Blog
New development feedback
We've been spending a lot of time researching ways to make things better. We have a lot of ideas, but we want to make sure what we do makes your life easier!
Please fill out our feedback Form which will help guide our next decisions.
December 2021
Your logo in more places!
Your logo will now appear on both the individual Signature View page, and the Dashboard.
When people look back on their own response they'll see your branding at the top-left.
If you print for archiving from the Dashboard, it'll have your logo there too.
November 2021
A tiny update this month - please find our refreshed GDPR Standard Contractual Clauses linked on our Privacy page.
September 2021
Signing page - full screen branding splash
When your user clicks over to the signing page, they'll be greeted with a full page logo for a moment before the signing box slides in to view.
If you're set your own branding - your users will see that instead of ours!
This makes sure that there's clear branding, even on smaller devices were the branding might not have been shown at all previously.
Plus a little hand icon indicates that the signing box should be interacted with.
Signing page - new buttons and smoothing
Your users can now erase their drawing piece-by-piece, rather then erasing the whole thing.
Pen choices are now blue or black, and two (slightly) different line widths.
The Camera has also been overhauled and feels much more like a native app - users can switch between front or back cameras, and easily re-take a photo.
Fast curves would also previously lead to jagged edges - that's just as fast as the program can operate! But now, the moment you lift your finger, the lines are smoothened out and look great.
We're really happy with these changes and we hope you are too. Shortly they'll be rolled-out to he "Single Signature" mode also. Please let us know if you have any feedback.
August 2021
Presentation updates
Error messages are now better-looking, and auto-translated!
Log-in change
The Dashboard and some other pages ask you to log in first. A recent Chrome update (Chrome, Edge, Brave) caused an issue with this, so there's now a middle step with a "Continue" button.
Multiple Signatures how-to video
You can see our demonstration of the signing experience and features on the Multiple signatures page.
Please let us know if you come across any error messages that aren't clear enough, or any other issues or ideas!
July 2021
Capital letters email addresses when buying more signatures
Just a small update this time: Form owners with capital letters in their email addresses should no longer have any quirks when purchasing.
Stripe only works with lowercase email addresses which we couldn't always match back up to the official email address which might contain a capital letter. That's been updated now so purchasing should work just like it does for everyone else!
Bulk-buy page checks the email address
Unlike the in-app purchase screen, the bulk-buy page asks you to enter your email address. This sometimes leads to confusion and misplaced purchases (quickly resolved with a message to us!).
The bulk-buy page will now check that the recipient already exists before allowing the purchase to continue. You'll just have to have opened the add-on at least once.
Single Signature email slight change
We've made a very slight change to the wording throughout the "Single Signature" invitation email in response so an increasing number of blocked messages.
It'd be super if you can let your recipients know something's on the way. This might prevent them marking it as spam when it arrives!
June 2021
Security enforced by default
Multiple Signature links are now locked two hours after signing. This should allow other add-on's and the signatory enough time to view the signed response. Any of the Form's Owner or Collaborators can unlock the response to view it.
You can toggle this setting while first turning signing on, or any time afterwards from the Dashboard.
If you're getting stuck while logging-in, please see our Troubleshooting page.
Link update - Multiple Signatures
Multiple Signature links have been updated. Previously they contained some special characters which were susceptible to modification by email programs and some others.
For new Forms, and those that have signing turned off and on again, the link style should now be totally stable regardless of how it's shared or stored.
Current links still work of course!
Peak usage change
Some background changes have been made to help with peak load. You probably won't notice any changes, but it's there!
May 2021
Alert for large Response Sheets
Multiple Signatures Forms can receive any number of responses. We've seen some with 1,200, but many stop responding at around 500.
We now alert you by email when your Form's Response Sheet reaches 400 signatures, which should give you enough time to make any necessary changes.
The email itself contains all the instructions you need!
March 2021
Update branding at any time
In the add-on you can now change your branding whenever you like as long as you have more than 10 signatures.
