Signed Forms

The Signed Forms screen allows you to review all forms that have ever been signed through Formatta E-Forms Manager with Remote Signing.  Depending upon your business process and how the forms are designed, you may have forms that are digitally signed but not submitted (and vice versa).  Only forms that were signed using Remote Signing are available for review using the Signed Forms screen.  A number of search options are provided for viewing signed forms, including searches By Date, By Signature Number, and a comprehensive Advanced Search.

This feature is particularly useful if your business process uses a combination of electronic signing and paper forms.  For example, Formatta E-Forms Manager uses a unique, sequential tracking number each and every time a form is electronically signed.  This tracking number can automatically be entered on the version of the form retained by the end user during the signing process, (based on how the form is designed and corresponding Form Management Properties).  If the form is later printed for use in paper-based workflow processing, the printed form can be compared against the electronic signature recorded in Formatta E-Forms Manager.   

Ultimately, whether or not a form can be signed depends on the settings made in Form Management Properties for each version of a form uploaded to Formatta E-Forms Manager.   

Displaying the Signed Forms Screen

Select Signed Forms from the Submissions tab to search and display forms that have been and notarized by Formatta E-Forms Manager.

Searching for Signed Forms

To search for a single signed form, or range of forms, select one of the Signed Forms tabs:  By Date, By Signature Number, or Advanced Search.

By Date

Searching By Date allows you to narrow your signed forms search to those forms signed on a certain date range.  Keep in mind, Formatta E-Forms Manager tracks both the date and time a form is submitted to the Formatta E-Forms Manager database.  Consequently, if your date range search is from April 15 to April 15 (1 day), Formatta E-Forms Manager will only display forms signed from 12:00 am to 11:59 pm on April 15.  

After selecting a date range, press Search to display your search results (see below).

By Signature Number

Searching By Signature Number allows you to search for a specific form using a single signature tracking number.  

Each time a form is signed by an end user and notarized by Formatta E-Forms Manager, it is automatically assigned a sequential tracking number in the database.  This number can also be recorded on the version retained by the end user if enabled in the Signing tab of Form Management Properties.

This auditing and tracking function is useful if your business has a mix of electronic and paper forms.  Upon receiving a paper version of a completed form, a Form Administrator could check the signing tracking number printed on the form, and compare this printed form with the version recorded in Formatta E-Forms Manager.   

After entering a signature tracking number, press Search to display your search results (see below).

Advanced Search

The Advanced Search tab provides a comprehensive method of mixing and matching search criteria for signed forms, including:

• Submitted From / To:  Allows you to search signed forms using a specified data range.  

• Form Category:  Allows searching by a particular form category since all forms must be assigned to a category when uploaded to Formatta E-Forms Manager.

• Form:  Allows searching on any version of a form uploaded to Formatta E-Forms Manager.

• User Last Name:  Allows searching on forms signed by an end user who has an account set up in the End Users screen

• User Email:  Allows searching on signed forms corresponding to a particular email account defined in the End Users screen.

For example, you can search for all forms signed by a user between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2012, by entering a date range and the user's last name in the User Last Name field.  Alternatively, you can search for all Leave Request forms signed during the month of November.  

After entering your advanced search criteria, press Search to display your search results (see below).

Search Results

The Search Results screen displays after entering valid search criteria (By Date, By Submission Number, or Advanced Search), as described above.  The following information displays based on your search:

• Number - A unique, sequential signing tracking number assigned by Formatta E-Forms Manager when a form is signed and notarized.  This number can also be recorded on the form signed by the end user if enabled in Form Management Properties (see Signing tab).

• Form - The name of the form.

• Signed On - The exact date and time the form was signed and notarized by Formatta E-Forms Manager.  This date / time group is based on your server's clock, and not on the end user's computer.

• Signed By - The name of the end user predefined in the End Users screen, if required by the form.

• View Form - Clicking on the form icon displays the form in Formatta Filler.

• Delete - Allows authorized Form Administrators to delete the signed form.

Viewing Signature Details

To view specific details associated with a signed form, select the row corresponding to the desired form in the Search Results screen.  The Signature Details screen then displays:

• Signature Number:  A unique, sequential signature tracking number assigned by Formatta E-Forms Manager when a form is signed.  

• Signed On:  The exact date and time the form was signed and notarized by Formatta E-Forms Manager.  

• Form:  The name of the form.

• Form File Name:  The file name of the form published in Formatta E-Forms Manager.  While users do have the ability to rename a form prior to signing, Formatta E-Forms Manager renames it back to its original file name on signing.

• View Submitted Form:  Clicking on the form icon allows you to view the form in Filler, as it was signed and notarized by Formatta E-Forms Manager.  See "Viewing the Completed Form" below.

• Form Version:  Identifies the version of the form signed by the end user.  Form versioning and obsolescence is controlled through Version History and Form Management Properties.

• User ID:  Displays the User ID of the person who signed the form, if previously set up in the End Users screen.

• Signed Name:  Displays the end user's name, if previously set up in the End Users screen.

• Signed Field Set:  Notes the name of the set of fields signed by the user.

Viewing the Completed Form

Any signed form can be viewed by clicking on the Formatta e-form icon.  The form will then be downloaded to your computer and displayed in Formatta Filler.

If the form is signed, you will not be able to edit or change any of the fields signed by the end user(s).  You can, however, construct forms and processes suited to your business requirements.

For example, employees can find the most up-to-date Leave Request form on a web page maintained by Formatta E-Forms Manager (see Form Publication).  They can fill out, save, sign, and route this form to a supervisor, who in turn submits this form to Human Resources for processing.  A Form Administrator in Human Resources can then review the form, accept it, or return the form to the Supervisor with an explanation.  If accepted, the form data can be exported as XML to an HR system.   

Formatta E-Forms Manager provides the flexibility to work the way you do, automating business processes while maintaining internal controls.  Paper-based forms can quickly be made into efficient, electronic-based processes with minimal training and integration into existing legacy systems.