Zoho Sign: Product Updates - Mid-2021

Zoho Sign: Product Updates - Mid-2021

Hello!

We are halfway through 2021, and it has been a busy journey for us at Zoho Sign.

Driven by the rise in remote work culture, the adoption of e-signatures by businesses and other organizations has become increasingly widespread. Here's an outline of all the features and enhancements we have introduced in Zoho Sign over the past six months and a sneak peek of what is coming.

What's new?
  • Document sharing
  • Template sharing
  • Windows app for signing with USB Token DSC
  • Print and sign support for regional conventions
  • Document type and folder management
  • On-demand bulk backup to cloud
  • Short-hand text tags
  • Merge enhancements in bulk send
  • Enhancements to limiting responses in SignForms
  • Enhancements to field properties in Document Viewer
  • Email bounce notifications
  • Support for spreadsheet upload
Document sharing
Administrators can now enable document sharing between users across the organization, allowing users to access and track the documents of other users that have been shared with them. This enhancement can be accessed by visiting the Users section and selecting the desired users to share documents between. It allows for better collaboration without compromising on internal data privacy.



Template sharing
Functioning largely similar to the document sharing enhancement, this allows administrators to now choose the users whom they want to share each template with. This helps with segmented access and prevents templates from being readily accessible to all the users upon creation. However, the users with whom a template is shared can only view and use it. Template creation and management is still only accessible to the administrators.



Windows app for signing with USB Token DSC
Zoho Sign now offers a USB Signer app on Windows that enables users to digitally sign documents using a USB token or drive carrying their digital signature. A USB token for digital signature is a digital signature certificate (DSC) in a password-protected device and in the physical form. This digital signature certificate is self-acquired by the signing individual from a regional certificate authority or identity provider. This type of signature is also referred to as advanced electronic signatures (AeS) in some legal contexts. Thus, this now allows users to sign documents using their personal or organizational digital signatures. The app can be downloaded on Windows from the Microsoft Store.



Print and sign support for regional conventions
Signers can now download the documents sent to them for signature, sign them physically, and then upload a scan of the signed paper documents back onto Zoho Sign to complete the digital signature process. Zoho Sign will attach its digital signature certificate onto the scanned copy that was uploaded and then proceed with the sign workflow as defined by the sender. This is handy in scenarios where regional conventions dictate that signers must sign documents physically and also maintain a copy in the form of signed paper documents. Alternatively, senders may also upload a scan of the signed paper documents they receive from signers, physically or via fax, on behalf of the signer and mark their signing activity as completed to advance the workflow onto the next recipient.



Document type and folder management
Users can now manage their document types and folders in Zoho Sign. By accessing the respective tabs in the Account settings section, users can edit or delete existing document types and folders or create new ones. Deleting a document type or a folder will not delete the documents associated with them. Users can associate documents with a document type and a folder, or modify existing associations, by editing the document signature requests from the Documents tab.



On-demand bulk backup to cloud
Users can now back up all their completed documents in bulk to one of the integrated cloud storage providers on-demand. Upon initiation, the backup task will immediately start saving a copy of all the completed documents belonging to their organization to the location specified in their cloud storage. Once the backup task is completed, an email notification containing a summary of the activity will be sent to the user from Zoho Sign. However, due to its potential to create a greater load on our servers, this feature will only be activated for organizations at the request of their administrators. Administrators can send a mail to our support team at any time requesting its activation.



Short-hand text tags
Users now have the option to use much shorter text tags in place of the older text tags in Zoho Sign. These tags function like merge tags for signer fields. When these tags are placed alongside the content in a document, they are automatically replaced by the corresponding signer fields upon upload to Zoho Sign for the signing process. An example of the newer short-hand text tag would be using {{FN:R1}} instead of {{First Name:Recipient1}}. For further information, users can send a mail to our support team requesting assistance and documentation.

Merge enhancements in bulk send
Apart from the predefined signer fields, users can now also merge recipient data onto custom text fields in documents when sending them for signatures using the bulk send feature. The data for the custom text field must be included in the bulk recipients CSV file in additional columns with the columns carrying the same headers as the respective fields' data labels. Similarly, a private note can also be added for each recipient by including the data in a column titled 'private_notes' in the CSV file.