You can preview what it your new branding will look like too!
Transfer signatures to another user
You can also give some of your signatures to other users. You'll be told how many each of you have have and can transfer as many or as few as you like.
Both functions are available in the "Other actions" area of the add-on!
February 2021
Optimizations
You'll note there's now a "Log in" button in the sidebar. This is part of our clean-up efforts in the side-bar. It allows new users another chance to consider our stance on privacy before we have any record of their email address.
(We take privacy seriously - see our Privacy page for more info)
It also allows the add-on to run in certain Google Workspace environments that were previously not possible.
Work is still continuing on the ongoing Multiple Signatures overhaul and we hope to roll this out in due course.
January 2021
Happy new year!
Self-sign (free)
Need to sign a Form yourself before sending it on to someone else? Now you can! See "Self-sign (free)" in the add-on.
This is a free option and won't use up any of your balance. It also uses some of the new signing features detailed more below.
Multiple Signatures Classic
We've learned from a recent prominent game release and are taking our time to get this just right. You'll be able to customize the background color (great to match your own website and use white logos), as well as the button colors and styling.
We've also smoothed out the signature's lines themselves, particularly for older phones which could appear a little jagged (this involves taking 300 data points to work out the best smoothing). You can also erase or "step-back" lines one by one, just like you're used to with other apps.
It looks great with the new choices between blue or black ink, and thin or medium pen tips.
We're working on making the whole thing faster on a software level. To date the original version relied on Form Response "triggers" which occurred after each response. These were fine, but would occasionally hang or simply not happen.
The new release will work just from the Response Sheet and not need as many moving parts to line up.
As always, we'd love to hear your ideas.
HIPAA Agreements
We've added a HIPAA request form to make it a little simpler to get an agreement with us. The agreement itself will now incorporate the signing process you're used to in the add-on.
DECEMBER 2020
Multiple Signatures Classic
We appreciate your patience as this is being re-released.
We had hoped to have it out before Christmas, but there are some elements that aren't exactly where we want them.
November 2020
Multiple Signatures Revamp
We're making great progress on reinstating Multiple Signatures Classic! This should be made available this month.
Some new features will be added too. Including much shorter links (so people aren't scared to click on them!), a QR code feature like the "New" version has, and others.
We're looking at relabelling the two options (currently "Multiple Signatures (new)" and "Multiple Signatures Classic"). As well as making it easier to decide which option is better. Keep an eye on our updates.
Single Signature - reducing chance of partial responses
Sometimes a Form owner would receive a signature, but no answers. The cause is users signing, but not getting all the way to the "Submit" button at the end.
Now after signing, the user is returned to the Form and the green button is removed. We trust this will ensure they make it right to the end of the Form!
Multiple Signatures and pre-filled Forms
Now you can set pre-filled Form links as the Form when using Multiple Signatures.
This function is available in the "See pending" area of the add-on, and programatically. Read more.
October 2020
Privacy improvement - Single Signatures
As of 8:00am on 4 October London time, we no longer store the name and email address of your signatory when using Single Signatures.
We still perform the exact same verification process, but store 100% of the data within the Form itself! Your users' details don't touch our database at all.
We'll contact Form Owners with an upgrade path for your existing Forms in the coming weeks.
This is part of our ongoing mission to reduce the amount of information we hold. Other products privacy:
Multiple Signatures (new) was built with zero storage so is already highly privacy oriented
Multiple Signatures (Classic) would only store items as a last-resort backup, but is being revamped so this isn't needed
Custom "approval message" for Single Signatures
When a Form has "Single Signature" activated, a new checkbox item is added with an approval message. To date this has been "I have read and accepted this document. <signatory's name>".
We've now added a button so you can customise this!
Other updates
We're still working on a platform update, but will continue to add small improvements as we go!
September 2020
Platform updates
You might not see any major updates this month (or next!), as we're working on migrating over to a new platform.
