Introduction

SigningHub allows its users to mark attachments as mandatory in cases where the document owner wants to make sure that the recipients add an attachment. A recipient will not be allowed to sign/review/edit/host In-person signatures without adding an attachment first. You can also specify a personal note (up to 500 characters) that will be used to intimate the configured recipients upon their turn. The added attachments become a part of document that is being signed. Adding documents attachments in a workflow is subject to recipient permissions and the configuration of your service plan. If you are willing to use this feature, contact your Enterprise Administrator.

How it works?

  1. The attachments feature must be configured into your service plan. 
  2. The "Allow Attachments and Merging" permission must be set by the document owner while creating a document workflow.
  3. Check the "Required Attachments" check box that pops up after allowing the "Allow Attachments and Merging" permission.
  4. The recipient will not be allowed to sign/review/edit/host In-person signatures without adding an attachment first.
  5. Workflow will be completed once all recipients have finished their processes.

Service Plan Configuration to Allow the Attachment Feature

To be able to make attachments mandatory in a workflow, the "Attachments" feature must be configured into the document owner's service plan. In case you are not being allowed attachments, ask your SigningHub Administrator to allow the "Attachments" feature against your service plan in the SigningHub Admin portal. 



Make Attachments Mandatory and Share the Document

To make attachments mandatory in a workflow, against specify recipients, the document owner will have to create a new workflow, add the recipients and under recipient permissions check the "Required Attachments" check box as following:

  1. Check the "Allow Attachments and Merging" check box to enable this recipient/ placeholder to fully manage (download, add, and remove) document attachments. When the "Allow Attachments and Merging" check box is checked, a secondary check box, "Required Attachments", will appear. 
  2. Check the "Required Attachments" check box to mandate specific attachments to be provided by recipients before completing their turn while document is in "Pending" status.
  3. Specify a personal note (up to 500 characters) that will be used to intimate the configured recipients about the documents that the document owner requires to be attached.
  4. Save the configuration.
  1. If an Enterprise wants to make attachments mandatory, by default, for every recipient in a new workflow of an enterprise user, then the SigningHub Administrator will have to configure "Required Attachment" permission in Advanced Enterprise Settings as follows:
    • Click your profile drop down menu (available at the top right corner).
    • Select "Enterprise Settings". 
    • Click the "Advanced" option from the left menu
    • Check the "Allow Attachments and Merging' and "Required Attachments" check boxes.


Document owner will share the document after completing workflow preparation. The document will now be shared with the intended recipients. 


Document Signing

When a recipient opens a document, via an email link or by logging in, for which an attachment is required, the recipient will not be allowed to sign/review/edit/host In-person signatures without adding an attachment first. When the recipients will try signing/reviewing/editing/hosting In-person signatures, the specified note will be displayed to each recipient, on their turns, prompting them to add an attachment.


  1. Click on the "Attach" button to move to the "Attachments" dialogue.



  1. Click the icon to browse and upload a file to be attached.



  1. After adding an attachment, click on the signature field and then click "SIGN NOW", to sign the document and finish your turn.



The workflow will be complete when all the recipients will have finished their turn.


View the Attachment as a Document Owner

The document owner can later view the required attachment for the workflow either:

  1. In SigningHub:
    • Click the "Documents" option, available at the top of the SigningHub screen.
    • From the document listing, locate and open the document.
    • Click from the left side of document viewer screen, and select the document whose attachment you want to view.



  1. By Downloading the document package:
    • Click the "Documents" option, available at the top of the SigningHub screen.
    • From the document listing, locate and select the document.



    • Click the icon appearing in the toolbar. The document will now be downloaded to your local Downloads folder.
    • Open the downloaded pdf file using a pdf reader. Click on the attachments button from the toolbar as shown below, to see the attachments.
  1. Attachment feature is only available for PDF documents and not for Word or XML documents.
  2. If the "Required Attachments" recipient permission is configured under "Allow Attachments and Merging":
    • You cannot sign/review/edit/host In-person signatures, without adding an attachment first.
    • You cannot sign the document via "Bulk Signing" without adding an attachment first.
  1. In the following cases the user will not be able to add an attachment:
    • The permissions defined for the workflow do not allow the document to be modified after it has been certified.
    • Once the document has been signed.
    • The storage limit allowed within your enterprise has been reached.
    • The document upload size limit allowed within your enterprise has been reached.
  1. ​​In order to ensure conforms to PDF/A compliance, as per standard:
    • Any type of attachments is not allowed in PDF/A-1 formats 
    • Only PDF attachments are allowed in PDF/A-2 formats
    • All type of attachments are allowed in PDF/A-3 formats.
  1. The workflow will not be shared if:
    • The document is already signed and the document owner configures "Required Attachments" recipient permission under "Allow Attachments and Merging" for any recipient.
    • There is only one document in the workflow and it is PDF_A_1A or PDF_A_1B, and "Required Attachments" recipient permission is configured under "Allow Attachments and Merging".
    • In case of a serial workflow, if digital signatures as well as "Required Attachments" recipient permission has been assigned to multiple recipients.