- Adobe Acrobat Sign Integrations
- What's New
- Product Versions and Lifecycle
- Acrobat Sign for Salesforce
- Install the Package
- Configure the Package
- User Guide
- Enable Digital Authentication
- Developer Guide
- Advanced Customization Guide
- Field Mapping and Templates Guide
- Mobile App User Guide
- Flows Automation Guide
- Document Builder Guide
- Configure Large Documents
- Upgrade Guide
- Release Notes
- FAQs
- Troubleshooting Guide
- Additional Articles
- Acrobat Sign for Microsoft
- Acrobat Sign for Microsoft 365
- Acrobat Sign for Outlook
- Acrobat Sign for Word/PowerPoint
- Acrobat Sign for Teams
- Acrobat Sign for Microsoft PowerApps and Power Automate
- Acrobat Sign Connector for Microsoft Search
- Acrobat Sign for Microsoft Dynamics
- Acrobat Sign for Microsoft SharePoint
- Overview
- SharePoint On-Prem: Installation Guide
- SharePoint On-Prem: Template Mapping Guide
- SharePoint On-Prem: User Guide
- SharePoint On-Prem: Release Notes
- SharePoint Online: Installation Guide
- SharePoint Online: Template Mapping Guide
- SharePoint Online: User Guide
- SharePoint Online: Web Form Mapping Guide
- SharePoint Online: Release Notes
- Acrobat Sign for Microsoft 365
- Acrobat Sign for ServiceNow
- Acrobat Sign for HR ServiceNow
- Acrobat Sign for SAP SuccessFactors
- Acrobat Sign for Workday
- Acrobat Sign for NetSuite
- Acrobat Sign for SugarCRM
- Acrobat Sign for VeevaVault
- Acrobat Sign for Coupa BSM Suite
- Acrobat Sign for Zapier
- Acrobat Sign Developer Documentation
Adobe Acrobat Sign for HR Service Delivery integration has been deprecated and currently not being supported.
Overview
The Adobe Sign for HR Application allows document signature requests to be sent to an Adobe Sign account via the ServiceNow platform using native HR Service functionality. HR Services can be built around requesting a signature via Adobe Sign simply by adding an option to the HR Service.
This document is structured to install the core application, explore options, and expose common troubleshooting tips:
- Install the application from the ServiceNow Store
- Installed Case / Task Components
- Configure optional settings
- Services
- Adding new documents / templates
- Reports
- Support & Troubleshooting
Prerequisites
Below are the dependencies to install Adobe Sign for HR:
Required Plugins
Human Resources Scoped App: Core
Human Resources Scoped App: Service Portal
- Adobe Sign enterprise license - An Adobe Sign enterprise license is required to use the application.
- Click here to sign up for a free trial
- You must have an account level administrator in the Adobe Sign application to establish the OAuth connection
- Browser pop-ups enabled - Ensure that pop-ups are not being blocked in your browser. OAuth access requires access to pop-up actions
Installation Process
As any other ServiceNow scoped app, the Adobe Sign for HR app must be signed up for / purchased via the ServiceNow store before installation.
There are a few different user roles involved in the processes outlined in this document. The HR and Managed Documents modules both have multiple, specific roles.
Unless you already have formal HR and Managed Document processes in place, it is recommended that a user with HR Admin or system admin roles perform the below steps, since they have access to all actions involved.
For more info, see below:
It is strongly recommended that the application be installed into a test/development environment before installing into production.
Install the Adobe Sign for HR application
Once you have signed up for/purchased the Adobe Sign for HR application, it shows up under the System Applications -> Applications menu in your ServiceNow instance.
Menu:
After installation completes, a new application menu is available in the left navigation panel: Adobe Sign for HR
The sub-menu options are:
- Adobe Sign Form Data - Table holding the returned form data once an agreement has been signed. This can be used for reporting on documents and their field data. More information on this feature is in the Reports section
- Adobe Sign HR Services - HR Services using Adobe Sign. Filtered by any service that is using either of the custom HR Case options
- Agreements - Back-end details of the signature process. Includes JSON as well as all Adobe Sign events that are being received and acted upon
- Connect to Adobe Sign - Connect screen where a valid Adobe Sign account is linked to ServiceNow
- Events - Back-end details of what is being sent and received per each Adobe Sign event
- Help - Links to Adobe Sign help
- Participants - Signers and details of their signature process
Install the “Adobe Sign - HR Core Updates” update set
Once the Adobe Sign for HR application has been successfully installed, the Adobe Sign - HR Core Updates need to be applied.