Enhancements to limiting responses in SignForms
Users can now disable duplicate responses from the same email address in SignForms. When disabled, anybody trying access a SignForm document by entering an email address already used in a response made in the last 7 days, will, by default, be asked to contact the form owner. However, users also have an option to allow signers to resume signing the SignForm document if their previous response was incomplete.



Enhancements to field properties in Document Viewer
We have introduced new properties that can be set for signer fields in the Document Viewer screen - Resizable, Fixed width, Fixed height, and Character limit. It is now easier for users to duplicate a custom text field to create multiple occurrences of it containing the same data and properties. To do this, users can simply select the text field and then copy-paste it onto the document and reposition it wherever it needs to appear again. Alternatively, users can add more fields and set a common data label to make them share properties. This functions such that once the signer inputs the data in the first occurrence of the field, it is automatically filled into the subsequent occurrences.



Email bounce notifications
Users now get an email bounce notification when an email sent from Zoho Sign is not delivered to its recipient. This notification is received by the user in their mailbox and will carry a reason identifying the cause of failure due to which the email could not be delivered. This can be essential for organizations to identify and fix when a breakage occurs in communication related to paperwork due to email delivery issues.



Support for spreadsheet upload
Zoho Sign now supports the upload of spreadsheet documents for signing and sending for signatures. The supported file formats belonging to this type are XLS, XLSX, and ODS.

What's coming?
  • Qualified Electronic Signatures (QeS)
  • Signing with cloud-based identity providers for different regions
  • Trusted timestamping in documents
  • Offline signing
  • E-sign workflows in Google Docs
  • Software development kit (SDK) for mobile development
We are now in the final stages of introducing options to sign documents with several integrated regional and cloud-based identity providers. For the EU region, we will have Qualified Electronic Signatures (QeS) available via bit4id, a certified provider of digital signature services. For businesses in India, we will have cloud-based eSign or e-KYC (based on the guidelines laid out by the Controller of Certifying Authorities or CCA) available via eMudhra, a leading provider of digital identity services. We are also working with a few more vendors to make these capabilities available across other regions and hope to introduce them in the coming months.

Additionally, we are also working with several regional timestamping authorities (TSA) to introduce trusted digital timestamping in documents for added document security and validity. This also greatly reinforces Zoho Sign's legal applicability for use by governmental bodies and other public administration organizations.

Soon, there will also be an offline signing capability that enables agents to collect signatures in person from signers in remote areas without internet connectivity and also allows signers to download documents on their mobile apps and sign them offline at their convenience. Besides this, we are also nearing the release of a full-fledged software development kit (SDK) for mobile application and integration development using Zoho Sign's services. Users of the Google Workspace ecosystem will also soon have the capability to initiate sign workflows directly from their documents in Google Docs using Zoho Sign.

Do follow this space closely for our announcements (very soon!) introducing these capabilities.

If you need further details on any of these features or enhancements, feel free to comment below. For any other support or assistance needed, please write to support@zohosign.com.

Happy Zoho Signing!

Regards.
Sai Anand

    Access your files securely from anywhere









                          Zoho Developer Community




                                                • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                • Digest


                                                • Functions


                                                • Meetups


                                                • Kbase


                                                • Resources


                                                • Glossary


                                                • Desk Marketplace


                                                • MVP Corner


                                                • Word of the Day


                                                • Ask the Experts



                                                          • Sticky Posts

                                                          • Free webinar! Build smarter apps with Zoho Sign and Zoho Creator

                                                            Hello, Bring the power of digital signatures to the apps you build in Zoho Creator! Connect Zoho Sign as a microservice and enable seamless e-signature workflows in your applications. This integration allows you to automate signing tasks using Deluge.


