Smart Tags: Anchor Text


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Did you know that you can turn your word documents into a Signority template before uploading it?

Using the Smart Tagging feature Anchor Text you can.  Anchor text allows you to embed Signority tags directly into an offline document. This is done using a string of characters that tell Signority what kind of tag to place, in what position, and who to assign it to. And they are much simpler to use than it sounds.  

Note: Anchor Text can also be used in API integrations with Signority.  For more information about our API, you can check out our online API documentation. 

What is Anchor Text?

Anchor Text is a string of characters that tells Signority where to place a tag, what kind of tag it should be, and who to assign the tag to. A basic anchor text string requires at least three parts:

  1. An opening and closing backslash
  2. The letter telling Signority which tag to place there
  3. A number that signifies which signer in the workflow the tag is assigned to.

For example, if we wanted to make a  text tag and assign it to the first person in the workflow we would place \t1\ where we want the text tag to appear.

Here are the definitions of each component of this text string:

\      Tells Signority to start a tag here and opens the string.
t      Make it a text tag
1     Assign it to the first signer in the workflow (use 2 to assign to the second signer, etc.)
\      Closes the anchor text tag string.

This image shows you a partial page of content with Anchor Text placed where we want the tag, In the sample below  you can see:

  1. The anchor text string in the tag, note how the tag starts exactly where the backslash does.
  2. We left room for the default tag size and have the period for the sentence at the end of the tag, before having the content continue.  This will take a little practice to get right.

Default size anchor text sample

Note:  Once you have the anchor text string where you want it, you will want to change its font colour to white, this will ensure that it does not show in your final document.

Mandatory vs Optional Anchor Tags

When creating the document template you may want some tags to be mandatory and others to be optional.  The anchor text string by default creates a mandatory tag.  To make a tag optional you simply include a lowercase ‘o’ (not a zero) after the first backslash in the string. 

The text tag assigned to the first signer in the workflow, as used above, is \t1\, if we wanted to make this tag optional it would simply look like this, \ot1\. 

\      Tells Signority to start a tag here and opens the string.

o      Sets the tag as optional for the signer

t      Make it a text tag

1      Assign it to the first signer in the workflow (use 2 to assign to the second signer, etc.)

\      Closes the anchor text tag string.

This table gives you the list of tags available for use with anchor text, the strings for both mandatory and optional tags, and the tags default size in pixels (width x height).  Note: Only tags that can be resized have their default size listed.

Anchor Text Tag Table

Radio Buttons Options

Radio buttons are unique  as a tag because you use them when giving your signer a series of options to choose from, and they are restricted to choosing only one of those options. Radio Buttons must be used in groups of two or more. Because radio buttons are used in groups of two or more it is most likely that you will want to label them in some way to confirm which option your signer chose.  

For example, if you were using radio buttons to ask your signer to choose which one of three locations they would like to work, in Canada, the U.S., or Mexico. Here is how you would set up those three radio buttons; \r1_country_1\, \r_country_2\, \r1_country_3\. 

Let’s break it down:

\                         Opens the anchor text string
r                         Tells Signority the tag is a Radio Button
1                        Assigns it to the first signer in the workflow
_country_      Is the name of the tag group, this tells Signority they are all part of the same group
1,2,3               The option chosen within the group of radio buttons (you may also use letters)

Below is an example of how you may set up a 3 option radio button group asking your signer to choose one of three countries.

radio button example 1

In the image below you can see that prior to uploading the document I changed the font colour to white on the first one so you can see how you want it to appear in  your document. And I coloured the second option red to give you a sense of how much room a radio button will take up compared to the text string. 

radio button example 2

Next  you may want to learn about: 

  1. Sizing Anchor Tags
  2. Create a Template Using Anchor Tags
  3. Create a Document Using Anchor Tags

Anchor Text: Creating a Template


Available Plans: Premium, VIP, Standard, Custom          Users: All Users

New Template with Anchor Text

Here’s how to create a new Template with Anchor Text.  The first step is to create a document and type the placeholder text into them.  In the example below, there are three tags for each of two recipients: a signature tag, a text tag, and a date tag.  Note that when preparing a document, the text can be set to be white so that the recipient does not see the tags during the signing process.

Note: The first few times you create a new document or template with Anchor Text you will have to adjust the position of any surrounding text or content to accommodate the tag size.  To learn the different ways you can resize a tag to fit your document read: Resizing Anchor Text Tags.

Once you have a document set up, sign into your Signority account and start the process for creating a new Template (Regular, Template Link, or Bulk Sign) as you normally would.  

Sample Signature Block using Anchor Text

For this example, we will create a Regular Template. Once in the document design page select “Add files”.

Click on Upload Button

In the pop up window that appears, select the checkbox next to “Add tags automatically based on PDF anchor text”.  Then  select and upload your document(s).

Check the Add tags automatically based on Anchor Text

When your document is uploaded, you should see the Signority tags automatically placed onto the document (1) as well as the creation of the required signers in your Recipients list (2). 

Note: In this example, the anchor tag text is visible for demonstration purposes.  When you are preparing your documents, you will want to change the anchor text font colour to white so they are not visible on the document.

Once the document is ready click Save.  Now the template is ready for you to  use right away or to share with your team.

Next  you may want to learn about:

  1. Sizing Anchor Tags
  2. Create a Template Using Anchor Tags
  3. Create a Document Using Anchor Tags

 

 

Anchor Text: Creating a New Document


Available Plans: Premium, VIP, Standard, Custom          Users: All Users

Create a New Document with Anchor Text

Now that we have the basics, here’s how to create a new document in Signority with anchor text.  First, you will have to create a document in your desktop that has anchor text in them.  In the demo document below, there are two recipients.  For the sake of demonstration, we’ve made the anchor text black. Once the document is ready you will want to change the text colour to be white so that it can’t be seen.