These post-install configurations to the Hr Core application must be performed for the application to work.
The steps are outlined in the four expandable bullet points below.
- Manual configuration is recommended to ensure that you are aware of the changes being made, and not endangering your current functionality
- Optionally, you can install the attached update set if you are absolutely certain they will not conflict with other changes you have made
Test and verify that everything works as expected in your test / dev environment before installing into production.
Insert Signature button
When creating an HTML Document Template, the Insert Signature button fills in the ServiceNow signature tag.
- This tag is not needed when Adobe Sign is being used
- The button has been disabled when the Authored for Adobe Sign check box is checked
Mark Signatures button
The Mark Signatures button on the PDF Template form can be disabled as well, as it not used with the Adobe Sign Application.
- It has also been disabled when the Authored for Adobe Sign check box is checked
These steps can be performed manually by navigating to the UI Actions directly, and manually adding the conditions.
- Type “UI Actions” in the left navigation
- Choose the UI Actions menu option under System Definition
- In the search field choose Name
- Enter Insert Signature
- Open the Insert Signature record
- Add “&& current.x_adosy_sign_hr_adobe_sign == false” to the condition
- This hides the button if the Authored for Adobe Sign checkbox is checked
The same process can be followed to hide the “Mark Signature” button. Search for the “Mark Signature” UI Action instead of “Insert Signature”.
Authored for Adobe Sign check box
The additional condition && current.x_adosy_sign_hr_adobe_sign == false (the check box is not checked) was added to the UI actions in order to hide them.
The out of box Sign Document button is presented to the HR Agent after a document has been previewed and generated.
When Adobe Sign is being used, this button is replaced with the Sign With Adobe Sign button, which sends to Adobe Sign for signature.
- The original Sign Document button has been disabled by adding && current.x_adosy_sign_hr_agreement.nil() (the agreement field is empty) to the UI action condition
- Type UI Actions in the left navigation.
- Under System Definition choose the UI Actions menu option.
- In the search field choose Name
- Enter Sign Document.
- You should see three records with this name value.
- Choose the one that is against the “sn_hr_core_case” table.
- Add && current.x_adosy_sign_hr_agreement.nil() to the condition.
- This hides the button when the agreement field is empty
Make sure the additional condition is added before the semicolon.
A new Task Type of Sign Document With Adobe Sign needs to be added to the HR Task Types.
This needs to be selected on any HR Task Template that is to be used in an Adobe Sign process.
To create this Task Type:
- Navigate to Choice Lists
- Search for:
- Table - sn_hr_core_task
- Element - hr_task_type
Into this list you need to create a new Task Type.
Select New and create the record as below.
- The label can be anything but the ‘Value’ must be adobe_sign_document
There are two additional fields on the sn_hr_core_document_template table:
- Authored for Adobe Sign check box
- Form Data Table fields
As described in the “Insert Signature” and “Mark Signatures” buttons disabled on Document Template section, the Authored for Adobe Sign check box is used to hide / show the buttons that are not needed.
It is also used to hide / show the Form Data Table field, which is used when the document template has been made reportable as described in the Reports section.
- If you have not created a table for the form data to be pushed to, then the table name can be left as “none”.
These steps can be performed manually by navigating to any Document Template record, and configuring the form layout.
Add the Authored for Adobe Sign and the Form Data Table fields to the Selected slush bucket.
The fields will now be on the form.
Download
Add the Signing Widget to the HR Portal Task and Ticket pages
Two Service Portal widgets have been created to allow the signer to sign their agreement:
- The Adobe Sign HR Ticket Page widget is meant to be used on the HR Ticket Page (hrj_ticket_page)
- The Adobe Sign HR Task Details can be used on the HR Task Details Page (hri_task_details)
NOTE - This needs to be done from within the HR Service Portal scope.
Navigate to Service Portal > Pages
Find the hrj_ticket_page and open the record
Choose Open in Designer
Select the Adobe Sign HR Ticket Page widget and drag and drop the widget onto the page where you’d like the signer to see it.
Depending on the layout you are currently using, you may need to add a new row to accommodate the new widget.