                                                          Manage your brands on social media



                                                                Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                    Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                      Zoho Books Resources


                                                                        Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                          Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                            Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                              Qntrl Resources


                                                                                Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                    Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                    • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                      CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                    • Kaizen

                                                                                      Kaizen

                                                                                    • Functions

                                                                                      Functions

                                                                                    • Meetups

                                                                                      Meetups

                                                                                    • Kbase

                                                                                      Kbase

                                                                                    • Resources

                                                                                      Resources

                                                                                    • Digest

                                                                                      Digest

                                                                                    • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                      CRM Marketplace

                                                                                    • MVP Corner

                                                                                      MVP Corner







                                                                                        Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                        Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                        Get Started Now


                                                                                          Zoho Show Resources

                                                                                            Zoho Writer

                                                                                            Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                            Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                              Zoho CRM コンテンツ






                                                                                                Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                    ご検討中の方







                                                                                                            • Recent Topics

                                                                                                            • Client scripts for Zoho Books ?

                                                                                                              Good day everyone, I am looking for a way to be able to interact with the Quotes and Invoices as they are being created. Think of it like Zoho client script in Zoho CRM. But for the life of me I dont see a way to do this. The issue with having function
                                                                                                            • Fillable template with dynamic tables?

                                                                                                              Is there a way to build a fillable template so that users can add rows to a table? To describe what I'm trying to accomplish the table has 3 sections; a header row, some number of rows with custom information, and a summary row with totals. I can't figure
                                                                                                            • Invoicing multiple expense items as a single line item

                                                                                                                    My client would like me to invoice them for multiple expense items on a single line item on an invoice.  Can this be done?  I know I can import billable expenses to an invoice, but I don't know how to show them as a single line item or have them
                                                                                                            • Zoho IP blocked by SpamCop

                                                                                                              Hi, Many of my emails are blocked and I receive this:  INVALID_ADDRESS, ERROR_CODE :550, ERROR_CODE :spamcop.mimecast.org Blocked - see https://www.spamcop.net/bl.shtml?136.143.188.51. - https://community.mimecast.com/docs/DOC-1369#550 [DGwIYPPSOfWI
                                                                                                            • Tables improvement ideas / features

                                                                                                              Heya, I've been using Zoho Tables for a few months now and wanted to post some features that I think will be greatly beneficial for the tool: 1. Ability to delete a record in automation or move a record in automation. - Usecase: I move a record from one
                                                                                                            • Announcing offline payment modes for event tickets

                                                                                                              Hello everyone,   Collecting ticket payments from prospective attendees can be a tricky part of event planning. While Zoho Backstage has always allowed you to collect payments online as people buy tickets from your event microsite, we have now enabled
                                                                                                            • Gmail is ramping up its email sender policy from November 2025

                                                                                                              Hello marketers, As you may be aware, Gmail introduced a guideline for bulk senders starting February 2024. If not, here's a quick refresher straight from Google: After this policy was announced first in 2023 and soft-implemented in February 2024, we
                                                                                                            • Deluge Error Code 1002 - "Resource does not exist."

                                                                                                              I am using the following script in a Custom Button on a Sales Return. Basically, the function takes the information in the sales return (plus the arguments that are entered by the user when the button is pushed) and creates a return shipping label via
                                                                                                            • Is there a list of Zoho Icons?

                                                                                                              Is there a list of Zoho Icons you can reference: i.e. business-gold is <image marginRight='7px' color='#2A70E7' bgColor='#FFFFFF' width='52px' height='52px' type='icon' value='business-gold' size='24px' cornerRadius='26px' iconType='solid' /> Thanks!
                                                                                                            • Item images

                                                                                                              Can we get an "On hover" expanded image for items please ?
                                                                                                            • Ability to Create and Manage YouTube Video Chapters in Zoho Social

                                                                                                              Hi Zoho Social Team, How are you? We would like to request an enhancement to Zoho Social that would allow users to create and manage YouTube video chapters directly within the platform. Currently, Zoho Social does not support manually adding chapters
                                                                                                            • What happens to my current site SEO if i opt for zoho creator?

