Prepare and Tag Documents for Recipients

Audience: Organizations
Audience: Notary-Sourced Transaction Notaries (NSTs)

The short answer: Tagging your documents before a notarization session saves time, reduces errors, and creates a smoother experience for everyone involved. You can place, move, resize, delete, and bulk-edit fields directly in the Document Preparation window.


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What Is a Field?

A field (aka tag) is an action item for someone on the transaction. Fields make it clear where to provide information, make a selection, sign, date, initial, and more.

  • Fields are filled out by anyone completing a transaction on Proof — usually signers and notaries, but also witnesses or others who interact with the document.
  • Fields are placed by an individual or business creating a transaction or template for someone to complete.
⚠️
If you uploaded your own document for notarization, read Prepare a Document After You Upload instead.

How It Works

Preparing a document after you create a new transaction and upload the file is a two-step process:

  1. Set the document requirements.
  2. Tag your document with the appropriate fields.

For more details about the types of fillable fields you can add, read Notary Fields and Signer Fields Overview.


Add Fields to the Document

Tagging your documents before an online notarization meeting creates a smooth experience for all participants, including notaries.

⚠️
If your organization uses Place an Order, some tagging options may not be visible. This is expected behavior and doesn't affect your transaction.
+ 1. Open the Document Preparation Window

Click the name of the document to open the Document Preparation window. If you uploaded multiple files, use the arrows in the upper left corner to navigate between them.

+ 2. Select a Field

Click the desired field from the right sidebar. Your mouse cursor will change to reflect the selected field.

+ 3. Place the Field

Move your cursor to the appropriate place on the document and click to drop the field. Repeat until all desired fields have been added.

+ 4. Resize a Field (If Needed)

If a field needs to be bigger or smaller:

  1. Select the field you'd like to resize.
  2. Click the circle in the lower right corner of the field.
  3. Drag the circle until the field is the desired size.
+ 5. Move a Field (If Needed)

To move a field to a different location:

  1. Click and hold the field.
  2. Move your cursor to the desired spot.
  3. Release the mouse button to place it at the new location.
+ 6. Delete a Field (If Needed)

Select the field(s) you want to remove, then click the trash bin icon that appears above the field.


Work with Multiple Fields

You can select multiple fields at once to move, copy and paste, delete, or bulk-edit them as a group. Hold Shift and click to select additional fields, then choose an action below.

+ Move the Selected Fields

Drag the selected fields to reposition them.

💡
You can select multiple fields across pages and move them within their respective pages, but you cannot drag fields from one page to another.
Animated screenshot showing multiple fields being selected and moved at once
+ Copy and Paste the Selected Fields

Use your operating system's keyboard shortcuts to copy one or more selected fields. Move your cursor where you want the new fields to appear, then paste.

  • Windows: Ctrl + C to copy and Ctrl + V to paste
  • Mac: Cmd + C to copy and Cmd + V to paste

Copied fields retain all the same properties as the original — so if a field is assigned to Signer 1 or Signer 2, the copy maintains that assignment. Copying grouped fields creates a new group of fields, and copying conditional fields creates a new set of fields with the same condition.

You can copy and paste fields across pages, as shown below.

Animated screenshot showing copy and paste of selected fields across pages
+ Delete the Selected Fields

Click the trash can icon in the lower right corner or press the Delete key on your keyboard to remove all selected fields at once.

Screenshot showing multiple fields selected and deleted at once
+ Multi Field Bulk Actions

After selecting multiple fields, you can use the tools on the right-side bar to edit them all at once. Available bulk actions include:

  • Set as required / optional — Mark all selected fields as required or optional.
  • Reassign fields — Change the assigned recipient for all selected fields at once.
  • Add field instructions — Apply the same instructions to all selected fields.
  • Add to group — Add all selected fields to an existing group or create a new one.

Summary Checklist

  • Open the Document Preparation window by clicking the document name.
  • Select and place each field from the right sidebar.
  • Resize or move any fields as needed.
  • Hold Shift to select multiple fields and move, copy/paste, or delete them as a group.
  • Use the trash bin icon to delete any unwanted fields.

Still Unsure?

Our support team is happy to help. Submit a support request or chat with us from any page in the app.


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