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I have a Word document that I am using as the basis for a DocuSign template.

There are various placeholders left in this document, such as `[name]`, which are meant to be replaced with the signatory's data at the time of signing:

 

 

I would like DocuSign to do the following:

  1. Find " NAME]"
  2. Replace it with the recipient's name
  3. Do the replacement in such a way that the text to the right (i.e. starting with `the "Investor"`) is pushed further to the right and down, just like if I had modified the text in Word manually

Basically, I would like the result to be this:

 


I know that these dynamic fills are typically done via dotted placeholders (".........") but I cannot modify the contents of the document, so I'm stuck with this format.

Is there any way to do this? Maybe with AutoPlace?

@paul-sablier

What you are looking for is document generation for DocuSign eSignature, which will all you to dynamically replace placeholders in the document with values provided by the sender to create a clean PDF document.

In case a different recipient than the sender is supposed to input the data, you need to change the underlying Word template before uploading it to DocuSign and insert enough empty space (or a dotted placeholder if you prefer that). Then add a required fields and assign them to the correct recipients to fill in the data at the point of signing. It is not possible to create a clean document at this point, because the fields you add are only overlaying the PDF and it is impossible to merge data into the PDF document at this point in time. If you are able to change the underlying Word document it is best not to have these placeholders in flowing text, but not followed by additional text so you do not need to worry about the placeholder size.

If you want it to be look “just like if you had modified the text in Word manually” you will need document generation, which is an add-on to DocuSign eSignature. but allows you to do this in DocuSign directly before sending out the document.

DocuSign Support Article on Document Generation for DocuSign eSignature:
https://support.docusign.com/s/document-item?language=en_US&bundleId=als1679428547895&topicId=ldx1679428689631.html&_LANG=de

Thanks for the detailed answer, @Michael.Rave. Super helpful.

It looks like it is not possible to achieve what I want because of what you said in the 2nd paragraph, i.e., that the text is overlaid on the PDF.

Anyway. I also did not understand what you meant by this:

it is best not to have these placeholders in flowing text, but not followed by additional text so you do not need to worry about the placeholder size


What is “flowing text”?

@paul-sablier 

With “flowing text” I meant text that is inside a paragraph or within a sentence. Then it is important on how big the placeholder is, as it has an impact on how the data is being displayed. If it is, e.g. an address that is entirely entered and there is no text afterwards, this turns out nicely and results in a clean document.

Got it thanks for confirming @mminton610

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