                                                                                                              I have an existing website and I need to use Zoho creators for the rapid creation of my webpage creation. Currently, my IT team is creating the web pages, but I am concerned about the SEO of my current website if I shift to zoho will i loose it all?
                                                                                                            • Automatic Portal invite

                                                                                                              We have numerous customers we move through a blueprint in deals, when they get to a certain point we need to give them portal access, how can this be done through deluge or a workflow?
                                                                                                            • Preview Emails with Merge Fields before sending

                                                                                                              Hello, Are there plans to preview an email with merge fields before sending out? Currently, all you see in the preview are the merge field values, but before I send out the email I want to make sure the merge is working. Also, the saved emails only show
                                                                                                            • User Filter not selecting All Items

                                                                                                              We are encountering 2 issues when using the user filter. When users are trying to search using the filter option, the OK button is grayed out. Users have to unselect or make a change before it filters properly. 2. When filtering and the OK button works,
                                                                                                            • Support Nested JavaScript Variables in PageSense Pop-up Targeting

                                                                                                              Hello Zoho PageSense Team, I hope you're doing well. I’d like to request a feature enhancement for the PageSense pop-up targeting functionality. Current Limitation: Currently, PageSense pop-ups can be triggered using simple JavaScript variables. However,
                                                                                                            • Cannot Invert Axis for Rankings

                                                                                                              Hi there I want to be able to create a ranking graph in Analytics/BI, with 1 at the top of the Y axis, but I am unable to invert the axis. Super simple example in Excel below. Higher rankings need to be higher up on the graph to give the correct visual
                                                                                                            • How to copy value from a single line field into a picklist field within a module's subform?

                                                                                                              Hello there, I have a single line field in a module's subform. I would like the value in the field to automatically update a picklist field within the same subform (both have items with the same names). Is this possible via function? Unfortunately, workflows
                                                                                                            • Committed Stock and To Be Received Stock via API?

                                                                                                              Is it possible to retrieve Committed Stock and/or To Be Received Stock for an Item via the API? I want to use this information for calculating the amount of inventory needed to be purchased.
                                                                                                            • Creating Email template that attaches file uploaded in specific field.

                                                                                                              If there's a way to do this using Zoho CRM's built-in features, then this has eluded me! I'm looking to create a workflow that automatically sends an email upon execution, and that email includes an attachment uploaded in a specific field. Email templates
                                                                                                            • Marketer’s Space - Automate a Personalized Holiday Workflow with Zoho Campaigns

                                                                                                              Hello marketers, Welcome back to another post in Marketer’s Space! From Thanksgiving through Christmas, you have a flurry of opportunities to connect with your audience. In this post, we’ll see how you can plan an entire month-long automated workflow
                                                                                                            • Service Account Admin for API Calls and System Actions

                                                                                                              Hello, I would like to request the addition of a Service Account Admin option in Zoho product. This feature would allow API calls and system actions to be performed on behalf of the system, rather than an active user. Current Issue: At present, API calls
                                                                                                            • Zoho Inventory Custom Field Update

                                                                                                              Hello All, In this post I am describing how can we Update the Custom Field Value in Zoho Inventory. // Get Org ID orgid = organization.get("organization_id"); // Field Value resvp = ifnull(item.get("purchase_rate"),null); // Record ID iid = item.get("item_id");
                                                                                                            • Sorting columns in Zoho Projects

                                                                                                              Hi, In project management best practice, sorting columns (ascending, descending) is an important tool. Sorting dates to see the order of tasks starting, sorting on priority or even on planned hours is a must for an efficient project control. Currently,
                                                                                                            • Zoho CRM - Calendar Cards View - Let Users Decide What Is Displayed On Calendar Entries

                                                                                                              Imagine planning your week of face-to-face meetings across three counties. You’re trying to group appointments by location to make the best use of your time, but Zoho CRM’s calendar doesn’t show where each meeting is happening. You’re left trying to remember
                                                                                                            • Zoho Inventory - How to pay a supplier up front then receive multiple deliveries

                                                                                                              How do we manage situations where we pay a supplier up front, then the receive the products in increments? Example Workflow: Create Purchase Order > Receive Bill for full amount > Receive Items 2 or more deliveries. Currently, once a Bill is created against
                                                                                                            • How can I add or change the active customer in Zoho Projects?