This will result in a number of improvements. Foremost will be the re-introduction of Multiple Signatures Classic! as well as shorter links, more capacity, and a better base for our future updates.
Small UI tweaks
We've added a couple of little user interface adjustments in the add-on itself:
"Dashboard" link for all active Forms in your "See pending" area
Indicator of the number of active Forms you have on the "See pending" button itself
July/August review
We've received your feedback in the July/August survey and are working on implementing some of the key features.
August 2020
Multiple Signatures Classic small updates
We've added a couple of polish touches to the Multiple Signatures Classic signing page:
The "Name and email" box notes those details are optional, and has a "Skip" button, as well as a "?" which opens a help panel.
The help panel is also opened from the new "?" button beside the "Confirm Signature button" too.
The help panel briefly clarifies that the name and email are only used on this signature, and has a button to amend them. It also notes how to draw a signature.
Multiple Signatures Classic Dashboard updated
Use response answers in the email
You can now add any details from your Form's Responses in the email template - i.e. if you asked for a name, you can include that in your template to add even more personalization
Preview the email
See what details an email will have for any "Pending" row in your Response Sheet
Save your custom template
Save your own template and load it again for the next time you visit
Choose your own email provider
Choose from Gmail, Outlook.com, or Yahoo, or use the default option to let your PC decide.
Muptiple Signatures (Classic) customizations
You can now use the Dashboard to toggle showing or hiding:
The initial "Name and email" box
The "Skip" button on the "Name and email" box
The link to submit another response
July 2020
Strongly recommended for Multiple Signatures: Replace your Form after 500 signatures
We've had one report of a Response Sheet refusing to receive signatures after it received 570 or so. This is a very rare problem, but we'd rather avoid it entirely!
Forms and Sheets work fastest when they don't have a large number of responses, and they don't use up your Drive space, so there's no downside to switching to a new Form on occasion.
You can also use the Form Templates Gallery and add your own template to make the changeover smooth and fast.
Update planning - poll
Use the poll to see what we're planning, and add your voice about what we should focus on. Also any other ideas you think of - no idea is a bad idea!
Classic dashboard - filtering Signatures drawn but not placed
Making life easier for large Forms
June 2020
Rapidly view and print your signed responses one by one, or all together as a list. A table-style view is being developed also.
You can visit the dashboard by viewing any existing signature, and clicking the "Dashboard" button at the top right.
Renamed: "Multiple Signatures Beta" is now "Multiple Signatures"
We'll still call it Multiple Signatures (new) for a while.
Camera capability - Multiple Signatures (new)
You can now use your device's camera with Multiple Signatures Beta!
This is a great way to include photo of ID's, or other documents, or for any other purpose you can think of.
Find the Camera button in the menu area when signing. Remember to use the arrow buttons to add more signatures or photos, or use the QR code or TinyURL.
Verification - Multiple Signatures (new)
The verification process is being fine tuned and we're working on making it faster. If you've received a response recently, you'll see that all responses will show the verification results properly when you visit the link under the "Signature" column header in your Response Sheet.
Dashboard - Multiple Signatures (new)
We're working on a handy dashboard for your responses so you'll be able to rapidly flip through your responses without returning to your Response Sheet.
It will also include a whole-page mode (replacing "show inline" in the Classic version), which will let you see all of your responses and signatures all together.
Looking forward:
File uploads
Multiple Signatures (new) is incompatible with the standard File Upload question (as it requires the respondent to be logged-in to their Google account). We're looking at a way to allow uploads with signatures.
May 2020
Multiple Signatures major update - FREE for May 2020!
We've taken feedback about the Multiple Signatures product and built a new version from the ground up.
It's totally free for the month of May 2020 so you can use it as much as you like. Let us know what you think of it!
Extra "Signature" questions add to the Form 12/13 May
If you turned on signing around this time you may have noticed a "Signature" question was added too many times - apologies for this! A versioning quirk meant a sample of old code was still being run. This loop has been closed.
