Getting Started

Adobe sign access is by request only. You can Ask CIT to be granted the ability to generate documents for signature. Once you have access you can login to the platform.

When should I use Adobe Sign?

• When/Why To Use Adobe Sign
  • Legal e-signatures are required
    • Legal Signatures and Adobe Sign: ​​https://www.adobe.com/sign/compliance/electronic-signature-legality.html
    • Layman’s explanation:  Legally binding e-signature includes an audit trail that cannot be modified (by IT or anyone else) that proves “who signed the document” and that the document has not been altered since a party signed it as well as data entry, etc
  • Building an approval workflow that can be maintained without IT
  • Sending a document securely via email (e.g. what if document contained SSN?).
• When Not To Use Adobe Sign
  • Simple need to collect information or gain authorization from a individual Geneseo student or employee.
  • High Volume (Adobe Sign incurs a $0.98/transaction cost)
  • Data Integration Required to Optimize Work 
• Alternatives to Adobe Sign: (when to think twice)
  • Microsoft Forms, Google Forms, or Custom Web Forms (built by CIT).  Microsoft and Google forms are easy to build and use as long as you don't require a multi-step approval workflow.
  • Task specific software: Some software packages have embedded form options for collecting information or automating processes. For example, you would not use Adobe Sign for processes currently offered in "PeopleAdmin".
  • Microsoft Approvals can be a good option for departments or teams using Microsoft Teams.

Contact CIT if you have any questions on whether Adobe Sign makes sense for you.

Adobe Sign Basic Resources

Adobe and SUNY have provides many resources for training. We have collected and highlighted some relevant items below.

• CIT TechDays presentation on Adobe Sign
• Sending documents for signature
• Adobe Sign vs Docusign Comparison
• Short video Tutorials from Adobe
• Explanation of Recipient Roles
• SUNY Adobe Sign Resources
  • Recommended:  SUNY Adobe Sign Onboarding Training Videos
  • Adobe Sign Sandbox - for experimenting, creating, and sharing Adobe Sign documents and Templates.
  • NOTE:  The SUNY Adobe Sign resources are kept in the SUNY Confluence wiki.  To get access, send an email to services@itec.suny.edu and request access to the SUNY Adobe Sign Confluence wiki space.
  • There is a SUNY Adobe Sign Listserv that if you are interested in joining you can request access.  If you are interested, please send email to services@itec.suny.edu and request access to the adobe_sign-l listserv.
  • There is a bi-weekly Teams conference that discusses tips and helps with issues.  The information is distributed via the above Itec list.
• Form Creation
  • Adding Form Fields to Documents
  • Field Types

Beyond The Basics

• Templates (We recommend you use template and form field layers for forms you may reuse)
  • Help make templates more reusable
  • Creating shared template
  • Form field layers
• Creating a Web Form
  • This video is a great tutorial and example of Creating a Web Form in Adobe Sign with multiple signers
  • Creating letters in bulk with Document Generation API, Adobe Sign, and Microsoft Power Automate
  • Adobe Sign for Microsoft Teams Demonstration
  • Create embedded forms with Adobe Sign Web Forms
• Sending to a group of participants “in parallel”:
  
  • The recipient group is especially handy if you want to allow any person from a group to sign, approve, or receive a document on behalf of the group.
• Sending agreements from Sharepoint (OneDrive/Teams) and archiving things to Sharepoint/Teams automatically: Link
• Bulk sending with Mega Sign
  • Be careful when testing this!  Each agreement sent costs 1 transaction.  Mega Sign saves time but not money.
• Workflows – Workflows offer a sender the ability to manually enter fields of data that pre-fill form fields in a library template, and offer an option for Account or Group Administrators to create signing workflows with pre-selected signatories or approvers in a pre-set signing order, either attaching library templates or informing signers of the appropriate document order for upload, simplifying the end user experience and reducing user errors. 
  • Workflows are NOT self-service like Web Forms.  Someone has to “send” the workflow out for signing to the involved parties.
  • Workflow Tour 
  • Additional workflow resources
• Using Text Tags to create form fields in templates. This is a very powerful feature if you have document templates you want to easily upload into Adobe sign and not have to create fields for each of them.
• Auto-delegation:  
  • Someone wants to automatically delegate their signature to another person for all documents
• Account Sharing 
  • Advanced Account Sharing:  
  • Advanced Account Sharing between a given group’s members 
•  Can I modify a document that is already in progress of being signed and completed?
  • See https://helpx.adobe.com/ca/sign/using/modify-document-sent-for-signature.html
  • Because Adobe sign is providing a legally verifiable audit trail of e-signatures it is very difficult to change a document that is “in flight”
  • Example:  Suppose person 1 submits a document and makes an error in data entry.  Person 2 who is signing and approving catches the error.  It would be nice if they could comment on the error and push the document back to person 1 to fix and resubmit.  Unfortunately Adobe Sign does not work this way.  Person 2 would have to comment and decline to sign.  Person 1 would have to resubmit the document as a new transaction.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Does Adobe Sign Cost Money for my Department?
  • Cost to the College is about $0.98 per transaction.
  • Each transaction is any initiated form or process, regardless of completion.

Related articles