                                                                                                              I'm trying to change the customer in an active Zoho project. Is it possible to add or change the customer?
                                                                                                            • What happens when someone clicks 'unsubscribe' in a zoho CRM email

                                                                                                              Hello, As per, i am going round in circles trying to find an answer to these 2 question. I have an email template that has an unsubscribe link in the footer in zoho CRM. First, what happens when someone clicks it - where does the contact get unsubscribed
                                                                                                            • Zoho CRM - Scheduled Reports Which Contain Chart

                                                                                                              Hi Zoho CRM Team, I'm requesting that the Report Export and Scheduling feature be enhanced to include a chart, if one has been created on a report. At the moment I have a report which shows Sales This Week by Deal Owner and a pie chart at the top of the
                                                                                                            • Can I add Conditional merge tags on my Templates?

                                                                                                              Hi I was wondering if I can use Conditional Mail Merge tags inside my Email templates/Quotes etc within the CRM? In spanish and in our business we use gender and academic degree salutations , ie: Dr., Dra., Sr., Srta., so the beginning of an email / letter
                                                                                                            • Cadences

                                                                                                              I have just started using Cadences for follow-up up email pipeline. Is it just me or do you find the functionality very basic? For example, it will tell me (if I go looking for it) if someone has replied to a follow-up and been unenrolled; but it won't
                                                                                                            • Canvas View in Zoho Recruit

                                                                                                              Is it possible or would it be possible to have the new 'Canvas View' in Zoho Recruit?
                                                                                                            • Zoho Inventory - Move Orders

                                                                                                              Quick question about Move Orders... Why is there no status to say something like "Draft", "In Progress" and "Completed", similar to Transfer Orders? I'm assuming that when something needs to be moved it should be planned in Inventory, executed and then
                                                                                                            • Kaizen #215 - Workflow APIs - Part 3 - Create and Update Workflow Rules

                                                                                                              Welcome back to another week of Kaizen! Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve joined Zylker Cloud Services as they review and improve their workflows. In Part 1, we discovered and audited their sprawling workflow landscape. In Part 2, we learned how to
                                                                                                            • DataPrep Bigquery Connection failed

                                                                                                              Hello everybody, I want to create a connnection beetwen Bigquery and Dataprep but when I try to connect my project I got this error Loading tables has failed. Table list fetched from the data source expired.
                                                                                                            • Utilisation de Zoho en conformité avec l’article 286 du Code général des impôts (CGI)

                                                                                                              Cher(e) client(e), Conformément à l’article 286 du Code général des impôts (CGI) impose aux entreprises assujetties à la TVA d’utiliser des systèmes de caisse ou de gestion commerciale certifiés lorsqu’elles enregistrent des ventes à des particuliers.
                                                                                                            • Issue in Zoho People Regularization – Incorrect Hour Calculation

                                                                                                              I have noticed that when applying attendance regularization in Zoho People for previous dates, the total working hours are not calculated correctly. For example, even if the check-in is 10:00 AM and check-out is 6:00 PM, the system shows an incorrect
                                                                                                            • Free Webinar : Unlock AI driven business insights with Zoho Inventory + Zoho Analytics

                                                                                                              Are you tired of switching between apps and exporting data to build customized reports? Say hello to smarter & streamlined insights! Join us for this exclusive webinar where we explore the power of the Zoho Inventory–Zoho Analytics integration. Learn
                                                                                                            • Allow Multiple usage units to items while adding them to sales/purchase transactions

                                                                                                              The usage unit of items added in zoho books are static right now and can not be changed. But certain items are received or sold in multiple usage units. One example is fabric. It can be bought in Meters, inches, kgs or other units. Another example would
                                                                                                            • PO receive quantities

                                                                                                              At last, Zoho has finally got around to allowing us to receive a larger qty than recorded in the PO :-) Saves us all from editing the PO's before receiving larger quantities ( usual for us ) ! It's still in "beta" but available upon request, I've tested
                                                                                                            • Next Page