Agreement Template interface
• Change user access– A short-cut link to the configuration guide - Manage users section

Optional Configurations

• Enable user auto-provisioning – If enabled, new users that are given access to the Adobe Acrobat Sign entity automatically provision a user in the Adobe Acrobat Sign system upon first use.  Provisioning is based on the user’s primary email address, not the User Name, and takes place in the background without further action by the user or account administrator.  

• Attach signed documents to agreements entity– This option pushes a PDF copy of the completed document back into Dynamics, attached to the agreement record (under the Notes section).  This would be a copy of the authoritative original which is maintained on the Adobe Acrobat Sign servers.
• Attach combined audit trail with a signed agreement – Enabling this causes the Adobe Acrobat Sign audit trail PDF to be attached to the agreement record (under the Notes section) once the agreement is signed/completed. The audit trail explicitly enumerates the events (viewed, signed, delegated, etc.) of the agreement, the timeline of those events, as well as the IP address where the events were enacted.
• Attach audit trail - When enabled, the Audit report is attached to the agreement record (under the Notes section) as a discrete file.
  
• Display document preview images – This option attaches an image of the signed/completed document to the record for easy viewing without having to download and open a PDF file.  This image is installed at the very bottom of the agreement record.
• Enable activity feeds on Adobe agreement entity - When checked, activity feeds are enabled for the agreement entity.
  

Resources

A list of the most common resources:

• Configuration Guide – This document
• User Guide – The guide for users to understand the basic workflow of sending and managing their agreements.
• Adobe Acrobat Sign in Dynamics Workflows – The guide to the Adobe Acrobat Sign Workflow assets
• Current Release Notes – The release notes for the most current version of the Adobe Acrobat Sign for MS Dynamics

Data Mapping can significantly improve your agreement generation process and ensure that documents have the appropriate content in fields without the possibility of human error by pulling field values directly from Dynamics CRM.

Additionally, the mapping can push new content from completed agreements back into Dynamics, allowing valuable updates to your CRM without having to engage in manual data manipulation.  

A Quick Note on Forms/Text Tags

Successful mapping requires that you have pre-built forms with defined field names so you can logically relate the CRM field to the Adobe Acrobat Sign form field. 

A simple form is illustrated below.  The fields are defined by the curly bracket pairs on either side (defining the width of the field) and the field name (the string of characters between the curly brackets). 

Text tags can include additional arguments beyond the name value, including validations, calculations, and regular expressions. An in-depth understanding of form building can be found here, and can dramatically improve the quality of data you capture during the signature process.

It is also possible to build forms in PDF format.

Defining a Data Mapping Template

There are two access points to configure Data Mapping.

The first option is to navigate to: Adobe Acrobat Sign > Data Mapping

This loads the Data Mappings page, a list of all existing data maps that you can review, edit, or delete.

• Click +New in the upper-left corner to access the New Data Mapping page

The second method is to access the Create New Data Mapping link on the Admin Settings page.

This link bypasses the listing of all data maps and opens directly to the New Data Mapping page.

Loading the New Data Mapping page may take a moment; when the Entity field expands, the page load is completed.

1. Enter an intuitive name for your data map

2. Identify this data mapping as the default mapping to be used for this entity (or not).

3. Select the CRM Entity from the drop-down.

• This constrains the fields available for mapping to just the defined entity.
• It is possible to have multiple data maps per Entity.
• Once the entity value is set, it cannot be changed.

Once the Entity value is set, the Data Mapping tab is exposed. Click that tab to access the field mapping tools:

Relate the Dynamics CRM fields to the Adobe Acrobat Sign field names

You can now start creating relationships between Dynamics CRM field names and the Adobe Acrobat Sign form field names you have defined. Data mappings are configured based on how the data flows :

• MAP CRM DATA TO ADOBE ACROBAT SIGN AGREEMENT - Prefills fields on your form using field values associated with the defined Dynamics Entity.
  • It is possible to create a “hunt group” of alternate CRM field values seeking to fill the Adobe Acrobat Sign form field. Each member of the group will be tried in order until a non-null value is found and inserted. (See Below)
• MAP ADOBE ACROBAT SIGN AGREEMENT DATA TO CRM DATA -Populates the empty fields of the Dynamics Entity using form field values obtained through the signing process (once the agreement is completed).
  • By default, Adobe Acrobat Sign will not push a new value into a CRM field that has content.
  • It is possible to define the relationship on the data map to override the content protection and replace existing field values with new content from the signed form.

