Use Signature Tags in Document Templates

Signature tags are text markers you place directly in a document to define where each signer signs and what they fill in. When Streamline processes the document, it reads those tags, places the matching signer fields, and removes the tag text from the finished document. You can type tags into a document you build in Streamline, or use documents that already include them—such as files uploaded through a form, delivered by an inbound webhook, or sent through Quick Send.

Signers are still configured on the Sign step as they are today. Tags control placement, field type, and whether each field is required; the Sign step supplies who each signer is (name, email, and so on).

Streamline uses the Formstack Sign (legacy InsureSign) text-tag syntax for backward compatibility. Existing tagged documents from Formstack Sign can be reused without changing tag text, with the additions and clarifications noted below.

Who Has Access?

Builders and senders who can configure Documents and Sign steps (or use Quick Send) can use signature tags, subject to your organization’s permissions for those features.

Key Capabilities

• Tag-based field placement — Place signature, initials, date signed, calendar date, name, checkbox, radio, and text fields by typing tags in the document instead of dragging fields in the Sign fields tab.

• Pre-generated documents — Recognize tags in documents that arrive from an inbound webhook or form upload without recreating the file in Streamline.

• Dynamic (DOCX) and Overlay (PDF) documents — Tags work in editable Word-style documents and in fixed-layout PDFs (including tags stored as AcroForm field values in PDFs).

• Merge fields and tags together — Use data merge fields (for example, {$FirstName}) in the same document as signature tags.

• Quick Send — Tags in documents sent through Quick Send are recognized the same way as in workflow document steps.

• Compatible tag format — Core syntax matches legacy Formstack Sign: [type|req|signerN] with mandatory req / noreq.

Tag Syntax

Every signature tag uses three required parts, separated by pipe characters (|):

[type|requirement|signer]

Optional fourth and later parts add field options (see Optional tag parameters).

Part	Required	Values	Description
Type	Yes	See Field type reference	The kind of signer field to place
Requirement	Yes	req, noreq (aliases: required, norequired)	Whether the field is required (req) or optional (noreq). Maps directly to the signer field’s required setting—the same behavior as legacy Formstack Sign.
Signer	Yes	Participant UUID, participant name, or signer1, signer2, …	Which signer completes the field (see How signer references are matched)

Important: The requirement segment is mandatory. Tags such as [sig|signer1] (without req or noreq) are not recognized.

Basic examples

Tag	Meaning
[sig|req|signer1]	Required signature for the first signer
[initial|req|signer1]	Required initials for the first signer
[date|req|signer1]	Required Date signed field (auto-populated when the signer signs; legacy Formstack Sign [date] behavior)
[date_picker|req|signer1]	Required Date field (signer picks a date from the calendar)
[fullname|req|signer2]	Required printed name for the second signer
[check|req|signer1]	Required checkbox for the first signer
[radio|req|signer1|group:plan]	Required radio button in group plan
[text|noreq|signer1]	Optional short text field for the first signer

Tip: Tags are visible while you draft or edit the document. They are removed automatically from the generated or signed document—you do not need to hide them with white text.

How signer references are matched

Streamline resolves the signer segment in this order (same priority as legacy Formstack Sign):

1. Participant UUID — exact match to a signer configured on the Sign step.
2. Participant name — case-insensitive exact match to a signer’s display name.
3. Signer index — signer1, signer2, … maps to the 1st, 2nd, … signer on the Sign step (signer1 = first signer).

If no match is found, the tag is not converted to a field (see Invalid or unsupported tags).

When you author or upload a document in the workflow builder, Streamline may auto-create placeholder signers (for example, Signer 2) if a tag references signer2 but only one signer exists on the step yet. At runtime (workflow execution or Quick Send), signers are not auto-created—tags referencing a signer that does not exist are skipped.

Optional tag parameters

Add options after the signer segment as key:value pairs. Unknown option keys cause the entire tag to be rejected.

