Skip to navigation
eSignature SOAP API 101Anchor based tagging

Rules for Anchor tagging

View as Markdown

There are both API user specific rules and rules for the exceptions thrown by the processor.

API user-specific rules

  • The Tab node must contain the RecipientID which refers to an existing recipient and Tab Type (signature, initial, etc). Else, the XML validation fails and a Validation error exception is thrown.
  • If the Anchor node is initialized, then the AnchorTabString must be specified. Else, the XML validation fails and a Validation error exception is thrown.
  • The AnchorTabString specified in the SOAP envelope must be included at least once in the corresponding document of the envelope.
  • API users who do not use the anchor-based tabs do not make any changes.
  • The user can decide the format of the AnchorTabString. Docusign tabs are created for each instance of the AnchorTabString within the document, so special care must be taken to establish unique AnchorTabStrings that do not result in unintentional tabs.
  • The API user only needs to list the anchor tab in the XML once and map it to a recipient and tab type. The tab is placed for the recipient in each instance that the anchor tab appears in the document(s).
  • The API user cannot use the same anchor tab for different recipients for the same document.
  • The API user cannot use a text string in an Image PDF.
  • The allowed offset units are: pixels, millimeters, centimeters or inches. If not specified, the default unit is pixels.
  • X or Y offsets supplied for a tab apply to all instances of the tab in the document.
  • To use different offsets at different locations in the document for the same recipient, create multiple, unique anchor tabs.

Rules for exceptions thrown by the API

  • The anchor tab specified by the user must exist in the corresponding document of the envelope. Else, the processor throws an exception with the error message “Anchor_Tab_String_Not_Found”. The error message includes the list of anchor tabs that are not found.
  • If the Y offset value would force a tab outside of the page boundaries, the tag will be placed at the page boundary. If the X offset value places a tab outside of the page boundaries, the error message “Invalid_User_Offset” is sent. The error message includes the X offset that resulted in the error.
  • The API user must not use the same tab for different recipients for the same document. Nor can the API user use the same tab for different tab types. After the tab is used once, the processor throws an exception with the error “Invalid_Anchor_Tab_String”. The error message indicates that the user can not map an anchor tab for different recipients or tab types.

Known limitations

  • The processor cannot search text that is embedded in an image.
  • The processor does not support an AnchorTabString embedded in the form of a PDF X-object in the document.
  • The processor does not re-flow the text that surrounds the anchor tabs. It is the responsibility of the document author to provide sufficient whitespace to contain the potential width of the ultimate tab value.