What are Data Tags and Why Use Them?

E-Sign data tags are specially formatted text that can be positioned anywhere within your document specifying the size, location, and type of fields, such as add text, request text and signatures.

Resources for Help Center and How to Guides

A Step by Step Guide- Data Tags

Once a document is correctly set up with data tags it can be used as a template to upload to the E-Sign platform, ensuring that the data collected for agreements is consistent and valid throughout the organization. E-Sign’s Data Tags feature allows users to apply fields to their documents in advance without needing to drag and drop them in place or an API integration.

Tutorial on Data Tags

Data tags are entered into your Word and PDF documents in a special format that’s compatible with the E-Sign platform. E-Sign reads the data tags you put into your document to create visual representations of these data tags that appear to your signers.

This means when you view the document within the E-Sign dashboard the data tags will have been converted into fields, saving time and any potential confusion for the user in having to drag the fields into the correct position.

Enable Data Tags in Account Settings

To get started, go to your ‘Account Settings’. Here, you will be able to to enable data tags by clicking ‘Enable Field Tags’ as shown.

Data Tags Positioned in a Word Document

Example word document below with data tags placed into position.

Data Tags Enabled

Example document shown after being uploaded to E-Sign with data tags enabled.

Available Editable Parameters

Use the following table to add the appropriate parameters to your E-Sign data tags.

Data Tag Format Examples

Data Tag: request-text

R = Required

SIDX = Signer

H = Height

W = Width

Data Tag: signature

{{T:signature|S:M|SIDX:1}} (Signer 1)

{{T:signature|S:M|SIDX:2}} (Signer 2)

The above examples will appear as a medium size signature.

Data Tag = add-text

H = Height

W = Width

E-Sign Data Tag Sizes

Example of sizes in percentage values (NB: for illustrative purposes only)

How to Use E-Sign Data Tags

This guide illustrates how users can add data tags to documents (prior to uploading to the E-Sign environment), as well as providing the formulas and a list of editable data tag properties, which works for both Word documents or PDF’s. When formatting E-Sign Data Tags you can use data tags to create ‘add text’ and ‘request text’ fields and also signature fields to add to your documents. It’s important to understand how the formatting and properties for each data tag works for each field before you add them to your documents. Please note, the code for the E-Sign data tags must be displayed over one line only. E-Sign Data Tag Format: The base format for the E-Sign data tags appears like the following {{T:TagName|OPTION:Value}}

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I enable data tags?

If data tags are in your plan, you will be able to enable these within your account settings. Go to Add-ons and ‘Custom field tags within a file’.

Can I still edit fields on the document if it has data tags?

Yes. If you use a document with data tags, when you create an envelope, the fields will already be on the document. You can still move these around and add or delete fields as required.

Can fields using data tags be required or unrequired?

Yes. We have data tag options ‘true’ for required and ‘false’ for unrequired. Our data tags can be found in our data tags user guide.

What fields can I use with data tags?

We have data tags for request text, add text and signature.

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