This article walks through how to create a new template in Aptly Sign for use with e-signature documents, including how to configure content blocks, fillable fields, and template settings.
You can access templates from:
- The main Aptly Sign (eSignature) area
- The Aptly Sign view on a board
Navigate to Templates to view all existing templates. Templates are reusable documents you build once and send again and again. The new eSignature builder lets you design on real pages, with real fonts, then send them for signing.
You can open Templates from the main Aptly Sign area or from the Aptly Sign view on a board. The Templates section lists every template you have access to.
Create a template
- From the main Aptly Sign area, select New Template.
- Choose how to start: upload a PDF, start with blank pages, or copy pages from an existing template. Premium users with access can also use Generate with AI from the Templates list, as described below.
- Add fillable fields and content blocks, then set up your pages.
- Choose your template settings and select Save.
Templates made before the the updated builder open in the previous editor. To move one to the new builder, see "Upgrade an existing template" below.
Generate a template with AI
AI-generated eSignature templates are a Premium-only feature. Request access through your account manager. AI generation works with templates in the new builder.
- Open Aptly Sign → Templates and select Generate with AI, next to New Template.
- In Generate a template with AI, describe the document you need. Choose the document type and review the available language, tone, length, signer, and initials options. Add a jurisdiction if relevant.
- Select Generate. The new template opens in the builder as an unsaved draft.
- Review the wording, names, dates, amounts, and any terms before use. Check every page for missing or cut-off text, confirm merge fields, and assign fillable fields to the correct recipients.
- Make any corrections, use Preview to review the signer’s view, and select Save when the template is ready. Generating a draft does not save it.
For example, describe a one-page document acknowledgment for one signer, with a signature and signing date. Be specific about the content and fields you need, then check the generated draft rather than assuming it followed every instruction.
AI-generated wording needs review and is not legal advice. After saving, continue with Send an E-Signature Document from a Card to prepare the document for signing.
A tour of the builder
Your pages appear in the center, with the page list on the left and a panel on the right.
- Blocks holds everything you can add: fillable fields and content blocks.
- Layers lists the blocks on the page. Use it to find and reorder overlapping blocks.
- Fillable lists every field and who completes it. You can assign several fields to a signer at once, or remove several together.
- The Gear opens Template Settings for page number and default template fields like folders, template titles and expirations.
Use Preview to see the document the way a signer will, Download for a PDF of the saved template, and Save (or ⌘S / Ctrl+S) to keep your changes. If you press Back with unsaved changes, you'll be asked to discard or save.
Undo with ⌘Z / Ctrl+Z and redo with ⇧⌘Z or ⌘Y. Copy and paste blocks with ⌘C and ⌘V, or duplicate with ⌘D. To move a block to another page, cut it with ⌘X, go to the other page and paste.
Fillable fields
Fillable fields are completed by signers, countersigners or recipients after you send the document. Open Blocks, choose who you're adding fields for (for example Signer 1), then click a field type and place it on the page. Select a field to change its settings in the inspector.
Field | What it does |
Signature, Initials | The signer signs or adds initials. Initials are typed from the signer's name. |
Text field, Long text | Free text. Set a format, placeholder and whether it's required. |
Checkbox, Radio | A single box, or a group where signers pick one or several options. |
Dropdown | A list of options you define, with an optional default. |
Date, Signing date | A date picker, optionally limited to a range. Signing date fills itself in when the person signs. |
Phone | A phone number. |
Recipient | Shows a signer's name, email, phone, company or title. |
Link to open | A link the signer must open before finishing. |
Dropdowns. Choose Dropdown, name the field, then select Add option for each choice. Optionally set a default value, and turn on Required if every signer must answer.
Radio groups. Add a Radio field and build the options. Choose whether signers can select one option or several. For several, set At least and At most. The limits apply to every option in the group, even across pages.
Date limits. On a Date field, set an Earliest date such as Today and a Latest date such as a fixed day. The signer's calendar greys out days outside the range.
Text formats. On a Text field, choose a format: Email, ZIP code, ZIP+4, SSN, EIN, routing number, account number or Custom. Custom uses a mask such as AA-####. Add your own error message if you like.
Field mapping. Use Field mapping to save a signed value to a field on the card. Select the board, then the matching board field. The field must already exist on the board, and the types need to match, such as checkbox to checkbox and short text to short text. If a radio group that allows several options is mapped to one card field, only the last selected option is saved.
Every fillable field needs a person assigned to complete it. Give each field a name, and set required and default options as needed.
