Egnyte Sign supports Structured Inline Tags — short codes users can embed directly in a document before uploading it to Egnyte. When the document is opened for signing, Egnyte Sign automatically detects these tags and converts them into signature fields at the exact positions where the tags appear. This eliminates the need to manually drag and place fields during the signature request workflow.
Inline tags are well-suited for teams that generate documents programmatically (for example, from templates or document generation tools) and want signature fields to appear consistently in the right place every time.
Structured inline tags are not supported for 21 CFR Part 11 (GxP) signature workflows. For Part 11-compliant signature requests, fields must be placed manually.
Key Capabilities
- Automatically place signature, initials, date, text, name, title, and company fields
- Assign each field to a specific recipient by number
- Mark fields as required or optional
- Customize labels, text styles, date formats, and name formats per field
- Combine inline tags with the Egnyte Sign Public API to automate end-to-end signature workflows
Tag Syntax
Each inline tag follows this format:
{{es:fieldType:recipientNumber|param:value|param:value}}Component |
Description |
| es | Required prefix identifying this as an Egnyte Sign tag |
| fieldType | The type of field to place (see Field Types below) |
| recipientNumber | Which recipient the field belongs to (e.g., 1 for the first signer) |
| param:value | Optional parameters to configure the field (see Parameters below) |
Example:
This places a signature field for recipient 1 at the tag's location.
{{es:s:1}}Spaces within a tag — between the components or around the separators — will invalidate it. Only trailing spaces before the closing }} are valid, as they control field width. For example, {{ es:s:1 }} will not be recognised, but {{es:s:1 }} is valid.
| Abbreviation | Field Type | Description | Example Tag |
| s | Signature | Captures a drawn or typed signature | {{es:s:1}} |
| i | Initials | Captures initials | {{es:i:2}} |
| d | Date | Auto-fills the signing date | {{es:d:1}} |
| t | Text | Free-form text input | {{es:t:1}} |
| n | Name | Auto-fills the signer's full name | {{es:n:1}} |
| tl | Title | Auto-fills the signer's title | {{es:tl:1}} |
| c | Company | Auto-fills the signer's company name | {{es:c:1}} |
Parameters
Parameters are appended after the recipient number using a pipe (|) separator. Multiple parameters can be chained together.
| Abbreviation | Parameter | Applicable Fields | Description |
| r | Required | All field types | Whether the field must be completed. Values: t (true), f (false). Default: t |
| lbl | Label | All field types | A label displayed above the field (e.g., lbl:JobTitle) |
| sty | Style | t (text) only | Text weight. Values: l (light), r (regular), b (bold), i (italic) |
| nf | Name format | n (name) only | How the name is displayed. Values: f (full name), fn (first name), ln (last name). Default: f |
| df | Date format | d (date) only | How the date is displayed. Values: mmddyyyy, ddmmyyyy, yyyymmdd. Default: mmddyyyy |
- The r (required) parameter defaults to t (true) if omitted.
- The lbl value is a free-text string. Avoid special characters and spaces.
Field Sizing
The size of each auto-placed field is determined by the tag text itself — no separate configuration is needed.
Width
Field width is controlled by the number of trailing spaces added before the closing }}. The more spaces you add, the wider the field will be.
{{es:t:1|lbl:FullName }} ← wider field
{{es:s:1}} ← narrower fieldHeight (Signature and Initials Fields)
Field height is determined by the size of the terminal curly brackets ({{ and }}) of the tag. A larger font size for the tag text produces taller brackets and therefore a taller field. Egnyte Sign applies a minimum and maximum height limit — if the bracket size falls below the minimum or exceeds the maximum supported size, the field height will be capped at the respective limit.
Height sizing based on terminal brackets applies to signature (s) and initials (i) fields. Non-signature fields such as text, date, name, title, and company follow a different sizing approach.
Making Tags Invisible — Tags should be formatted with a white font color (or a color matching the document background) so they are not visible to signers. The fields will still be placed correctly at the tag's location.
If a user needs a narrow field but the tag text itself is long, reduce the font size of the tag to keep the field width compact while maintaining the desired height independently.
Examples
Basic Signature and Date Fields for One Recipient
Places a signature field and a date field for recipient 1.
{{es:s:1}}
{{es:d:1}}Two Recipients Signing Sequentially
{{es:s:1}} ← Recipient 1's signature
{{es:d:1}} ← Recipient 1's date
{{es:s:2}} ← Recipient 2's signature
{{es:i:2}} ← Recipient 2's initialsText Field with a Label and Bold Style
Adds a bold text field labeled "JobTitle" for recipient 1.
{{es:t:1|lbl:JobTitle|sty:b}}Date Field with a Custom Format
Displays the signing date in DD/MM/YYYY format
{{es:d:1|df:ddmmyyyy}}Name Field Showing First Name Only
Auto-fills only the first name of recipient 1.
{{es:n:1|nf:fn}}Optional Text Field
An optional comments text field for recipient 2.
{{es:t:2|r:f|lbl:Comments}}Full Example — Contract with Two Signers
Client Name: {{es:n:1|nf:f}}
Client Company: {{es:c:1}}
Client Title: {{es:tl:1}}
Client Signature: {{es:s:1}}
Date: {{es:d:1|df:mmddyyyy}}
Witness Initials: {{es:i:2}}
Witness Signature:{{es:s:2}}
Date: {{es:d:2|df:mmddyyyy}}Limitations
Item |
Detail |
| Supported file types | Tags are detected in PDF, DOCX, DOC, PPTX, PPT, XLSX, XLS, RTF, and image files supported by Egnyte Sign |
| Tag detection | Tags must appear as plain text in the document. Tags inside images, headers/footers, or text boxes may not be detected |
| Recipient numbering | Recipient numbers must be consecutive starting from 1. Gaps (for example; :1, :3 with no :2) will result in field assignment errors |
| Apply Template | When a template is applied to a document using Apply Template, the template's fields are applied as-is (including both auto-placed and manually placed fields). The document's own inline tags are not processed, and tag scanning is disabled for any subsequent documents added to the envelope |
| Rotated pages | Tags on rotated pages will not be detected or applied. Ensure pages are in standard orientation before embedding tags |
| Field size limits | Egnyte Sign applies a minimum and maximum size for all fields. If the tag sizing results in a field smaller than the minimum or larger than the maximum supported size, it will be capped at the respective limit |
| Manual field placement | If no inline tags are present, fields can still be placed manually during the signature request workflow |
| Maximum recipients | Up to 20 recipients (signers + CC) per signature request |
| 21 CFR Part 11 (GxP) domains | Inline tags are not supported in Part 11 signature workflows. Fields must be placed manually |