Sending an Envelope

Sending an envelope in Annature involves uploading your documents, adding recipients, preparing fields for signing, and reviewing your message before sending. This article walks through each step of the process.

To create a new envelope, click Send envelope from the left-hand navigation menu. The create envelope page is divided into four steps.

Step 1: Upload Your Documents

Click Browse files or drag and drop documents from your desktop. Annature supports PDF & DOCX files. DOCX files are automatically converted to PDF.

Once uploaded, your documents will appear in a list below the browse area. Click the Actions button (three vertical dots) on the right side of each document to apply a template, replace the document, or perform other actions.

Step 2: Add Your Recipients

Enter each recipient's full name and email address, then assign a role from the dropdown:

• Needs to sign — The recipient must sign the documents. Each recipient with this role must have at least one signature field placed in the documents.

• Needs to view — The recipient only needs to view the documents. They will see a Finish viewing button to confirm they have reviewed the envelope.

• Receives a copy — Similar to a carbon copy (CC). The recipient does not need to take any action and will receive a copy of the completed envelope.

You can optionally enter a mobile number if you want the recipient to receive the envelope via SMS (additional charges may apply). Learn more about how you can use SMS in this guide here.

Click Add recipient to add additional recipients to the envelope.

Recipient options:

Click Options next to any recipient to access additional settings:

• Require password — Require the recipient to enter a password before accessing the envelope.

• Require two-factor — Require SMS two-factor authentication before the recipient can access the envelope.

• Document permissions — Control which documents within the envelope the recipient can access.

• Redirect endpoints — Redirect the recipient to a specific URL after they complete signing.

• Remove recipient — Remove the recipient from the envelope.

Signing order:

If your documents need to be signed in a specific sequence, toggle on Enable signing order. A number field will appear next to each recipient. Assign numbers to define the order — for example, a recipient assigned 1 will receive the envelope first, and a recipient assigned 2 will only receive it after all recipients assigned 1 have completed their role.

You can assign the same number to multiple recipients. For example, you could assign a team member as 1 to review first, and then all remaining recipients as 2 so they receive the envelope at the same time after the review is complete.

The signing sequence will not progress until each recipient in the current step has completed their assigned role.

Step 3: Prepare Documents

Click Prepare documents to open the document preparation view, where you can place fields on your documents to guide recipients on where to sign and capture any additional information.

Select a recipient from the dropdown in the upper left corner, then drag and drop fields onto the document. Each field can be customised using the options panel on the right-hand side, including changing the assigned recipient, adjusting formatting, making the field required, or adding a tooltip.

The available customisation options vary depending on the field type (e.g. signature, text, date).

Once you have finished placing fields, click Save changes in the upper right corner.

Step 4: Review Envelope

The final step is to name your envelope and compose a message for your recipients.

• Envelope name — Give the envelope a name for your own reference.

• Use a message template — If you have message templates set up, select one from the dropdown to populate the message field. Learn more in the Message Templates article.

• Message to recipients — Write or edit the message that will be included in the envelope email sent to each recipient.

• Add private messages — Click this to send a different message to a specific recipient. Private messages replace the main message for that recipient only.

• Share with group — If you belong to a group, toggle this on to share the envelope with all accounts in your group.

• Labels — Select one or more labels to categorise the envelope.

The Email preview panel on the right shows how your envelope email will appear to recipients, including your branding, message, and sender details.

Sending the Envelope

Once everything is ready, click Send envelope at the bottom of the page. The envelope will be sent to your recipients and move to the In Progress status.

You can also use the Save changes button at the top of the page at any time to save a draft without sending. The Actions dropdown at the top provides additional options including setting an expiration date for the envelope or deleting the draft.