How can I hide the contents of pre fill fields from certain recipients?

Question

I have read through the info on hiding text fields and document visibility, however I have a situation where neither will give the results I need.

I am sending out rental application packages to prospective new tenants, made up of several different forms. One of those forms (for transfer of utility service) requires the sender (our leasing agent) to pre fill name and forwarding address information for both the previous tenant in that unit and the new tenant, and also requires the new tenant to sign. I can’t expose the previous tenant’s name and forwarding address info to the new tenant, so I would like those fields to be invisible to the new tenant..

Since both the prefilled previous tenant info and new tenant signature are on the same form, I can’t use document visibility.

Upon completion the form needs to be printed and sent to the utility company with all info visible, which prevents me from using hidden text.

Are there any features that would accommodate this use case?

Noralynn.Niduaza · Accepted Answer

Hi ​@LucanLane,We appreciate you reaching out to the Docusign Community, and I’ll be glad to assist!I’m sorry you’re having an issue with regards to the visibility of the pre filled values to certain recipients. Based on the use case and scenario mentioned, Document Visibility and Hidden fields have limitations because you need the previous tenant’s information to remain confidential during the new tenant’s signing session but still appear on the final completed form.Docusign does not provide a field-level visibility setting that hides a prefilled field’s value from one recipient while allowing that value to appear in the recipient’s signing view and later in the completed PDF.Please refer to the information below for the practicalworkarounds:Split the form into separate documentsPut the previous tenant’s name and forwarding address on a separate document.Put the new tenant’s signing section on the document visible to the new tenant.Enable Document Visibility so the new tenant cannot view the first document.After completion, download and combine the documents before sending the complete package to the utility company.Use separate envelopes or a post-signing assembly processSend the new tenant only the portion they need to sign.Have the leasing agent complete or maintain the previous tenant’s information separately.Combine the signed document and the restricted information afterward, if legally and operationally acceptable.Use a redacted signing copy and generate the final package separatelyProvide the new tenant with a version that omits or masks the previous tenant’s information.Insert the restricted data into the final utility-company copy after signing through an approved document-generation process.Please note that making the fields sender-only, locked, or prefilled does not prevent a recipient from seeing their contents if the fields are on a document that the recipient can view. Likewise, hidden text would not meet the requirement that the completed document display the values.Therefore, the closest native Docusign solution is to separate the sensitive information onto another document and use Document Visibility, followed by document combination for the utility company.I hope the information provided is helpful to you.If there’s anything else you need or if there’s any way we can further assist, please don’t hesitate to let us know. We’d be more than happy to help.Best regards,Noralynn | Docusign Community ModeratorFeel free to click the “Best Answer ✅” button below the post. That helps others in the Community find trusted answers faster.

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