Prefill fields & signers

Most contracts have a few fields the sender fills in, not the signer: today's date, an amount, a project name, your own signature. With prefill fields you complete those yourself just before the document goes out, and your entries are baked in so the signer sees a finished page with only their own fields left to do.

If you've used other e-signature tools, this is the “fill your own fields” step. The difference here is that you set the fields up once on the document (or a template) and fill them at send time, every time you send.

The Prefilled slot

Open a document in the editor. On the left you'll see a Prefilled · youslot above your signers. Select it, then drop fields on the page the same way you would for a signer: signature, text, date, checkbox. Anything you place there is yours to fill, not the signer's. Fields you place for Signer 1, Signer 2, and so on still belong to them.

Optional default values

Select a prefill field and you can give it a default value right in the editor. That value is saved on the document, so if you reuse it as a template the default comes back every time. Defaults are handy for anything that rarely changes, like your company name or a standard fee, but they're optional. Leave a field blank and you'll just fill it fresh on each send.

Filling fields at send time

When you hit Send, the first thing you'll see is Fill your fields: the document with your prefill fields on it, pre-loaded with any defaults you set. Type into them, check the boxes, and draw your signature if you placed one. Edit a default here and the change applies to this send only; the saved default stays put.

These values are stamped into the document before the first invitation goes out, so every signer opens a page that already shows your part filled in. Your signature, if you added one, is baked in the same way.

Naming signers

When you add a signer in the editor, Sign Sail asks for a name, a label like “Client” or “Manager.” The name shows on the slot while you place fields, sticks with the document (so a template keeps it), and pre-fills the recipient form on the send screen. You can rename a signer any time from the selected-field panel. You'll still confirm each signer's real name and email when you send.

Good to know

A document needs at least one signer field before you can send it. A page of only prefill fields has no one to sign, so Sign Sail will ask you to add a signer. And prefill is never a recipient: the Prefilled slot is never emailed and never counts toward whether everyone has signed.