You can delete the excess questions, leaving just one "Signature" question. In the Spreadsheet, you can delete all of the extra "Signature" answer columns that don't have responses. It'll prevent you from deleting the one that relates to the remaining question in the Form.
Verification saying "Could not verify..."
The verification checker has been updated. Keep receiving responses and the update will happen automatically for you.
Key new features:
Signature is drawn before the end of the Form
No missed signatures - users can't finish the Form without signing
No link at the end - you can write your own message
Users will know immediately if they can sign the Form. No more reaching the end, only to find there aren't any signatures available
Receive many signatures in a single response
For example, the whole team can sign the site report
Can be limited
Signing transfer/hand-off/sharing to other devices
The signing page includes a QR code so you can sign on another device
Useful if you're using a PC for the Form, but want to sign with your phone
Works with many signatures per response, so for example you can get your team to use their own devices to sign! Great for remaining contact-less
Works with other popular add-ons
formMule and Autocrat are incredibly popular add-ons - so we've built with these in mind
We're writing guides for common usage scenarios. Check back in the How-to section for more details
View signature link
The link to view the signature now includes much more details including questions and answers signed, and validation of these details
Validation
We've re-written our validation protocol to be much more robust. Whenever the signature is viewed, it's re-checked against the original details
If you turn "Response receipts" on, your end users will receive this link and can print their own copy. It's styled to look like a Response in Google Forms
Overall speed improvement: Signatures are appended immediately. No more waiting as in the Classic version
Subscription options underway
We've also been asked about a subscription option for unlimited signatures. We started with a pure pre-pay system in mind, but can how useful an unlimited plan would be.
Expect to see this as an option in the near future! Let us know your thoughts on plan options, pricing, or anything else. We appreciate all feedback and some of the best ideas have come from users like yourself!
Translation tweaks
As translation is based on Google's translate, some words and phrases might be incorrect. In some other cases you might prefer to use English. So the translation will be fine tuned, and made optional for many pages.
Facebook
We've made a Facebook page for the add-on. You can hop on there and share any ideas or suggestions, and get some feedback from the community!
Multi-line personal message
The Single Signature personal message box now lets you add line breaks so you can make it even better.
April 2020
International translations
We're really excited to bring translations to the add-on!
This has been a goal since day 1.
There may be some quirks, so please let us know any aspects of your localised/translated experience that aren't up to standard.
Mail merge tools
If you use Google Sheets mail merge tools like formMule, you won't have been able to send a signature image.
Now from the Manage Multiple Signatures dashboard you can generate a column of links that you can share and use with these mail merge add-ons.
Multi signature branding
Your newly purchased branding will be applied to existing Multiple Signature Forms straight away. Previously you would need to turn signing off and on again.
Email redesign
add a personal message
preview in the app
We've updated the signature invitation email to look more like Google Forms.
They're also sent in your own language, not just in English.
You can add your own message which will be included in the email from us.
And you can Preview exactly what's going to be sent!
March 2020
Multiple Signature - Submit another response
A small quality of life improvement for reception desks, conferences, meetings and other "sign-in" type users. Anywhere you're using one device to be used by more than one person.
When signed, you're now given a link to "Submit another response". This takes you to the Form ready to use again!
February 2020
Multiple Signature individual review
We've made a cool new feature which lets you review, print, and manage individual signatures and responses
There's too much to cover here - please read more!
January 2020
Multiple Signature Dashboard easier to visit
The "Signature App - signed" column header in your Response Sheet is now a link to the Multiple Signature Dashboard
We're adding features there and think you'll visit it a bit more
New Dashboard features
You can now:
Show signatures on the main Response Sheet
Useful if you didn't check that option when setting up, but want them there now
Or if you've removed some yourself and want to put them back in
Delete signatures from the main Response Sheet
If it's getting ungainly and you don't really need to see them inline anymore
If you've deleted a row, you'll note the signature isn't also deleted and can mess up the order
If they're generally out of alignment, you can remove them and then use the Show signatures on Responses Tab button to put them back in in the right place
The source signatures (saved in their own tabs) are unaffected; it's just the presentation of the main Response Sheet tab
We're working on a few more features here to make life easier. Watch this space!
