Use embedded text field tags in the PDF to create a fillable form

Prerequisites:

Sign Up and Obtain API Key: Visit DocuSeal API Console to obtain your API key.

The PDF embedded text tags can be defined in the PDF using {{ }} curly brackets. These tags act as placeholders in the document, which should be replaced with interactive and fillable document fields. Each tag contains a defined field name along with its associated attributes:

Text field tags can contain the following attributes:

• name: Name of the field in the template.
• type: Field type can be one of the following types: text, signature, initials, date, datenow, image, file, payment, stamp, select, checkbox, multiple, radio, phone.
• role: signer role name. Specify different names in case the document contains multiple signing parties with their own set of fields.
• default: default field value to be used in the template (optional).
• required: set false to make the field optional and skipable. true by default.
• readonly: set true to make it impossible for the signer to edit the pre-filled field value. false by default.
• options: comma separated list of options for select and radio field types.
• condition: `FieldName:value` to show the field only if the condition is met for the value in other field. Pass only `FieldName` to set a condition for a non-empty field.
• width: absolute width of the field in pixels. This attribute is optional, text tag width will be used for the field width by default.
• height: absolute height of the field in pixels. This attribute is optional, font size height will be used for the field height by default.
• font: font name to be used in the field. Can accept "Times", "Helvetica" or "Courier" PDF default fonts to be used for the field font.
• font_size: font size of the text value. This attribute is optional, default font size will be calculated base on the field height by default.
• color: 'blue' or 'red' color of the text value or signature. This attribute is optional, default 'black' color is used when not specified.

Attributes should be separated with semicolon (;) with attribute value specified after the equal (=) sign: {{DOB;type=date;role=Customer;required=false}}

Use POST https://api.docuseal.com/templates/pdf API to create interactive document form template from the given PDF with field text tags.

API request body should contain JSON payload with "file": '...' encoded as base64 string value.

Upon a successful request, you'll receive a "id" of the new template to be used in the signature request process.

Learn more:

REST API Reference

PDF text tags example file

const axios = require('axios');
const fs = require('fs');

// Read the file synchronously and encode it to base64
const filePath = 'path/to/your/file.pdf'; // Replace this with your file path
const fileData = fs.readFileSync(filePath, { encoding: 'base64' });

axios.post('https://api.docuseal.com/templates/pdf', {
  name: 'Rental Agreement',
  file: fileData, // Pass the encoded file data here
}, {
  headers: {
    'X-Auth-Token': 'API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
}).then((response) => {
  console.log(response.data);
}).catch((error) => {
  console.error('Error:', error);
});