QB Signatures
QB Signatures saves each signature as a GIF image with a transparent background in a file attachment field. Because it's an ordinary image field, you can show it on the record and place it on documents you create with Exact Forms Plus, XL Docs, or PDF Stamper. The transparent background lets the signature sit on top of lines, boxes, and shading in your template.
Show the signature on the record
The installation wizard adds a View Signature field that shows a small preview (100 pixels wide) of the saved signature on the form. If no signature has been saved yet, it's blank.
Place a signature from the signed record
The most common layout is one signature on a document generated from the same record—for example, an order or quote with an approval block. A typical block looks like this:
Authorized by: followed by the signature image
Name: the name the signer entered in the signing window
Title: the title the signer entered
Date Signed: the sign-off date and time, for example 05-27-2025 03:46:00 PM
Add the signature file attachment field to the template as an image, and add the name, title, and sign-off date fields as ordinary text. How you place an image depends on the extension:
Exact Forms Plus—an image placeholder looks like ~i:12:200~ (field 12, 200 pixels). See Include images in documents.
XL Docs—place the field with the -I suffix and, optionally, a size in pixels, for example B20-I:12:60| (field 12 at cell B20, 60 pixels high). See Images in Build a document template.
PDF Stamper—add the field to the PDF template with its position, width, and height. See PDF templates.
Capture a second signature on the same record
To collect two signatures on one record—for example, a technician and a customer—give the second signer their own fields and button:
On the same table, create a second File Attachment field for the image (for example, Customer Signature File) and a second Date / Time field for the date (for example, Customer Sign-off Date). Add text fields for the second signer's name and title, if you want them.
Create a new Formula - Text field (for example, Customer Sign Off), select Allow some HTML tags, and paste in the formula from the Sign Off field.
In the new formula, change fafid and updatefid to the IDs of the new fields, change fid1 and fid2 (or leave them empty), and change the button label >Sign Off</a> to >Customer Sign Off</a>. Give fn its own prefix, such as & "&fn=Customer_", so you can tell the files apart.
For a preview, create a copy of View Signature and change the field name in brackets and the field ID after /e to the new file attachment field.
If you use Sign Off (Mobile), copy it to a new Formula - URL field the same way. Select the new field's POST temporary token check box (see POST temporary token from a Quickbase field), or the copy won't work on accounts that use enhanced security.
Add the new fields to the form and test both buttons on a record.
See QB Signatures formula URL parameters for each parameter.
Place signatures from related records
Signatures can also come from child records and appear in a table on the parent's document. For example, an inspection report might list each inspection item with two signatures and the date each was signed:
Description | Internal Signature | Customer Signature |
|---|---|---|
Foundation needs rebuilding | (signature image) | (signature image) |
Inspection passed | (signature image) | (signature image) |
To build this, put a Sign Off button and signature fields on the child table (one set per signature you need, as in Capture a second signature on the same record), then add the child records to your template as a subtable with the signature image fields as columns. Text, such as the sign-off date, can be placed above or below each signature in the same cell.
To leave a blank space when a signature hasn't been captured yet, see How do I include a signature image on an Exact Forms Plus template when the signature may not exist yet?
What to do after signing
When a signature is saved, QB Signatures sets the Sign-off Date field. That change can start the next step automatically, so a signed record turns into a finished document without anyone selecting another button:
Create a PDF with Exact Forms Plus—set up a Quickbase email notification that is sent when Sign-off Date changes, addressed to the Exact Forms Plus batch processor. It generates the document, with the signature, and saves it to the record. See Exact Forms Plus Batch Processor overview.
Run a Quickbase pipeline—start a pipeline when the record is updated and Sign-off Date isn't empty, for example to change the record's status, create a follow-up record, or notify a team.
Email the signed document with Courier—send the generated document to the customer once it's saved. See Courier for Quickbase overview.
For example: a customer signs a delivery on a tablet → Sign-off Date is set → an email notification sends the record to the Exact Forms Plus batch processor, which saves Signed Delivery.pdf to the record → Courier emails the PDF to the customer.
Trigger on Sign-off Date rather than on the signature file field: QB Signatures saves the date after the image, so by the time the date changes, the signature is already on the record.