fmESignature Link (DocuSign Edition) - WebDirect Linking

The fmESignature Link file was not designed for use with FileMaker WebDirect but with some modifications you can use WebDirect with your linked solution so that you can have a button in your FileMaker solution that, when accessed via FileMaker WebDirect:

generates a PDF of your agreement you wish to send via FileMaker Server
creates a new record in Requests table in the fmESignature Link file and send that using FileMaker Server to your selected Contact

Please refer to our Linking Guides which show you how you can link your existing FileMaker solution to the fmESignature Link file:

We will be using the same FileMaker Pro Contacts Starter Solution as our example solution file we wish to use for sending agreements using FileMaker WebDirect. It has already been linked to the fmESignature Link file using the steps outlined in the Linking Guides.

N.B. we have renamed the fmESignature Link (DocuSign Edition) file to DSG_WebD_fmESignature Link and the Contacts file to DSG_WebD_Contacts so they didn't conflict with other files on our FileMaker Server with the same name.

It's worth pointing out that users will need to have access to both your FileMaker solution and the fmESignature Link file, whether you are using FileMaker Accounts or External Authentication.

Step 1: Create New Fields

You will need a new global container field to store the PDF of the agreement that we generate in the Contacts file before we can pass that across to the new Requests record in the fmESignature Link file. We've created a new global container field in the Contacts table named:

zv_PDFTemp_gr

Make sure you add this field to a layout that can be used by a script - we've added this to the Contact Details layout in our file. Make sure this field is on the layouts that are referenced by the new scripts that you create in the Contacts file below.

Step 2: Create New Scripts in fmESignature Link File

You will also need to create a script in the fmESignature Link file to handle the sending of the newly created request which is called by the new PDF Contact and DocuSign [WebDirect] script in the Contacts file. There is an existing script that we can use that performs the majority of what we need and can be duplicated and modified slightly. You can duplicate the script Create Envelope and Send to Recipients [SERVER] and modify this to not attempt to create a PDF as this has already been created and is been passed by the PDF Contact and DocuSign [WebDirect] script in the Contacts file.

You can disable the following steps:

Step 3: Create New Scripts in Contacts File

You will need to create some new scripts that control the process of creating the PDF on the server and then passing that back to the main script which can then create the Requests record in the fmESignature Link file and call a script to send the Request. These scripts must be compatible with either FileMaker WebDirect or FileMaker Server. The approach we have taken is as follows:

1. PDF Contact and DocuSign [WebDirect] script: this script performs a number of functions including calling a Perform Script on Server (PSoS) script to create the PDF file for the selected Contact record and return that, then creating the Requests record and setting the Contact as the recipient. Here's a PDF of our version of this script that you can use as a reference:

PDF Contact and DocuSign [WebDirect] Script.pdf

2. PDF Contact [PSOS] script: this script is called by the PDF Contact and DocuSign [WebDirect] script as a Perform Script on Server script and handles the creation of the PDF file for the selected contact and passing the PDF file back to the PDF Contact and DocuSign [WebDirect] script. Here's a PDF of our version of this script that you can use as a reference:

PDF Contact [PSOS]

Step 3: Testing

After checking for any errors in your new FileMaker scripts in both files you can now test this works on a Contact record in your FileMaker solution when accessed via FileMaker WebDirect. We've added a button to the Contact Details layout which calls the PDF Contact and DocuSign [WebDirect] script. You can run this and confirm that it creates the Requests and RequestsContacts records successfully and also sends the Request. If there are any issues in the fmESignature Link file you can check the ServerSideErrors List layout where you will find a record for any errors that were encountered by the Create Envelope and Send to Recipients [SERVER] script:

The following video demonstrates sending an agreement using FileMaker WebDirect and the FileMaker Contacts starter solution ( direct YouTube link):