Skip to main content
Every place must be positioned on a document. There are two methods: placeholders embedded in the document text, or fixed positions specified as coordinates.

​
Placeholders

A placeholder is a text string embedded directly in the document. Use the format [[place_key]], where place_key matches the key of the corresponding place object.
[[double brackets]] vs {{double curly braces}}: these serve different purposes:
  • [[place_key]]: Place placeholders. Position signature fields, text inputs, checkboxes, and other interactive places. Works in both PDF and DOCX documents.
  • {{field_key}}: Template fields. Inject dynamic content (names, dates, addresses) into the document text before signing. Only available in DOCX documents. See Document Templates.
A DOCX document can use both: {{}} to inject content and [[]] to position places.
For example, to define placeholders for two places with the keys licensor_signs_here and licensor_signed_at: Placeholder positioning When the envelope is processed, each placeholder is replaced by the rendered place. If licensor_signs_here is a signature place, the recipient’s signature appears over the placeholder. If licensor_signed_at is a recipient_completed_date place, the date appears there instead. Placeholder positioning signed To hide placeholders from recipients, set the placeholder text color to white. Placeholder positioning signed white text

​
Fixed Positions

Fixed positions let you place a field at an exact location on a document page using coordinates. Specify the page number and the distances from the top (top) and left (left) edges of the page. Both top and left are measured in points (1 point = 1/72 inch) and can include decimal values. The coordinates reference the bottom-left corner of the place, as shown below. Fixed place positioning For example, to position a place with the key employer_first_signature at 1 inch from the left and 5 inches from the top of page 2: 
"documents": [
  {
    //...
    "fixed_positions": [
      {
        "place_key": "employer_first_signature",
        "page": 2,
        "top": 360,
        "left": 72
      }
    ]
    //...
  }
]

​
Attributes

​
place_key
string
required
The key of the place to position. Must match the key of a place in the document’s places array.
​
page
number
required
The page number where the place is positioned. Page numbering starts at 1.
​
top
number
required
The vertical distance from the top edge of the page to the bottom-left corner of the place, in points (1/72 inch). Decimal values are allowed.
​
left
number
required
The horizontal distance from the left edge of the page to the bottom-left corner of the place, in points (1/72 inch). Decimal values are allowed.

​
Legacy Signature Places

Earlier versions of SignatureAPI used placeholders like [[employee.signature]], which are called Legacy Signature Places. The current approach uses place objects with either placeholder or fixed position coordinates, as described above. Legacy signature places continue to work, and new projects should use the place objects approach. For Power Automate integration, legacy signature places are currently the only supported method.