To sign documents in a workflow at the advanced and qualified security levels, DocuWare works with external signature service providers such as DocuSign.
DocuSign is a provider of trust services. It verifies the identity of the signer and returns the signed document, together with the signature certificate, to DocuWare.
This article describes how to integrate and configure electronic signatures with DocuSign in DocuWare workflows. You will learn
which steps the signature process involves,
how to register your organization with the DocuWare Signature Service,
how to connect your organization to the DocuWare Signature Service, and
how to integrate the DocuSign service methods for signatures into a workflow.
These instructions are aimed at administrators and users who want to sign documents digitally and in a legally compliant manner in DocuWare.
The signature process at a glance
A prerequisite for applying an advanced electronic signature in DocuWare is that the document to be signed is archived and is part of a DocuWare workflow.
The signature process consists of the following steps:
Triggering the signature: In a DocuWare workflow, the condition under which the document can be signed is met.
Transmission to DocuSign: The document is transmitted to DocuSign by the DocuWare Signature Service. The DocuWare Signature Service is a web service provided by DocuWare that acts as an interface between DocuWare and DocuSign.
Authentication and signing: DocuSign sends a link to the document to the signer. The signer chooses one of the following remote authentication methods for signing, depending on how the request was submitted in the workflow and which signature method is associated with it. All signature methods have the security level AES.
No special authentication: The signer receives a link to the document in DocuSign, where they sign it.
Authentication via access code: The signer enters an access code that is sent as a voice message or via SMS.
Knowledge-based authentication (USA only): The signer answers questions about themselves, the answers to which are available from public records (e.g., their current and previous address).
Applying the signature: DocuSign adds the signature to the document and places a visual element for the signature in the document.
Transmission of the signed document: DocuSign notifies the DocuWare Signature Service that the document has been signed or rejected. DocuWare receives the signed document back and stores it in the file cabinet. The signed version of the document can either be stapled to the original document or replace it. Additionally, some index fields are updated.
A service agreement with DocuSign is required
To use the DocuWare Signature Service with DocuSign, a service agreement with DocuSign is required. More information about licensing can be found in the White Paper Electronic Signatures.
Register your organization with the Signature Service
The Signature Service is a web service provided by DocuWare that acts as an interface between DocuWare and the signature service provider.
You must first register your DocuWare organization with the Signature Service. Only then can the Signature Service load and update documents from your organization or update the index data of a document.
To register your organization with the Signature Service:
Open this web page:
https://signature.docuware.cloud/registration/docusignSign in on this web page with the DocuSign account that you want to connect to DocuWare.
Enter the credentials for the DocuWare organization. The username and password are used for all DocuWare actions and should therefore have the necessary permissions for the file cabinet used in the workflow.
Additionally, an email address is requested for sending a token.
After registration, the DocuWare Signature Service gains access to the customer's DocuSign account and can send documents for signature as the user specified during sign-in.
Authorized DocuWare Partners (ADPs) can use a dedicated access for demos and presentations. This access is only available to users with special permissions. Contact your DocuWare representative for questions.
Notes on the DocuWare Signature Service
Signatures only for PDFs: The DocuWare Signature Service supports only PDFs – the document is converted if necessary. Annotations from the DocuWare document are not transferred to the PDF to be signed.
Behavior after signing: The signed version of the document can either be appended to the original document or replace it. In addition, an index field is updated with a specific value. This value can, for example, be a trigger condition for another workflow.
Grant access for the Workflow Engine: In order for the Signature Service to be used for signatures in workflows, the DocuWare Workflow Engine needs access to the Signature Service, and the Signature Service needs access to the DocuWare platform. With DocuWare Cloud, this is always the case; for an on-premises system, the server and firewall may need to be configured accordingly.
Internet access is required: The Signature Service is hosted in the DocuWare Cloud. Therefore, every organization using the Signature Service must be reachable via the internet.
Connect your organization to the Signature Service
After you have registered your organization, set up the Signature Service as a web service in your organization:
Go to DocuWare Configurations > Integrations > Web Services.
Create a new web service connection of type SOAP.
To transmit documents to DocuSign using the DocuWare Signature Service, enter the following URL:
https://signature.docuware.cloud/DocuSignSignatureService.svcBoth DocuWare Cloud and DocuSign require SSL, so the documents are secure during signing and after the signature process. Any locally installed DocuWare system must also be configured for SSL in order to use the Signature Service. This means the documents are also securely encrypted during transmission between DocuWare and the signature provider.
Save the web service connection so that the DocuWare Signature Service is available in a workflow activity of type Web Service.
Integrate the signature process into a workflow
A signature process can be a standalone workflow or be integrated into a workflow. How the workflow is configured in detail depends on the use case.
The following instructions describe only the steps for configuring the signature process in a workflow:
Insert Web Service activity: Open the DocuWare Desktop App Workflow Designer and add an activity of type Web Service in the desired workflow.
Select Signature Service: Under Web Service > General, select the web service that you previously created for the DocuWare Signature Service – in this case, DocuSign.
Select service method: Once the Signature Service is integrated, the service methods provided by DocuSign, such as AddNewDocumentRemote and others, are available in the workflow.
Under Web Service > Request, select the desired method.Enter parameters: Each service method contains its own set of parameters. In the Parameter window, assign the desired values to these parameters.
Examples:To transmit the document to be signed, you can map the corresponding parameter to the DocuWare index field containing the DocID.
Or you create global variables that are used in the workflow and can be dynamically populated with values from the workflow.
To easily map the variables in the request, it is recommended to give them clear names from the start – for example, using the name of the parameter..png)
Enter result parameters: You can also use the result parameters "Success" or "Failure" in the Data Assignment tab. When set to global variables, these can be used to decide the next step in the workflow.
For example, if the Success result of the web service (i.e., "found" in the Success Boolean) is "false," you may want to take a different path than if the result is "true."
In case of errors, the workflow also outputs a message with the reason for the error, so that the error can be tracked and resolved..png "image(76).png")
Parameter | Variable type | Description | Values |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text | Contains information about the error message | — |
| Text | If the value |
|
| Text | Unique ID that DocuSign has assigned to the document. | — |
Optional: Wait for event
An additional Wait for Event activity allows the workflow to pause until the document has been signed. When a web service is called in the workflow, it returns a response to the workflow after the call is completed. To prevent this from ending the workflow before the document has been signed, add the Wait activity to the workflow.This causes the workflow to wait for the document to be signed by the signer(s). The most common wait condition is that the value of the index field selected for the "StatusFieldName" parameter changes.
If the field is populated with the value of the "SuccessStatusValue" parameter, the workflow can proceed with the newly signed document.
If, on the other hand, the field is populated with the value of the "FailureStatusValue" parameter, the workflow can also proceed – this time with the condition that the signer has rejected the signing of the document.
For more information on configuring a DocuWare workflow, see the Workflow Designer help.