The exact same process can be followed to add the Adobe Sign HR Task Details widget using the “hri_task_details” page (note in the screenshot above under the Document widget).
Privilege Users (Roles)
There are two roles included with the HR application:
- Admin (x_adosy_sign_hr.admin)
- ServiceNow users with the x_adosy_sign_hr__admin role have full access to all functionality and also to both user menus (as shown in the installation section).
- User (x_adosy_sign_hr.sender)
- ServiceNow users with the x_adosy_sign_hr.sender are given access to the application to function.
- The Sender role needs to be added to any HR group(s) that need to be able to use the Adobe Sign application to send a document for signature
Establish the OAuth connection between Adobe Sign and ServiceNow
To connect the Adobe Sign application to ServiceNow, an Adobe Sign group or account admin user is required.
- Create a free trial account if you don't currently have an Adobe Sign enterprise account
A link between ServiceNow and Adobe Sign can be established by clicking the Connect To Adobe link in the Adobe Sign for HR menu.
A status page appears showing that the applications are not connected:
Click Connect to bring up the Adobe Sign login page.
Authenticate to Adobe Sign using your account admin user credentials
Once logged in, the required application permissions are listed in an authentication window.
Click Allow Access to grant these permissions and establish the connection between ServiceNow and Adobe Sign.
NOTE: The authentication happens within a pop-up window. If pop-ups are being blocked by the browser, they need to be unblocked.
The Adobe Sign for HR - Connected message should now be shown, along with the authenticating Adobe Sign and ServiceNow accounts.
If you need to connect the services using a different user, click the Re-Connect button to authenticate as the new user.
NOTE - There is a known bug with the Safari browser where the window does not refresh.
In this case, the pop-up needs to be cleared and the window manually refreshed.
Testing the configuration
Testing can be performed by using one of the example services.
If connected, and the logged in user has the appropriate roles, then the example should execute correctly. The Adobe Sign application only needs a valid connection to Adobe Sign to function.
Reference the Support & Troubleshooting section for help.
Installed Case / Task Components
A few custom components have been created specifically for the Adobe Sign for HR application:
- Adobe Signers related list - Lists all signers on the current HR Case
- New signers can be added
- The signing order can be changed
NOTE - This related list needs to be added to the HR Case view, which is explained in the Manual Options section.
- Send to Adobe Sign UI Action - Button that sends the attached PDF to Adobe Sign for signature.
NOTE - The “Adobe Sign: Enable for Case” Case Option activates / deactivates this button.
If the case option is not present on the HR Service, then the button will not be present. This is explained in more detail in the Services section.
- Review Adobe Sign details - This button allows the HR agent to add or reorder signers on the agreement.
NOTE - This button is activated by adding the Adobe Sign: Send with Preview case option to the HR Service Configuration record.
When clicked, the agent is directed to the Adobe Sign "Send" page where they can make changes.
Configure optional settings
Adding “Signature State” Field to HR Case list view
Out of the box, the HR case remains in the Work In Progress state, even after the signature has been received.
In order to make it easier for an HR agent to know the case is ready to be reviewed / closed, the agreement signature state can be added to the HR Case default list view.
This field reacts to the state of the Adobe Sign agreement and shows the Adobe Sign signature state accordingly.
To add to the default view, navigate to the HR Case list view as an Admin
Right-click on the header and choose Configure > List Layout
Add the Agreement.Signature state field to your Selected list view
Users need to click the cog icon and Reset columns to default in order to update their view and see the new field.
Custom HR Case View / Rule
The above steps set the default view to show the Signature State field, but you can also create a custom view and a view rule that creates a view which can only be seen by users with the ServiceNow roles.
Navigate to the Customize List Layout form as above, but this time, select New in the View Name drop-down field.
Name your new view and save. You should be in the new view.
By default, the fields in use in the default view are already selected.
Change fields as needed, and then save the view.
You should now see your new view as a selection in the view header drop-down
A view rule can be created to hide the new view from everyone except Adobe Sign users
Navigate to System UI > View Rules
Create a new rule against the HR Core Case table (make sure you are in the Human Resources: Core scope), and restrict the view by role.
NOTE - Restricting by role is done via script using the “advanced” option. The process outline, as well as an example code snippet, can be found here
The end result / script should look something like the screenshot below.
