Using SmartForm for response collection

Introduction

With SmartForms, you can simplify data collection by creating an accessible, self-service system that allows users to provide information effortlessly. SmartForms ensure a seamless and efficient experience for both submitters and recipients.

For example, your company is organizing a skills development workshop open to all employees, with no predefined attendee list required. To streamline the registration process, you create a SmartForm that allows employees to sign up for sessions that interest them.

You share the SmartForm link via email, post it on the company website, and announce it through internal messaging channels. Employees can easily access the form, enter their details, select the topics they want to attend—such as leadership, public speaking, or technical training—and submit their registration in seconds.

As sign-ups come in, all data is automatically collected and organized. Once the registration period ends, you download a CSV file with participant details, helping you allocate resources, assign trainers, and ensure a well-organized event—without the hassle of managing registrations manually.

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How it works?

1. Add SmartForms to a Service Plan in SigningHub Admin.

2. Allow SmartForms against a User Role in SigningHub Web.

3. Create a Template for SmartForms in SigningHub Web.

4. Create and Share a SmartForm in SigningHub Web.

5. Sign a SmartForm via URL.

6. View SmartForm responses in SigninHub Web.

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Add SmartForms to a Service Plan in SigningHub Admin

Make the following configurations to a service plan in SigningHub Admin:

1. In the "Basic Information" section, add "SmartForms" in the "Features" field:

   

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Allow SmartForms against a User Role in SigningHub Web

Make the following configurations to a user role in SigningHub Web:

1. Against your user role, in the "User Access Preferences" tab, allow the user to manage SmartForms.

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Create a Template for SmartForms in SigningHub Web

Make the following configurations to a template in SigningHub Web:

1. Set the first recipient as a "Placeholder".

1. Template requirements for creating a SmartForm:

   • The first recipient must be a placeholder role, though the template can include additional placeholder and named recipients.

   • Document Access Security must not be configured for the first recipient.

   • The first recipient must not have the "Send a copy" role.

   • The template should have a "Serial" or "Custom" workflow. However, in case of a custom workflow, the first signing order should have only one recipient.

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Creating and Sharing a SmartForm in SigningHub Web

1. Click "Configuration" from the Navigation panel, then click "SmartForms" under the Documents options in the Personal Configuration section.

2. Click on the "Add SmartForm" button appearing in the grid header.

3. On the "Create SmartForm" screen, enter the required details and make the necessary configurations. (To learn more about the available SmartForm configurations, click here.)

   
4. Click on the "Save changes" button.

5. From the "Copy SmartForm URL" dialogue box, You can choose between two options based on your needs: the URL, which is a direct link that can be copied and shared, or the Embed option, which provides a clickable hyperlink that can be embedded within a webpage.

   

The SmartForm can be embedded only if no CSP (Content Security Policy) is set or if the frame-ancestors directive in the CSP includes the parent URL.

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Sign a SmartForm via URL

To sign a SmartForm, follow the below-mentioned steps:

1. Open the SmartForm URL received, in a browser tab. The user will be presented with a signer information page.

2. Enter your name and email address in the placeholder information field.

   
3. Click on the "Start signing" button.

4. The user will be redirected to the document viewer screen. Left-click on the signature field assigned to you, and click on the "Sign" button from the drop-down.

   
5. Click on the "Sign" button to sign the document.

   

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View SmartForm responses in SigninHub Web.

1. Click "Configuration" from the Navigation panel, then click "SmartForms" under the Documents options in the Personal Configuration section.

2. Select the SmartForm against which you want to view the responses, and click on the "View responses" button appearing in the information panel.

3. You will be redirected to the "Documents" screen, where all the responses against the selected SmartForm will be displayed.

1. The availability of SmartForms depends on the configurations of your service plan and your user role settings.

2. The "SmartForms" feature is available for both Individual and Enterprise service plans.

3. A user can create a SmartForm using personal and allowed enterprise templates.

4. If you delete a template which is associated with a SmartForm, the associated SmartForms will also be deleted and the responses linked with the SmartForm will be unlinked.

5. The user cannot edit the information of other signers, on the "SmartForm Signer Information" page, if the SmartForm is created using a read-only template.

6. The logged-in user in the template will automatically be replaced with the SmartForm owner.

7. The "Electronic seal" and "Group" recipients in the template cannot be edited.

8. The SmartForm workflow is initiated via the SmartForm URL by the first recipient, however, the other recipients will be intimated about the workflow via an email notification.

9. If "Require email validation" is enabled for the SmartForm, the process varies based on the first placeholder. If the first placeholder is replaced with the SmartForm owner, email validation will be skipped. However, if it is replaced with a signer other than the SmartForm owner, the system will send a 9-digit code to the first recipient for email verification. The recipient must enter this code in the SmartForm validation screen to initiate the signing process.

10. The user will not be able to initiate the signing process against a SmartForm if:

    • The SmartForm’s enterprise template is not allowed for the user.

    • The template no longer meets the SmartForm requirements.

    • The user has already signed the SmartForm within the time frame specified in the "Set usage limit based on the time between responses" option.

    • The response limit for the SmartForm has been reached.

    • Delegated review has been configured for the first recipient.

    • The following settings are not enabled for the SmartForm owner:

      • Upload and Share

      • Manage Recipient