Content blocks
Content blocks are things you design that nobody fills in.
- Rich text holds formatted text. Draw a box on the page, type, and style it with the toolbar. You can add headings, lists, tables and merge fields (shown as chips). Rich text can be left, center or right aligned, but not justified. Use it for anything that must be part of the signed document.
- Merge field pulls a value from the card or your company when the document is created. Set a Fallback for when the value is empty. Merge fields only fill in from the board the document is sent from.
- Document info shows the document ID, name, sent date or completed date.
- Line comes as a divider, a strike-through or a signature line. You can change its direction, style and thickness.
- Link adds a clickable link.
- Note adds instructions for signers. Notes are visible only while signing, and they never print or appear in the PDF. You can show a note to everyone or to one signer.
- Image and Shape add pictures and simple shapes.
Tables inside rich text can't continue onto the next page. If your text is taller than its box, a red Content is cut off badge appears. Make the box taller or the text smaller. An amber Long values may be cut off badge means a merge field will probably be too long once filled. Select the block and choose Make room for long values.
Pages, page numbers, repeat and lock
Add pages. Select Add pages under the page list, then choose where the new pages go and how to add them: Upload PDF (each file keeps its own page size, under 20 MB and 300 pages or fewer), Blank pages (pick a size, Portrait or Landscape, and how many), or From a template (copies the pages and fields of templates made with the new builder).
Page setup. Select the gear in the right panel, then Page setup. Choose Letter, Legal or A4, Portrait or Landscape, and margins: None, Narrow (0.5 in), Moderate (0.75 in), Normal (1 in), Wide (1.25 in) or Custom. Margins draw guides and the snapping safe area, and they never move existing blocks. A new template starts on Letter with Narrow margins. Uploaded PDF pages keep their own size.
Page numbers. In Page setup, turn on Show page numbers, then choose a Position, a Format ("1" or "Page 1 of 9"), a Start at number, Size and Font. Turn on Skip the first page so the cover has no number and the next page reads 2. To hide the number on a single page, do it from the page list.
Repeat on all pages. Select a block, then choose Repeat on all pages in the inspector. If you add pages afterward, select the block and choose Add to the other pages in the Repeat section.
Lock. Select a block and choose the lock in its action bar, or press L. A locked block can't be moved, resized or deleted by accident. Unlock it the same way.
Replace a page
Select an uploaded PDF page, choose Replace page, pick the new PDF and review the Current and Replacement previews, then select Replace page again. Only the page background changes. Fields keep their recipient, type, settings and mapping. If the new page is a different size, you can choose Scale fields to fit. Blank pages can't be replaced. Documents already sent from the template keep the old background.
Template settings
Find these at the bottom right of the editor, and you can change them any time.
- Template Name and Folder Location
- Private Template toggle, which lets you choose who has access
- Document Title, which can include merge fields
- Default Expiration, in days after creation
- Default Inbox, which sends the document
- Default Message
- Contact Types
- Default Recipients, with roles. For example, add a property manager as a default reviewer.
Upgrade an existing template
New templates open in the new builder automatically. Templates made before it open in the previous editor.
- Go to Esign Documents, then Templates.
- Open the template's row menu and choose Upgrade to v2.
- Review the copy. The upgrade report lists anything that needs attention.
- Save the copy when you're happy with it.
Upgrading never changes or deletes your original. It creates a separate copy, and nothing is saved until you save it. After upgrading, check these:
- Merge fields that weren't recognized stay as plain text like {{Old Field}}. Delete each one and insert the right merge field from the picker.
- Fields assigned to "Sender" become unassigned, because new templates don't have a sender. Assign them to a recipient.
- Justified text becomes left-aligned, rounded image corners become square, and text smaller than 8 pt is enlarged to 8 pt.
If Upgrade to v2 isn't in the row menu, the template is already a new-builder or HTML template, it has no pages, or you don't have permission to create templates.
Best practices
- Assign every fillable field to the right signer or countersigner.
- Check that merge fields match the board the document will be sent from.
- Use default recipients and expiration to speed up sending.
- Use Preview and send a test document before using a new template with real recipients.
Limits
- Each uploaded PDF must be under 20 MB and 300 pages or fewer.
- There's no grid. Blocks snap to each other, margins and page centers.
- Pages from uploaded PDFs are stored as high-quality images, so their original text can't be selected or searched in the signed PDF.
- A table can't continue onto the next page, and rich text can't be justified.