Adding the “Adobe Signers” Related List to the HR Case record
Right-click the header and choose Configure > Related Lists
Move the Adobe Signers related list from the Available column to the Selected column.
You also need to add the Sender role to any groups that need to see the related list.
Once added to the HR Case, new signers can be added, along with the signing order changed.
Services
Adobe Sign HR Services has been created to demonstrate how the functionality works and how it can be used to create new services or added to existing ones. These provide end-to-end examples of how HR Services need to be set up in order to leverage the Adobe Sign for HR Application.
Example Services
There are three example HR Services that have been provided, showing the Adobe Sign functionality. They are listed under the Adobe Sign HR Services menu. Each service has its own Case template and document, as explained below.
- Adobe Sign - Equity Choice Service - This is an example service providing a PDF Document for Adobe e-signature and fillable form data.
- Adobe Sign - Parking Permit Service - This is an example Document Template containing pre-filled ServiceNow employee data along with fillable Adobe Sign data fields and signatures. It is created in HTML and then converted to PDF by ServiceNow during the Generate step within preview.
- Adobe Sign - Pet Policy with 2 Signers Example - Example Pet Policy PDF Form for 2 signers. Includes ServiceNow Employee data mapping along with Signer data capture within a fillable form.
Links to the ServiceNow documentation around each component are included below.
- HR Services - What the user can see and interact with. Documentation
- Managed Documents- Where the PDF is uploaded and managed. Documentation
- HR Document Templates - Definition of the document being used and that needs to be signed. Documentation
- HR Case & Task Templates - Define the parameters of the HR Case and tasks that are generated. Documentation
- Service Activities - Define what activities are generated and acted on by the service. Documentation
Adding Adobe Sign Functionality to an HR Service
HR Service “case options” have been added that trigger the Adobe Sign related components to be shown during the process.
- Adobe Sign: Enable for Case - This option is the base option that needs to be added to the HR Service in order to use Adobe Sign features. The Sign with Adobe Sign button will be added to the HR Case flow, and the Adobe Sign widgets will be available for the signer via the HR Service Portal (once manually added to the pages).
- Adobe Sign: Send with Preview - This option allows the Adobe Sign document to be previewed and Signers added / re-ordered by the HR agent working the ticket.
Adding new documents / templates
New documents can be added via the Managed Documents module (PDF’s) and via the HR Document Templates module (HTML based). Both methods allow the document to be used with Adobe Sign to obtain signatures.
PDF’s - Managed Documents Module
The managed documents module allows the upload of a new PDF document that can be used as the foundation of a new HR Service.
The basic steps are outlined below, and more information on Managed Documents can be found here
Navigate to the Managed Document Module and select Create New
Fill in the details of the document and submit the record.
NOTE - In order for the document to be visible to HR and to be used with Adobe Sign, the Department field must be set to HR.
Also, note that this field needs to be populated before submitting. Once the record has been submitted, the department field is read-only.
Once submitted, the PDF file can be uploaded using the Upload/Check In Revision UI action at the bottom of the record.
Upload the desired PDF and save via the pop-up window.
NOTE - The name of the uploaded document will be changed to the name specified in the Upload/Check step below.
A Document Revision record is created, which includes the attachment in Draft mode.
Since the document is still in Draft, it is not ready to use yet. It needs to be submitted for review and then published.
Open the revision record and click on the Submit Revision button
This moves the document along to the Ready for Publishing stage.
Open the revision record once more, and click the Publish Revision button
A pop-up appears, allowing the revision name or number to be changed if desired.
Click Publish
Navigate to HR Administration > Document Templates
The managed document should be available for creating a document template to use under an HR Service.
Click the New button.
Choose PDF Document Template
The Document revision field can be populated with the newly created document
HTML based - HR Document Templates
An HR Document Template can also be HTML based and can be used for Adobe Sign signatures in the same way as a Managed Document.
There are a few out of the box examples included with the HR module for reference, such as the “Sample Education Agreement” template, that shows the basic idea of an HTML document.
Navigate to HR Administration > Document Templates
Choose an HTML based document.
NOTE - Make sure the template chosen is an HR Document Template to see the HTML.
A type of HR PDF Template is generated from a PDF as described in the previous section and does not have HTML associated with it.
Any field associated with the table chosen can be added to the document as a variable.
