From cloud folder to signature request
Most documents that need signing don’t start life in an e-signature app. A lease template sits in a shared Dropbox folder, an offer letter in Google Drive, a supplier agreement in OneDrive, a client engagement letter in Box. The usual routine is to download the file, find it again in your downloads, then upload it somewhere else — a small detour that adds up across a week.
SignPe removes the detour. You can import directly from Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and Box: choose your cloud service, sign in, browse to the file and pick it. The document opens in SignPe ready for you to place fields, add signers and send.
| Download and re-upload | SignPe cloud import | |
|---|---|---|
| Steps to get the file in | Download, find it, upload it | Pick it from your cloud folder |
| Copies left on your device | One more in Downloads | None needed |
| Working from a phone | Awkward file juggling | Built into the Add Document sheet |
| Risk of the wrong version | Easy to grab an old download | Choose from the live folder |
It’s a small change, but it removes the most error-prone moment in the process: picking the right file. Choosing straight from the folder where your team keeps the current version makes it far less likely that an outdated draft goes out for signature.
How it works in SignPe
When you add a document in the SignPe app, the Add Document sheet lists every place you can bring a file in from:
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Scan | Uses your phone’s document scanner with automatic edge detection — up to 20 pages per scan |
| Photos | Pick several images and SignPe combines them into one PDF |
| Files | Opens your device’s file picker — on iPhone this includes iCloud Drive |
| Drive | Sign in to Google Drive and browse your files |
| OneDrive | Sign in to Microsoft OneDrive and browse your files |
| Box | Sign in to Box and browse your files |
| Dropbox | Sign in to Dropbox and browse your files |
Each cloud option signs you into your own cloud account and shows a file browser with your folders, so you find documents the way you’re used to. You can also share a document into SignPe from another app — open the file wherever it is and send it to SignPe from the share menu.
One file, one document
Each file you import becomes one SignPe document. Uploads can be up to 20 MB, which comfortably covers long contracts and scanned paperwork.
Which files you can import
Whatever you keep in the cloud, there’s a good chance SignPe can take it as it is. You can import PDF, Word (DOC and DOCX) and images (JPG, JPEG and PNG), up to 20 MB per upload. Several photos are combined into a single PDF automatically, so a multi-page form photographed page by page arrives as one document. More on this in multiple file formats.
Signing a Google Doc? Export or save it from Google Drive in a supported format first, then import it — the guide to signing a Google Document walks through it. For Dropbox users, how to sign a Dropbox document with SignPe covers the whole flow.
What you can do once the file is in
An imported document is a normal SignPe document, with everything that comes with it:
- Place fields — Signature, Initials, Stamp, Full Name, Email, Company, Designation, Date, Text, Checkmark and Shape — by dragging them onto the page and assigning each to a signer.
- Choose how it’s signed: sign it yourself, request signatures from others (optionally in a set order), or sign in person on your phone or tablet. See multiple signers.
- Save it as a draft if you’re not ready to send, and pick it up later from your Drafts folder. See save documents as drafts.
- Track it from sent to signed, with the date and time of each action — see status tracking.
Who it helps
- Teams that already share folders. If your contract templates live in a shared Drive or Dropbox, anyone on the team can pull the latest version straight into SignPe.
- People working from a phone. A client sends a file to your OneDrive while you’re out; import it from the app, add fields and send it before you’re back at your desk.
- Agents and property managers who keep leases and disclosures in the cloud. See e-signatures for real estate.
- Accountants and law firms with client folders in Box or OneDrive, where engagement letters and authorisations are prepared. See accounting and tax and legal services.
After signing: where the document goes
Importing is the start of the journey; SignPe also takes care of the end. Once the last signer has signed, every participant receives an email with the signed copy, so you, your signers and any observers all hold the same final version without anyone sending it round by hand.
The completed document stays in your SignPe Documents list under Signed, together with its downloadable audit trail PDF — the document ID, the sent and completed dates, and when each signer was emailed, viewed and signed. Keep both alongside the original in your cloud folder and the whole story of the agreement sits in one place.
Because your SignPe account is the same on the web, iPhone and Android, a document imported from Dropbox on your phone is there when you sign in on your laptop, and vice versa. While it’s in SignPe, it’s kept in encrypted storage and only its participants can open it — see e-signature security.
Tips for a tidy cloud-to-signature workflow
- Name files clearly before you import. The file name becomes the document name your signers see in their emails.
- Keep a “ready to sign” folder in your cloud storage so the final version is always easy to find.
- Check the size. Uploads can be up to 20 MB; very large scans can be split into separate documents.
- Convert Google Docs first. Save a Google Doc as PDF or Word in Drive, then import it.
- Draft before you send. If you’re importing several documents at once, save each as a draft and send them when the fields are checked.
How to import a document from cloud storage
Start a new document
In the SignPe app, choose to add a document. The Add Document sheet opens.
Choose your cloud service
Select Drive, OneDrive, Box or Dropbox.
Sign in to your account
Sign in to your cloud account when prompted. SignPe then shows a file browser with your folders.
Pick the file
Browse to the document — PDF, Word or image, up to 20 MB — and select it. It opens in SignPe.
Add fields and send
Place signature and other fields, assign them to signers, then send the document or save it as a draft.