Option	Applies to	Values	Description
width:	All field types	Number in points (pt), not percent	Field width. Example: width:150 = 150 pt wide (~25% of a US Letter page). Legacy Formstack Sign supported width: on text tags only.
height:	All field types	Points (pt)	Field height. Streamline extension; legacy tags did not support height:.
wraptext:	Mainly text	true or false only	Whether text wraps inside the field box. Use with width: for multi-line text areas.
label:	Most types	Any text	Custom field label. Ignored for signature and initials (those always use “Signature” / “Initials”).
value:	Most types	Any text	Prefilled value (including merge-style placeholders). Ignored for signature and initials.
group:	Radio only	Group name or UUID	Links radio buttons into one mutually exclusive group. Aliases: groupid, radiogroup.

Example with options

[text|req|signer1|width:200|height:30|wraptext:true|label:Job title][radio|req|signer1|group:colors|value:red][radio|req|signer1|group:colors|value:blue]

Note: In legacy Formstack Sign, adding width: to a text tag also enabled text wrapping. In Streamline, set wraptext:true explicitly when you need wrapping.

Field type reference

Signature tags map to signer field types in the document builder’s Sign fields tab.

Signer field (Sign fields tab)	Tag type(s)	Behavior
Signature	sig, signature	Signer draws or types a signature
Initials	initial, initials	Signer provides initials
Date signed	date, date_signed, datesigned	Auto-populated at signing time (signing datetime). The date tag is kept for backward compatibility with legacy Formstack Sign documents. date_signed and datesigned are explicit aliases for the same field—use any of them for the same result.
Date (signer-entered)	date_picker	Signer picks a date from the calendar. Use this—not [date]—when you want a selectable date field.
Name	fullname, full_name	Printed / full name
Checkbox	check, checkbox	Checkbox
Radio	radio, radio_button	Radio button; use group: to tie options together
Text	text	Short free-text entry

Date tags — do not confuse these

You want…	Use this tag	Do not use
Auto date/time when the signer signs (legacy Formstack Sign)	[date|req|signer1]	date_picker
Signer chooses a calendar date	[date_picker|req|signer1]	date

How to Use Signature Tags in a Workflow

Part 1: Add tags to your document

1. Open your Documents step and create or upload a document (Dynamic DOCX or Overlay PDF).
2. Place signature tags in the document where you want each field to appear. You can type them directly in the document editor, or use a document that already contains tags.
3. Use the correct tag for each field type (see Field type reference).
4. Include req or noreq in every tag.
5. Assign each tag to the correct signer (UUID, name, or signer1, signer2, …).
6. Save the document.

Part 2: Configure signers on the Sign step

1. Add a Sign step after your Documents step (or connect an existing Sign step to the document).
2. Configure each signer on the Sign step. Signer labels and order must align with how tags reference signers (signer1 = first signer, and so on).
3. Map each signer’s name, email, and other assignee details as you do today.

Note: Reviewers configured on the Sign step do not sign and do not need signature tags. Tags that resolve to a reviewer are not turned into signer fields.

Part 3: Run the workflow

When the workflow runs, Streamline reads the tags, places the signer fields at each tag location, maps them to the configured signers, and removes the tag text from the finished document before signing.

How to Use Signature Tags in Quick Send

1. Start Quick Send and upload a document that contains signature tags.
2. Add your signers and set signing order as you normally would for Quick Send.
3. Ensure signer order matches tag indices (signer1, signer2, …) where tags use signer indices.
4. Send the document.

Tags are recognized and fields are placed the same way as in a workflow Documents step. Signers are not auto-created at send time—every signerN referenced in the document must correspond to a configured signer.

Signer and tag behavior

When the document has fewer tags than configured signers

If the Sign step defines a signer but the document has no tags for that signer, Streamline skips that signer for the signing request. The workflow does not error. This supports documents where conditional content omits some signature blocks (for example, only signer1 tags appear in the document even though the Sign step lists signer1 and signer2).

Only signers with matching tags in the document receive fields. Extra configured signers without tags are skipped.

When the document has tags but no matching signer on the step

A tag whose signer reference cannot be matched to a configured signer is not converted to a field. The tag text is removed from the processed document where Streamline successfully processes the file; the signer is not added automatically at runtime.