In our simple example document below, the subject_person is added as a variable from the HR Case table.
When this template is used, the variable is filled with the name in the subject_person field on the case.
Other user information can be pulled from the HR User profile.
Adding Adobe Sign Signature Capability to an HTML HR Document Template
To add an Adobe Sign signature to an HTML based document template, Adobe Sign tags need to be added.
The process is outlined below using the same example document as above.
Note the highlighted line in the screenshot above.
When sent to Adobe Sign, this becomes a signature field and is placed in the document at that exact spot.
There are different types of tags creating different kinds of fields with a wide array of configuration options.
Reports
Once an agreement is signed, it is downloaded as a PDF, and attached to the parent HR Case record.
In addition to the PDF, the form data of the transaction has been included on the Agreement record as well as placed in the Adobe Sign Form Data table.
The table can be leveraged by an admin to create detailed reports around the data within the signed records.
For more detailed reporting, tables extending the base table can be built and reported on (against a specific document template, for example).
Navigate to System Definition > Tables & Columns
Click Create Table
Create a new table that extends the Adobe Sign Form Data table, and uncheck Create Module
NOTE - This is optional. If you would like admins to be able to navigate to this table via the left-navigation menu, then create a module and place in the Adobe Sign for HR menu.
Once the table has been created, add the columns that correspond to the document field names.
NOTE - The column names need to match the document field names exactly and need to be of type “string”, as the data returned for that field will be placed in the column as a string. If the data isn’t in the columns as you expect, make sure the names match exactly and types are “string”.
You can then navigate to the HR Document Template that you would like to report on, and add the table to the Form Data Table field, which is visible when the Authored for Adobe SIgn check box is checked.
Now, any HR service that uses this template will push data to the table noted in the Form Data Table field and case reported on and/or added to a dashboard.
Support & Troubleshooting
Support Contact Information
Help documentation is included on the admin menu. The below website also provides support contact information
- Contact Methods: Website, Phone or Email (all methods are included on the webpage)
- Contact Details: https://echosign.zendesk.com/hc/en-us
Troubleshooting
Below are a few common issues that may come up during set up and usage of the Adobe Sign for HR application:
Adobe Sign specific buttons and components are not visible or working
Make sure that the new Adobe Sign HR Service Case options have been added to the HR Service. They are the trigger for turning on the Adobe Sign functionality for any particular HR Service.
Connection Error when you visit the “Connect to Adobe Sign” link
If you try to connect and see the Not Connected screen, then you need to reconnect following the procedures outlined in Establish the OAuth connection
If you see the access_denied screen, the Adobe Sign account you are using may not have rights to connect from ServiceNow.
Contact Adobe Support and verify that the account has the needed permissions.
Adobe Sign window never shows when connecting to the Adobe Sign account
The connect window is a pop-up and may be blocked by some browsers. Make sure that pop-ups are not being blocked.
Connection pop-up doesn't refresh
Apple Safari has a known bug that will cause this window to freeze / not refresh. If using Safari, close the pop-up and manually refresh the window. Once refreshed, you should see the new connection status.
Tasks / Participant records do not set to “Ready” or “Out For Signature”
Make sure your Adobe Sign account is connected. The state changes of the records are dependent on receiving data back from Adobe Sign. If the connection is not there, then you will not receive the trigger to change states.
Menu options are / are not visible for users
Make sure all users who need access to the application have the correct roles assigned to them. If you are using groups, make sure that they also have the needed roles attached to them.
NOTE - The HR and Managed document modules have their own respective roles associated with them. In order to perform certain functions, an Adobe user may also need additional roles from those modules.
Most actions can be performed by a user with the “HR Admin” role.
When an agent uses the “Send to Adobe Sign” button, they receive an error around the email address
Make sure that the user who is set as the signer has a valid email address. Upon submission, the username and email addresses are checked.
HR Tasks are in draft mode / The “Send to Adobe Sign” button never shows
Make sure you have previewed and generated the PDF document. It will be attached to the parent Case if so. This document is the trigger to show the button.
Once the document has been sent to Adobe, the task state should change to ready, and the task will be available in the HR portal for the signer to act on.
“Adobe Signers” related list isn’t there on the HR Case record
Make sure that the user / group that cannot see the related list has the “sender” role. This related list is only visible when the role is present.