Regarding Data Types

Adobe Acrobat Sign data mapping supports the following data types:

• Text – Text form fields are supported as Single Line of Text in CRM.
• Boolean (Two Option)– Checkboxes are supported for CRM Boolean fields. 

○ If drop-down or radio button form fields are used for Boolean CRM fields, the CRM to Adobe Acrobat Sign mapping may fail.  Adobe Acrobat Sign to CRM mapping will still work

• Option Set – Dropdown lists and radio button form fields are supported for CRM Option Set fields

Relating fields (CRM Data to Adobe Acrobat Sign Agreement):

• Select the CRM field from the Attribute drop-down
• Type the Adobe Acrobat Sign form field name into the Agreement field input box
• (Optional) Check the Add Reverse Direction Mapping box if you want to also relate these fields mapping from Adobe Acrobat Sign to CRM
• (Optional) Check the Override box if you want this template to ignore existing content in the CRM field and force-populate the field with the new content from the Adobe Acrobat Sign field.
• Click Add

The new field relation will process for a few seconds, and then you will see the relationship populate below the configuration settings.  

If you opted to add the reverse direction, you will see the new relationship populate under the Adobe Acrobat Sign to CRM configuration fields also. 

If you opted to Override the content protection, you will see that indicated on the relationship record.

Relating fields (Adobe Acrobat Sign Agreement to CRM Data):

The process for discretely creating a mapping from Adobe to CRM is the same as above except there is no option to Add Reverse Direction Mapping.

Deleting mapped relationships

You can delete one or more mapped relationship by:

• Select the records to be deleted by checking them on the left side of the record
• Click the More commands icon at the top right of the list and select Delete

Alternate field mapping relationships (Hunt Group)

If you define a field on an Adobe Acrobat Sign form that might be filled by one of several CRM fields, then you can create an ordered list (hunt group) of CRM attributes that will seek to populate the Adobe Acrobat Sign field.

For example, you may have the CRM field First Name mapped to a form field named FName, and then also map the CRM field Yomi First Name to that same form field name.  The application will first attempt to fill the field with content in the First Name field, and if no content is found, Adobe Acrobat Sign will attempt to use content in the Yomi First Name field.  If no content is found in any element of the hunt group, the field is left empty.

To define the hunt group:

• Create a CRM to Adobe Acrobat Sign relationship between your primary CRM attribute and the Adobe Acrobat Sign form field name.
• Once the first record is in place, change the CRM attribute to the secondary CRM attribute, and add that relationship. 

• Click OK when asked if you want to make the alternate mapping

After the record is updated in the system, you will see that the records have changed to include a prefix in front of the Entity Attribute:

• # will be in front of the primary/default attribute.   This field will always be the first field checked for content
• Subsequent relations will be numbered 1-N. The first alternate field relationship is indicated by (1) and will always be the first alternate field checked.  (2) would be the second alternate field, and so on. 

Adding attachments to related Entities

Once an agreement is fully signed and executed, Adobe Acrobat Sign will produce a PDF copy of the document and an audit trail of the signing process.  It is possible to have these documents attached as PDF files to any other CRM Entity that is related to the template’s parent Entity.

In the MAP SIGNED AGREEMENT AND AUDIT TRAIL TO CRM ENTITY section of the template page, you will find three Document Types available via drop-down:

• Signed PDF – The full text of the signed document. This is a copy of the authoritative original that is maintained on the Adobe Acrobat Sign servers.
• Audit Trail – A full enumeration of all major events (signing, delegation, etc.) and the associated metadata (time/date, IP address, etc.)
• Combined PDF - Both documents are combined in one PDF and attached

You can attach one or more files to any related Entity, but you must explicitly map them individually.

To map an attachment:

• Select the Document Type you want from the drop-down
• Select the Entity you want to push the document to, using the Attach to CRM Record drop-down list.
  • Only Entities with a defined relationship to the parent Entity will be listed
• Click Add 

Attachment relationships will be listed under the configuration settings.

