Signature phrases

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A signature phrase is merged into a document template along with any other phrases and merge codes. The signature phrase syntax is as follows: The code begins and ends with a “$” and must contain the word “signature” followed by the name of the relevant signature phrase. Separate the two elements of the code with a colon.

Signature phrases in document templates must follow this format:

$signature:final_approver$

It is important to create the signature phrase before attempting to merge it with a document template, otherwise the phrase code will be replaced by an error message.

Create new signature phrase

Signature phrases are created and managed in the “Phrase administration” window, which opens from the “Settings” tab. Managing phrases requires the “Phrase administrator” privilege.

Figure 1. Open “Phrase administration”

Create a Word document containing the actual signature and save it locally. In F2 click New phrase in the “Phrase administration” window to create a new phrase.

Figure 2. New signature phrase

In the “Create new phrase” dialogue, name the phrase. Add a description if relevant and assign the phrase to a group using the “Group” drop-down menu. Then click Choose document to import the Word document with the phrase to F2.

Figure 3. The “Create new phrase” dialogue

Click OK to create the signature phrase.

To make it easier to find phrases containing signatures, create a new group named “Signature”.

Manage signature phrase variants

Organisations can use phrase variants to handle merging of signature phrases for multiple users. A phrase can have multiple variants. If the criterion for a specific variant is met, the variant will replace the default phrase when merging. The criterion for merging a variant is that said variant matches the username of the relevant approver.

Phrase variants are created using the same process as regular phrases, but their names are important. F2 can only recognise a phrase variant when it follows a specific syntax: [name of the default phrase]%[username].

For instance, a default phrase named “final_approver” can have a variant for the user Maisy Moore, whose username is “mmo”. The phrase variant must then be named “final_approver%mmo” when created in the “Phrase administration” dialogue.

Use the name of the default phrase when setting up the document template - in this instance, $signature:final_approver$. F2 will evaluate all variants of the phrase relative to the specific approver’s username and merge the associated variant.

If an approver does not have an associated phrase variant, the default phrase is used. Keep this in mind when setting up the default phrase, e.g. by using the organisation’s logo for this phrase.

Apply signature manually

It is possible to merge signature phrases outside of approval processes. Switch to edit mode on the record, right-click on the relevant document, and select Insert my signature in the context menu. The signature phrase is then merged into the document.

Figure 4. Merge signature phrase manually

If you have a personal phrase variant, it is applied when you click Insert my signature. If you have no associated phrase variant, or if no phrase variants exist, the default phrase is merged.

The manual merging option can be disabled through a configuration. F2 is configured in cooperation with cBrain.