Fields
Place fields on your documents, choose who fills each one, and set values, rules and conditions.
You place fields in the Fields stage of the envelope editor. Templates use the same editor.
Place a field
- Open Fields
- Under Placing for, choose the recipient whose fields you're adding, or Me (now) to fill them yourself
- Click a field type, then click the page where it goes. You can also drag a type onto the page. Shortcut keys, listed below, select a type without the mouse
- Drag the field to move it and use its handles to resize it
Click a field to open its settings. To change several at once, Shift-click them or drag a box around them on the page. Settings has Duplicate and Delete buttons.
The right-hand panel lists Who fills what. Click a recipient there to show only their fields. If some fields have nobody to fill them, use Assign all remaining to in the field list.
Field types
Signing
| Field | Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Signature | S | The signer draws or types their signature. Always required. |
| Initials | I | The signer draws or types their initials. Always required. |
| Date signed | D | Filled in automatically with the date the recipient signs, in their own time zone. |
About them
| Field | Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Name | N | Filled in automatically with the recipient's name. |
| E | Filled in automatically with the recipient's email. | |
| Company | O | The signer's company. Starts with what eSignStack knows about them, and they can change it. |
| Title | L | The signer's job title. Works like Company. |
Input
| Field | Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Text | T | Free text. You can set a maximum length and a format. |
| Number | U | A number, with optional minimum, maximum and decimal places (0 to 6). |
| Date | K | A date the signer picks. |
| Checkbox | C | A single box to check. Optional by default. |
| Checkbox group | G | A list of options; the signer checks any number. You can set at least and at most. |
| Radio group | R | A list of options; the signer picks one. |
| Dropdown | W | A list of options in a menu; the signer picks one. |
| Attachment | F | The signer uploads one PDF, JPEG, PNG or WebP file, up to 10 MB. It's attached to the completed envelope. Nothing is printed on the page. |
| Lines | Lines the signer adds, such as an address or a list of dependants. Add columns (Text, Date, Number or Email, up to 10) to make each line a table row, and set the fewest and most lines (up to 50). Each line prints on its own line in the box. |
Add options for choice fields under Options in the field's settings.
Who fills a field
Each field has one owner, set under Filled by:
- A signer. They complete it when they sign. Only signers can own fields. Approvers, people who need to acknowledge and people who get a copy have none. See Recipients and roles.
- Me (now). You fill it in before sending. The value is added to the document as written and nobody can change it.
Me (now) is available for Text, Number, Date, Checkbox, Checkbox group, Radio group, Dropdown, Company and Title. Signature, Initials, Name, Email, Date signed and Attachment always belong to a signer.
You can't send while a field has nobody to fill it, or while a required Me (now) field is empty. Review lists these problems with a button to fix each.
On a template, choose Me (when used) instead: whoever sends an envelope from the template fills the field before sending.
Required and optional
Use the Required switch in the field's settings. Most types start as required. Checkbox, Checkbox group and Lines start as optional. Signature and Initials are always required.
Signers can't finish until every required field that's visible to them is complete.
Starting values and read-only fields
A signer's field can have a Starting value that the signer sees filled in. They can change it unless you turn on Read-only for the signer under Rules.
Starting values work for the same types as Me (now). On a template, starting values carry into every envelope made from it.
Labels and linked fields
Every field has a Label, such as company_name. If you don't set one, eSignStack creates one like text_1.
Fields with the same label share one value: typing in one fills the others. This is useful when the same value appears on several pages. Labels ignore letter case and spaces at either end. To link two fields, they must have the same type, owner and Required setting, and the same options. Signature, Initials, Date signed, Name and Email fields can't be linked.
When a field is linked, its settings say how many others it's linked to. Click Unlink to give it a label of its own.
The API uses labels to set values when you create an envelope from a template. See Envelopes API and the API reference.
Rules
Open Rules in a field's settings for more options:
- Tab order. The order the signer moves through fields. Leave it on Auto to follow the page.
- Maximum characters and Format (Text, Company and Title). Formats: email address, phone number, US ZIP code, last 4 of SSN, date (YYYY-MM-DD) or date (MM/DD/YYYY). Templates can also use a custom format written as a regular expression.
- Show only when. Show the field only while another labeled field has a given value, such as a checkbox being checked. Hidden fields aren't required.
Fields from text tags
Text tags are placeholders typed into your Word or PDF file, such as a signer's signature spot. When Place fields from text tags is on in Documents, eSignStack places fields where the tags are and tells you how many it found. See Text tags.
Fields from fillable PDF forms
When you upload a PDF that already has form fields, eSignStack can set them up as envelope fields. The document shows a Fillable form note, and Fields lists what was found.
- Fields keep their position and current value. Fields that already have a value are kept as filled.
- Empty fields need someone to fill them. Assign each one to a signer, or fill it yourself with Me (now).
- Imported fields are marked with a form icon. You can't delete them, only reassign them.
- Fields that are read-only in the form stay as filled.
- A form's pages stay together in one document.
Some forms need a check before you can send:
- Digitally signed PDFs. The envelope copy doesn't keep the original digital signature. The original file is kept.
- XFA (dynamic) forms. They're converted to a regular form, and the panel lists anything left out. If something important is missing, print the form to PDF and upload that instead.
- Forms that can't be filled here. Their fields are kept as they look in the file. Place your own fields on top.
When a check is needed, Review before sending appears. Tick the box and click Confirm and continue.
Through the API and MCP, you can list a form's fields and choose which ones recipients fill. See Fillable PDF forms.