Embedded sending: preview button no longer available

Question

Hello,I have a use case in a custom .NET application where users enter the information required to create a DocuSign envelope and are then redirected to the DocuSign web application with the envelope opened in draft/edit mode (status: created). They use the tagging page to place tabs such as Sign Here, Date Signed and Full Name.When they save and exit, they are returned to the originating application, which then uses the DocuSign API to change the envelope status to sent and initiate the workflow. This is a standard embedded sending scenario and has been working well for us.My question concerns a feature that used to be available during this process. When editing an envelope, there was previously a Preview or View As option that allowed the sender to preview the signing experience from the recipient's perspective. We found this extremely useful for demonstrations and for validating tab placement before sending.I noticed a few weeks ago that this option appears to have disappeared. Unfortunately, I do not have any screenshots and I am not certain of the exact label that was used.Has this functionality been removed, moved elsewhere in the interface, or become configurable? If it has been removed, is there any indication that a similar feature might return in a future release?Thanks in advance.

Mahmoud.Essam · Accepted Answer

Thank you for describing your embedded sending workflow.

The recipient preview capability is still available for draft envelopes, although the Preview/View As control may no longer be exposed in the Sender View interface. The supported approach is to request a recipient preview URL through the eSignature API:

POST /restapi/v2.1/accounts/{accountId}/envelopes/{envelopeId}/views/recipient_preview

{
"recipientId": "1",
"returnUrl": "https://your-application.example.com/docusign/preview-return"
}

The API returns a URL that can be opened or embedded in your application to show the selected recipient’s experience for the draft envelope. The envelope should remain in created status while the Sender View is used for tagging and preview.

Your workflow can therefore remain unchanged:

Create the envelope with status created.

Open the embedded Sender View and allow the user to place or adjust tabs.

Request the recipient preview URL using createEnvelopeRecipientPreview.

Return to your application after the preview.

Update the envelope status to sent when the user is ready to initiate the workflow.

Please note that recipient preview uses the signing interface and may display signing controls. It should therefore be treated carefully for demonstrations; users should not complete the signing ceremony unless that is intentional. For a strictly read-only review, rendering the envelope documents in your own viewer or using a test recipient may be safer.

The Sender View itself remains supported and can be configured to open on the Prepare or Tagger page, but those settings do not replace the recipient preview experience.

At this time, we don’t a public announcement confirming that the former UI control will return or providing a release timeline. For new integrations, we recommend invoking the documented recipient-preview API from your application rather than relying on a control within the Docusign web interface.

Regards,

Mahmoud

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