Reviewers

Assignees configured as reviewers on the Sign step are not affected by signature tags for signing purposes. Reviewers do not need tags in the document. Tags must not be intended for reviewers—if a tag resolves to a reviewer participant, it is not created as a signer field.

Invalid or unsupported tags

Tags are not recognized when they:

• Omit the req / noreq segment (for example, [sig|signer1]).

• Use an unsupported type (for example, [note|req|signer1]).

• Contain a typo in an option key (for example, color:red).

• Use invalid option values (for example, wraptext:yes — only true or false is accepted).

Unrecognized tags are not converted to signer fields. Depending on document type and processing stage, the literal tag text may remain visible in the draft document until you fix the syntax. Malformed tags do not cause the workflow to fail.

Feature Considerations

• Signers must be configured on the Sign step — Signature tags define where, what, and whether each field is required; they do not replace signer setup.

• Fixed signer count at runtime — The number of signers is set when you build the workflow or Quick Send. Streamline does not automatically add signers at runtime based on tags in the document. (The builder may add placeholder signers while you edit a template so signer2 tags validate during design.)

• Legacy [date] compatibility — [date] produces Date signed (auto-stamped), not a calendar date. For signer-selected dates, use [date_picker].

• Mandatory req / noreq — Every tag must include one of these, matching legacy Formstack Sign.

• DOCX and PDF — Tags work in Dynamic (DOCX) and Overlay (PDF) documents. In PDFs, tags must be real text on the page (or in supported AcroForm text fields) so Streamline can locate them.

• Tags and merge fields — You can combine signature tags with merge fields (for example, {$CompanyName}) in the same document.

• Existing documents without tags — Documents with no signature tags behave as they do today.

• Case insensitive — Type and requirement segments are not case-sensitive ([SIG|REQ|signer1] works).

Compliance

Signature tags use the same signing and audit-trail behavior as signer fields placed through the document builder. No additional compliance configuration is required for tag-based placement.

Troubleshooting

Issue	What to check
Tag text appears in the signed document	Confirm valid syntax: [type|req|signer] or [type|noreq|signer]. Include req or noreq. Check spelling and pipe delimiters.
A signer was skipped	The document may not contain tags for that signer, or tags may reference a signer index/name/UUID that does not match the Sign step.
Fields land on the wrong person	Verify signer order and labels on the Sign step match tag references (signer1, signer2, names, or UUIDs).
Tag not recognized	Confirm type is supported, req/noreq is present, and options use valid keys and values.
[date] shows signing time instead of a picker	[date] is Date signed (legacy behavior). Use [date_picker|req|signerN] for a calendar Date field.
Need a radio group	Use [radio|req|signerN|group:YourGroupName] on each option; the same group: value links them.
Text field does not wrap	Add wraptext:true and an appropriate width: (in points).
PDF tags not detected	Ensure tags are typed as regular text on the PDF page or in AcroForm text fields Streamline can read—not only as images.

Quick reference — all supported tag types

Tag alias	Field	Required segment	Typical use
sig, signature	Signature	req / noreq	Signature capture
initial, initials	Initials	req / noreq	Initials
date, date_signed, datesigned	Date signed	req / noreq	Auto date/time at signing (legacy)
date_picker	Date	req / noreq	Signer picks a date
fullname, full_name	Name	req / noreq	Printed name
check, checkbox	Checkbox	req / noreq	Checkbox
radio, radio_button	Radio	req / noreq	Radio (+ group:)
text	Text	req / noreq	Free text (+ optional width:, wraptext:)

Summary

Signature tags let you define signer field placement directly in a document using [type|req|signer] or [type|noreq|signer]. The req / noreq segment is required and sets whether each field is mandatory. Use date (or date_signed) for Date signed (auto-stamped, legacy Formstack Sign compatible); use date_picker for a signer-selected Date. Radio and optional sizing/label parameters are supported in Streamline. Configure signers on the Sign step (or in Quick Send), match tag signer references to those signers, and Streamline places fields and removes tag text from the finished document.

For step-by-step document setup, see How to Add a Document Step. For Sign step configuration, see Sign Step in Streamline Workflows.