Deleting an Attachment

To delete an attachment record:

• Select the records to be deleted by checking them on the left side of the record
• Click the more commands icon and select the Delete option

As an Adobe Acrobat Sign Admin in the Dynamics environment, you have the authority to create agreement templates that can pre-configure a majority of the agreement fields, attach files, and tie that agreement to relevant data mapping.

Templates are tied to a Dynamics entity, and become available for agreements sent from that entity when they are flagged as Active.

Like Data Mapping, there are two access points to configure a new Agreement Template:

The first option is to navigate to: Adobe Acrobat Sign > Agreement Templates

This loads the Agreement Templates page, which will list all the existing templates for you to review, edit, or delete.

• Click +New in the upper-left corner of the screen to start a new template.

The second method is to access the Create New Agreement Template link on the Admin Settings page.

This link bypasses the listing of all agreement templates and opens directly to the New Agreement Template page.

When the New Agreement Template page opens:

• Provide an intuitive name for the template, so users will know when to use it
• Identify the Entity that the template should be tied to.
  • The Entity cannot be changed later
  • Once the Entity is selected, the template will be saved, and the full agreement template loads

The Agreement Template has four tabs each containing editable values that you can configure:

• Template Details – Defines the relationship between the major objects and if the template is active
• Recipients – Allows for a pre-configured signature path for the template
• Agreement Details – Contains the elements of the individual agreement
  
• Related – A listing of related objects

Template Details

The template details show the Template - Entity - Data Map relationship for this template.

The name of the template is expressed in large font at the very top

• Template Name – The name of the template. This is identical to the name expressed at the top of the page
• Primary Entity – Templates are tied to a single entity within Dynamics. The declared entity is the only entity that will display this template
  • This value is locked once the agreement is created
• Data Mapping – This field indicates the name of the Data Map that is bound to the template.

• Active – This check box dictates if the template is available for users to select when sending from the primary entity
• One-click send – If enabled, the template automatically sends the agreement when the template is selected. 
  • For  example:  You have an NDA template designed with Contact as the primary entity, and the recipient's section is configured to import the Contact’s email.
    • The Sender only needs to select the NDA template from the Contact they intend to send it to. The configuration phase is skipped, and the agreement is sent without further interaction.
    • If no recipient is configured, One-click is ignored, and the agreement opens for manual configuration

Recipients

The Recipients section contains the list and signing order of recipients that you want to pre-configure for the template.

Recipients – You can hard code a recipient list within a template by clicking the New Recipient icon in the upper-right of the window.  A pop-down opens exposing the configuration options.

• By default, the recipient list is left empty for the Sender to manually populate when configuring their agreement
• Adding a default recipient must be done explicitly by clicking New Recipient and then saving the default values presented with Create from primary entity enabled

• The Override Default Verification option allows you to escape the default verification method (set in the Security section), and apply a different verification method for just this recipient.

• Adding additional recipients (e.g. internal counter-signature process), or recipients that aren’t involved in the signature process, only requires that you uncheck the Create from primary entity box, and then define the recipient. An excellent option for CCing teams that only need to manage the final documents

Agreement Details

The  Agreement Details section contains four sections:

• Message Details -The agreement name and the global message that each recipient sees on the "Please Sign" email
• Attached Files - The files being sent for signature
  
• Agreement Options - Options for configuring the agreement
  
• Security Options - The option to secure the PDF with a password

Message Details

• Agreement Name – The Agreement Name is prominent in the notification process, surfacing in the email subject line, in bold font in the email body, and in smaller font throughout the boilerplate description (seen in yellow highlight below)
• Message – The Message field is an open plain text field where you can insert any message or instructions to the signer (seen in green highlight below)

Attach Files

This section allows you to pre-attach a file for the agreement.  For example, if you create a template for an NDA, then you can attach the company NDA file directly in the template so the sender doesn’t have to.

