How to set up folder monitoring
- Michael Spreen
Introduction
This chapter will give you extensive instructions on how to successfully set up and use folder monitoring in eSignatureOffice. In the end, you will be able to download a sample configuration, which includes all the settings necessary to create a running folder monitoring.
This option allows to show a folder in the sidebar, which the software monitors for you and if new documents are detected, these can be loaded automatically and subsequently the signing process can also be started automatically.
The big advantage of this feature is that eSignatureOffice can run in the background at all times and is only brought to the front if it’s necessary. This drastically reduces loading times and so saves time.
One possible workflow looks like this:
A PDF document is created from any arbitrary source and then it’s saved to a monitored folder.
eSignatureOffice is already running in the background and detects the new document in the folder.
The new document is loaded automatically.
Now the document can either be scrolled through and read first and then the signing process can be started manually or directly after loading the document, the signing process is started automatically.
When starting the signing process a matching signature-set for this document can be selected automatically.
After the signature-set is done a previously prepared macro will run (again automatically), which can amongst many other features save the signed document and also rename it if necessary. Additionally, this macro can minimize eSignatureOffice back to the task bar so that it vanishes into the background after the signing process is complete - until a new document is detected in the monitored folder.
Setting up the folder monitoring
To monitor a folder, this has to be set up in the eSignatureOffice administration options:
Here an example:
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2. Go to the submenu “Document handling”. |
3. Clicking on the button with the little red plus sign adds a new element to the sidebar. 
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4. Name the new element and select “Directory PDF” as group type. 
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5. Select the folder to be monitored either with the little yellow folder icon right next to the text field “File or directory” or copy the path directly into the text field.
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6. For this example, please activate the following options:
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7. Finishing setting up the options by clicking “Save settings”. Now setting up the folder monitoring is basically finished. As soon as you copy or save a PDF to the monitored folder eSignatureOffice (as long as the program is running) will open these files and start the signing process. However without any signature-sets and automatic assignment of these signature-sets to the loaded documents, only a manual placement of the signing area will be possible. To improve this process, please read the following two chapters “Creating the macro” and “Creating the signature-set”. |
Creating the macro
For this example, we will step-by-step create a very basic macro, which saves the currently loaded documents with its original file name and then closes the document and minimizes eSignatureOffice to the Windows taskbar. Later this macro can be combined with a signature-set in order to be triggered automatically after signing the document.
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2. For the option “Save file (3)” select “Save file to original” from the drop down menu.
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3. For the option “After click (6)” select “Close document and minimize”.
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4. This already concludes the creation of this macro. As it’s supposed to be started automatically, it neither needs a name nor does it need to be visible. In case you want to add more options to your macro, you can find further information here: Automating complex processes: Working with macros
In the next chapter “Creating the signature-set” this macro here will be connected to a signature-set, which allows to position the signing area in any document automatically. |
Creating the signature-set
In this step we will create a simple signature-set, which will search in any loaded document for a certain keyword and then creates a signing area in a previously designated location. As soon as the signing process is started, eSignatureOffice will try to assign the signature-set to the loaded document. After this has been done successfully, eSignatureOffice automatically communicates with the connected sign pad and presents the signing area for the signature to be done.
After all necessary signatures of the signature-set have been added to the document, the macro from the previous chapter will be triggered.
For this example, we’re using the following PDF document.
In case you want to use a PDF document of your own, you need to change the searchwords for the automatic signature-set assignment as well as for the location of the signing area in the document.
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2. On the first page of the creation menu, select “Macro Button 1 action” in the dropdown list for “What should happen after signing?”.
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3. For the option “Automatic document assignment” select “Searchwords” from the dropdown list and write the word “ipsum” in the text field. Please take care to write it correctly as this part is case sensitive! Confirm the settings by clicking the “Apply” button. This will forward you to the next menu of the signature-set creation.
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4. Right before the next menu is shown, you most likely will see the following notification, which tells you that the automatic signature-set selection is not activated. Clicking “Yes” enables this option for you in the administration menu.
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5. The next options menu controls the actual settings for the behaviour during the automated signing process. Clicking “Add” in the upper right corner adds a new search to your signature-set.
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6. For the option “Field bounds” please select the option “Defined by one mark and size” and then write the word “Signature” in the text field. Please take care to write it correctly as this part is case sensitive! In the text field “Width (mm)” write the value “94” and for “Height (mm)” write “21”. These numbers may seem to be odd but this happens to be the signature area here in the above linked sample document. The search text “Signature” is found twice in this sample document and so two signature fields will be created consecutively, each with the given size and each will be presented to be signed.
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7. The next menu option is named “Displacement”. Click the “Edit” button and in the following options make these changes: X and Y need to be set to “-1” and the two grids need to be configured for upper left and lower right positions. The green square symbolizes your search text. The red square symbolizes the designated signature area and its relative position to the search text. With both of the 3x3 grids you can change the relative position of both fields to each other. With the text fields “X:” and “Y:” you can customize this displacement with exact millimetre values horizontally as well as vertically. In our example the given values will make the signature field appear one millimetre to the left and one millimetre higher instead of being shown directly adjacent to the search text. This simply looks better. Confirm your settings by clicking the “OK” button.
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8. Back in the main menu for signature-set basically all necessary settings are done, because basically only one mark for the text search and the size as well as the relative positioning is needed for the signature field. To speed up the signing process you can disable the options “Stamp” and “Show Signature Information Window”. Those are non-crucial options.
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9. This concludes the creation of the signature-set. As soon as the signing process is started the signature-set will be selected automatically due to the enabled automatic assignment of signature-sets to documents feature. How the signing process is done will be explained in the next chapter “Folder monitoring in action”.
In case you want to change the option of your signature-set, you can find detailed information on signature-set creation here: Automatic creation of signing fields: Working with signature-sets |
Folder monitoring in action
Now that all possible options are configured to do a complete signing process, we can start a test run with our sample document.
A short summary of these options:
Sending the document to eSignatureOffice via folder monitoring
Automatic loading the as new detected document in eSignatureOffice
Automatic start of the signing process
Automatic selection of the signature-set after the signing process has been started
Offering the signing field on the signature pad in order to be signed
After the signatures are done, the macro is automatically triggered.
The macro is saving the signed document and then minimizes eSignatureOffice to the task bar.
Afterwards eSignatureOffice is ready to run through the whole process immediately again. Except for the signature itself there is no need for any interaction with the user anymore.
To start this test run, please make sure that eSignatureOffice is already running and then copy the PDF document in the monitored folder "C:\Signing".
After a maximum of 2 seconds, eSignatureOffice will detect the new file and will load it and show it. Due to the automatic start of the signing process, the signature-set associated with the loaded document is automatically selected and start, so that the signature area will be presented with a red frame on the computer display as well as on the pad display. If you’re using a signature pad with black-and-white display, there will ne no red frame visible of course.
Now please sign and confirm your signature with the OK button on the pad or in the eSignatureOffice foot bar. In order to show an example of more than one signature in a signature-set you will be asked for two signatures consecutively. Please sign and confirm both of them. Then eSignatureOffice will automatically detect that no further signatures are demanded by the signature-set and so will trigger the macro, which is connected to this signature-set.
This macro will now save the signed document and minimize eSignatureOffice to the task bar.
Now if you copy the document-to-sign to the monitored folder again, the
same process is repeated over and over again, no matter how the document is named - only the document’s content is important so that the search words can be found.
If you combine several signature-sets with several macros for all your documents, you can create any number of signing processes fast and effectively.
Downloads
Here you can download everything we just did in the previous chapters.
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