Note: The first few times you create a new document or template with Anchor Text you will have to adjust the position of any surrounding text or content to accommodate the tag size.  To learn the different ways you can resize a tag to fit your document read: Sizing Anchor Text Tags.

After you have created your document with the anchor text:

  1. Sign into Signority
  2. Click on the New button
  3. Select New Document.

On the Document Upload page, in the order below:

  1. Under “Upload Options” check the box “Add tags automatically based on anchor text”
  2. Then upload the document(s) you have created with the anchor text. 

Check Add Tags based on Anchor Text then Upload documents

Once you have uploaded your documents, click “Add my recipients” or “Next” and add your recipients.  Signority will automatically detect how many recipients need to sign the document based on the anchor text that you have inputted.

Auto-generated workflow

After adding your recipients, continue to the document editor by clicking “Next”.  You should see Signority Tags placed on top of the areas where you inputted anchor text. You may resize or reposition the tags as you would normally do with any New Document, if required.

Tags rendered new document

Double check to make sure everything is in the right place and the size you need.  Then click send and wait for your document to get signed!

Anchor text can also be used in API integrations with Signority.  For more information about our API, you can check out our online API documentation.

Next  you may want to learn about:

  1. Sizing Anchor Tags
  2. Create a Template Using Anchor Tags
  3. Create a Document Using Anchor Tags

 

 

 

Sizing Anchor Text Tags


Available with: Standard and Custom Plans           Users: All

In the Anchor Text Tag Tutorial you learned how to add Anchor Text tags to a document, define options (radio button and checkbox), and how to make them optional.   You also learned the default tag sizing for each tag. This tutorial will review the three different ways of customizing the tag size.

The three ways to define a tags size are: 

  1. Set a Default Size 
  2. Backslash Method
  3. Specifying the Width x Height. 

Each method lists the roles that may utilize it.

Default Settings 

Note: Only a Billing or a Super admin may define the default text and date tag sizing

The tag size options in the Global Settings will:

  1. Only affect the Text and Date tags
  2. Make whatever dimensions you set the default for all new documents and templates created within the organization from that time.

To change the default sizing for the text and date tags go into Global Settings:

  1. Select Documents in the top menu
  2. Change the pixels for each tag’s height and width settings.
    Note: The date tag will affect both the Date and Sign Date tags.
  3. Click Save

Set Default Text and Date Tag Size

 

Backslash Method

This method of setting the tag size uses the anchor text.  The font size you choose affects the height of the tag ensuring it fits the font required.  If all of your documents use the same font size, or similar, this allows you to only worry about setting the length required. 

If you have a document and you need to enter a text tag into a space for the recipient to fill in, you can ensure that the content they enter does not run over the next content on that line. For example, let say that the line below is where you need to place a text tag:

“On this day, the organization                                                                                                        agrees to purchase the following…”

To do this you would enter the text tag script as defined in the Anchor Text tutorial, except that you would have the closing backslash placed where you would like the tag to stop.  This means instead of using \t1\ for a text tag assigned to Signer1 (resulting in the default tag size) it would look like this:

“On this day, the organization \t1                                                                                              \  agrees to purchase the following…”

Demonstrated below you can see how the document renders in Signority and it recognizes the anchor text you have in the document:

  1. The sentence without any anchor text added as above.
  2. Using the default anchor text string (in red). Notice how it overlaps your content.
  3. And, defining the text tag length using the backslash. Note how the tag surrounds the string of text from the opening backslash to the closing backslash, while the height of the tag matches the font’s height.
default vs backslash anchor text tag method

 

Note: If the font size set in your document is not similar to the default set in Signority, it will be noticeable in the final document.  

Below is an image of the same sentence in three different font sizes. The Signority default font size is set to 12 for the text and date tags. Notice how the tag is the proper length for the text string entered, but the tag is not snug around the text string like in example #3 in the image above. This is because the all of the tags are set for a font size of 12.

document font vs tag font 1

This next image will show you how the content entered into each tag is reflected in the final document. Remember, each sentence is in the font size stated in that sentence, but Signority is set to a default font size of 12.

Note how the text is sizably different in the first (larger) and second (smaller) example. You can also see that the text is also off from its optimal position making the document look sloppy. 

document font vs tag font 2

Tip: To avoid this from happening we recommend that you use the next example of how to size an anchor text tag.

 

Specify Width x Height

To define a tag size using a specific width and height, you are going to use a ratio to the tag’s default size.  This gives you much more flexibility and control over a tags size and where and how  you can place it on the document.

The Anchor Text Tag tutorial showed you that in order to place a regular text tag into a document, and assigned it to first signer, you would add the following string of text: \t1\

But what if  you want the tag to be twice the width and 20% lower in height?  Here is how you would create that tag: \t1_2.0_0.80\

Here are the definitions of each component of this text string:

  • \ Tells Signority where to start a tag and opens the script.
  • T Make it a text tag
  • 1 Assign it to the first signer in the workflow
  • 2.0 Make it twice the width of a normal text tag
  • 0.80 Make the height only 80% of a normal text tag (or make 20% shorter)
  • \ Closes the anchor text tag script.

If you would like to make this tag optional, as with the regular anchor text string you would simply place an ‘o’ after the opening backslash like this,  \ot1_2.0_0.80\

Note: You must place an underscore ( _ ) after the number of the signer and one after the width. 

Here is an image showing regular anchor text tags on the left and the same tag with custom sizing on the right. You can see the string used in each tag.

regular size vs custom

 

Note: If both the Specify Width & Height method and the Backslash Method are used, i.e.: \t1_1.2_2.0            \ ; the Specify Width & Height overrules the Backslash Method.