Agreement Options:

• Preview and position signatures before sending – When checked, the agreement automatically opens the authoring environment so the sender can place form fields
• Agreement expires – If checked, the agreement defines a termination date when the agreement expires
  • Days until agreement expires – This defines the number of days the agreement remains signable when the Agreement expires feature is enabled
• Add post-signing landing page – When enabled, you can dictate what URL the recipient is routed to after they complete their interaction with the agreement
  • Post-signing landing page – This field contains the URL for the page you want to direct recipients to when Add post-signing landing page is enabled
  • Delay in seconds for redirect - Define how many seconds the redirect waits until routing the recipient to your landing page
    
• Require In-person signing – If you need to have the signer sign on the sender’s local system or tablet without involving email, senders can host the signature using this option
• Require My Signature – Used when the sender will be part of the signature process
  • The sender must sign first, last, or be the only signer
  • The signing order will be Order Entered

• Signing Order – Choose between two workflows for getting your document signed
  • Any Order notifies all signers at one time and allows them to sign without waiting on anyone else
  • Order Entered enforces a strict sequential signature process based on the order you define the signers on the agreement
• Signature Type – Choose the format in which you want the document signed
  • ESIGN routes your agreements to be signed electronically using email and expects the recipients to sign electronically
  • WRITTEN delivers your documents via email, prompting the signer to print the document and physically sign it. Then they must upload the document back to the Adobe Acrobat Sign system using the same email link
• Schedule recipient reminders -  Defines a reminder cycle for the transaction.  Reminders can be configured to be sent to the current recipient on a daily or weekly cycle
• Signing Language – This setting defines the language used when the agreement is sent to the signer.  All email and on-screen prompts/instructions for the signer are in the language chosen

Security Options

This section defines the default verification method for the recipients, and the optional password for the final PDF document

• Set password to open signed PDF – Enable this if you would like to apply a password to the final document to prevent un-authenticated access
• Identity Verification -  Defines the second-factor verification to authenticate the recipient
  • Email – No second-factor verification is applied
  • Password – Standard alphanumeric password field. When used, the sender must communicate the password to the signer out of band
  • Knowledge base  – Knowledge base authentication uses public databases to ask the signer several questions about their past to verify their identity
  • Web Identity - Social media is used to apply a second authentication

The Hub Dashboard gives you a quick graphical report of the agreements associated to your user.

The reports allow you to drill down in to each element and produce new graphs specific to that sub-set of data.

The page is broken out into three default sections:

• Agreements by status
• Agreement status by month
• Agreements sent out this week 

The Agreements section gives you a full listing of your agreements as well as the ability to sort the Agreements by their meta-data (status, creation date, signed date, etc).

It is also possible to create a new Agreement as needed.

Users that have access to Data Mappings can sort, review, and edit existing Data Mappings.

New Data Maps can also be created.

Users that have the system authority to access Templates can review, sort and edit existing templates.

New Agreement Templates can also be created.

Dynamics Administrators can access and edit the admin-level settings for the Adobe Acrobat Sign integration.

Several built-in CRM entities are included in the Adobe Acrobat Sign package that you can relate your agreements to:

• Contacts
• Accounts
• Leads
• Opportunities
• Quotes
• Invoices
• Orders
• Contracts

You can add your custom CRM entity (or any other built-in CRM entity) to this scope, by following a few steps.

For our example, let’s assume there is a custom CRM entity called “Customer”.

• Navigate to Settings > Customization

The Customization page loads

• Click the Customize the System option

The Default Solution page opens in a separate window

In the left side rail under Components

• Expand the Entities list
• Find the custom entity (“Customer” in this case) and expand it
• Single click the name of the Entity to display the fields and controls

• Copy the value from the Name field (in this example the value is “new_customer”). 
  • This is the internal system name of your custom Entity.
• Navigate to the 1:N Relationships option, under your custom Entity
  • Click the New 1-to-Many Relationship button.

A new Relationship window opens

Create the new relationship:

1. Choose Agreement from the Related Entity field
   • The Name field changes to show {entityName}_adobe_agreement 

     2. Paste the name of your custom entity (“new_customer” in our example) into the Display Name field.

• The Name field changes its value to be “new_” + {entityName} + “Id”. (new_new_customerID)

    3. Click Save and Close

• The Relationship window closes
• Click Publish All Customizations at the top of the 1:N Relationships page