When the contract already exists as a PDF, prepared by a lawyer or handed to you by a client, upload it instead of retyping it.
How to do it:
- Click New Document and choose Upload a PDF.
- Give the document a title.
- Choose the file. The upload accepts PDFs up to 20 megabytes, and the plugin verifies both the file type and the file header before accepting it.
- Add your signers, set the signing order and expiry, then send as normal.
What happens to the file:
It is stored in the plugin's protected uploads folder and hashed with SHA-256. The first characters of that fingerprint are shown on the edit screen so you can see it took. Uploading again replaces the stored file.
What the signer sees:
The original PDF is displayed inside their signing page in a frame, with a link to open it in a new tab if their browser struggles with the embedded view. Above it is a note explaining that their signature will be bound to that exact file and that its digital fingerprint has been recorded.
The Execution Certificate:
Uploaded PDFs are never rewritten. Instead, the finished document is a generated Execution Certificate that states it applies to the attached original document, prints the original file's SHA-256 fingerprint, carries every signature image and signer detail, and then continues into the standard Certificate of Completion with the full audit trail. The certificate says plainly that any file whose fingerprint differs is not the signed document.
What is not available in upload mode:
Merge fields do not apply, because the PDF is used exactly as supplied. Field tags cannot be placed inside the PDF pages either. If you need fields inside the body of the agreement, paste the text into the editor instead of uploading it.
Both the original file and the finished certificate can be downloaded from the document's status page in the admin, and the original stays available to signers through their own link.