Form creation for beginners

If you've never created a custom form to send with Sertifi, use the following walk-throughs to get familiar with Sertifi Data Fields. These walk-throughs include setting up a basic signature form and a basic authorization form. It's important to note that both walk-throughs include details of how to prepare forms in a PDF editor. If you don't have access to a PDF editor, you must prepare your forms in Word.

These walk-throughs assume you have no prior experience working with Sertifi Data Fields.

This page contains the following sections:

Data Fields Best Practices

When you use Sertifi Data Fields, Sertifi recommends the following best practices to quickly and easily create your forms:

  • Start with your form in a Word document. It's quicker and easier to format the document to your needs in Word, than it is in a PDF viewer.
  • Start with the original document, if you can. If you have a scanned document, try to locate the original for easier formatting.
    • Use the Enhance Scans functionality to try to align the document and remove any blurriness.
  • Use a PDF editor to create your fields and prepare the document, rather than using parameters with your data fields.
  • Enter data fields directly into textboxes in your documents. Don't enter data fields as the field name.

Signature form walk-through

There are two options for creating a signature form with data fields. You can either create the form directly in Word, or you can place fillable fields in a PDF in a PDF edtior.

Working in Word

If you create your signature form in Microsoft Word, you can add your data fields into your Word document. Remember that you must convert the Word document to a PDF file before you can add this document to the Sertifi Document Library.

The following data fields are the most common fields added to signature documents:

  • Signature field - [[SertifiSStamp_1]]
  • Title field - [[SertifiTitle_1]]
  • Initial field - [[SertifiInitial_1]]
  • Date field - [[SertifiDate_1]]
  1. Locate the place on the document where you want your signer to enter their information and signature.
  2. Copy and paste the data field you want from the above list into your Word document.
  3. Change the text color to white so the field names don't appear on the final document.
  4. Save your document, convert it to a PDF, and then upload it to your Sertifi Document Library.

Working in a PDF editor

If your signature form is already in a PDF and you want to add data fields directly to it, you can add them as fillable fields in your PDF editor.

The following data fields are the most common fields added to signature documents:

  • Signature field - SertifiSStamp_1
  • Title field - SertifiTitle_1
  • Initial field - SertifiInitial_1
  • Date field - SertifiDate_1
  1. Open your signature form in your PDF editor and locate where your signer fields are. You can also add a fillable field where you want the signer fields to appear.
  2. Rename the fillable field by copying and pasting the above data field names into the Name of the fillable field you placed on your PDF.
  3. Save your PDF and then upload it to the Sertifi Document Library.

Authorization form walk-through

Before you begin adding data fields to your authorization form, you should first open your authorization form in Word to edit the form and format any fields that currently exist on the form.

As a best practice, Sertifi recommends removing the following fields, since this information is collected with the authorization data field:

  • Credit card type
  • Credit card number
  • Credit card expiration date
  • Credit card security code
  • Reference to a fax number
  • Billing address, including street, city, state, and zip.
  • Any language asking for a scan of a credit card. This goes against PCI compliance.

After you've removed the above information, and have formatted your form the way you want it, convert your form to a PDF.

  1. Open your newly created PDF in your PDF editor.
  2. Add a text box and then enter [[SertifiPaymentAuthAddress_1]] into the textbox to add the payment data field.
  3. Find the location on the form where you want the signer to place their signature.
  4. Add a text box and then enter [[SertifiSStamp_1]].
  5. Change the color of the font to white for both of the data fields you just entered. This ensures the fields don't appear on the finalized document.
  6. Click Prepare Form to add any remaining data fields. When you click Prepare Form, the PDF editor places fields where it identifies fields should be. Make any adjustments here as necessary.
  7. Save your PDF, and then upload it to your Sertifi Document Library.