November 2019
Multiple Signature "Pending" handling made easy
Pending links have been updated - please give them a try if you have any
They'll take you to a new dashboard where you can review any signatures we're holding, and very easily send reminder emails with two clicks!
Speed and reliability patches implemented
The speed has been drastically improved so your users won't feel like they're waiting around
Other updates
If a user tries to submit a blank signature, they'll be stopped and asked to draw something first
Single Signature "I'll let them know another way" mode has been improved to make things clearer for people that have a few accounts logged-in at the same time
October 2019 update
Focusing on Multiple Signatures this month
Filling in the blanks
If there are any gaps or missing signatures, we'll fill in blanks with "Pending" links
You can send the link to your signatory or have them sign on your screen
#ERROR self-fix
Some locales used to get big ugly #ERROR results - the data was fine, but the links weren't formatted correctly for the region
Now the links are self-healing!
Both of the above occur on the next multi-signature response
September 2019 update
Single signature update
Pictures to come - we've made huge usability changes to single signatures
Now, signatories can't accidentally finish your Form without adding a signature. And instead of having to open links and tabs, then return to the Form, it's all packaged on a single page
All new Single Signatures will have this new experience and we're really pleased with how smooth it is - give it a try!
Price reduction and bulk rate
Multiple Signatures have proved quite popular. We have lower storage requirements for these, so are happy to be able to pass on the savings to you
We've also added a bulk-buy option, and plan to extend this range
See pending
Along with the Single Signatures update, we've added more detail and features to allow you to better manage your signatories
Including reminder emails, and logs of when you last contacted them
AUGUST 2019 Update
We didn't expect to have to re-write for a new database this month. But it's a blessing in disguise
Pending multiple signatures
If someone uses your Form but doesn't sign, no problem. There will be a "Pending" link which you can send to them
Speed
No more lag when opening the add-on!
No signature
We've added instructions to the relevant signing page to avoid the No Signature page when you know you've got one waiting
Cancelling a single signature
We refund you one of your available signatures if you need to cancel it before it's complete
July 2019 update
What a great month!
Big new feature
Multiple Signatures - get many signatures on one Form. Great for sign-ups, or any case where one Form to one signatory isn't the best fit
See how Multiple Signatures compares to Single Signature
Also - they're free until 1 August
Other stuff
We've cleaned-up the user interface to look brighter and lighter
The actual signature is now visibly sharper, and you can do tiny little dots! No more slightly-drag-to-dot
Auto-refresh. If you're the first in your region to use the add-on in a little while, it can be a bit sluggish to start. Now it re-loads itself if it's taking too long
Current status
All going smoothly
Previous:
Incorrect display
23 September 2019 | Add-on and some signing pages displayed incorrectly
Advised the display-library providers at 00:03 GMT
Resolved at 05:00 GMT
Back-end actions timing out
18 August 2019 | Some delays in data handling be back end services manifested as problems with multiple-signatures not appearing
19 August 2019 | Bug report with Google, another developer has noted the same
24 August 2019 | Google working on bug but have no answers
2 September 2019 | No resolution in sight: Relaunch with new back end services and a major rewrite of the add-on
Unable to append a drawn signature
14 June 2019 | We have detected a bug which prevents us from adding the signature image to Google Forms
Users could draw their signature, and click Confirm Signature. The window will dim but the user won't receive the notice saying they can continue. We have now added notices to the signing pages
We have located the issue and reported it to Google
15 June 2019 | Other Google Script users have come across the same issue and reported to Google
17 June 2019 | Increasing number of users noting that they have encountered the problem in their projects
18 June 2019 | Google have acknowledged their error and are working to fix it
21 June 2019 | Resolved!