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 skippable. 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.
• format: the data format for date and signature fields. Possible values depend on the field type:
  • date field can be, for example: DD/MM/YYYY (Default: MM/DD/YYYY)
  • signature field can accept only: drawn, typed, drawn_or_typed, upload. (Default: drawn_or_typed )
  • number field can accept: usd, eur, gbp currency formats.
• 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.
• font_type: font type to be used in the field. Can accept bold, italic or bold_italic font types to be used for the field value.
• color: blue or red color of the text value or signature. This attribute is optional, default black color is used when not specified.
• align: Horizontal alignment of the text value. This attribute is optional, with possible values being left, center, or right. Default is left when not specified.
• valign: Vertical alignment of the text value. This attribute is optional, with possible values being top, center, or bottom. Default is center when not specified.
• mask: set true to make sensitive data masked on the document. false by default.

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/submissions/pdf API to create create a one-off submission request document from the given PDF with field text tags.

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

Learn more:

REST API Reference

PDF text tags example file

const docuseal = require('@docuseal/api');
const fs = require('fs')

const filePath = 'path/to/your/file.pdf';
const fileData = fs.readFileSync(filePath, { encoding: 'base64' });

docuseal.configure({ key: 'API_KEY', url: 'https://api.docuseal.com' });

const submission = await docuseal.createSubmissionFromPdf({
  name: 'Rental Agreement',
  documents: [
    {
      name: 'rental-agreement',
      file: fileData
    }
  ],
  submitters: [
    {
      role: 'First Party',
      email: 'john.doe@example.com'
    }
  ]
});