Skip to content
Browse help

Using Word documents

What happens when you upload a .doc or .docx, and how to keep the layout.

Last updated

Upload a .doc or .docx exactly as you would a PDF, from Choose documents in the envelope wizard, the template wizard or Self sign. CecurSign turns it into a PDF for you before anyone signs, so what your recipient opens is a fixed document rather than an editable file. Give it a few seconds after upload, then check the result before you send.

Why it becomes a PDF

A Word file is designed to change. It reflows to the reader's screen, substitutes fonts it cannot find, and updates fields such as dates automatically. None of that is what you want in a signed contract, where the whole point is that everyone agreed to the same words on the same pages.

Turning it into a PDF fixes the layout in place. From that moment on, page three is page three for everybody, which is what lets a signature field sit exactly where you put it.

What to do after uploading

Wait for the status to read READY. In the Documents list every file carries a badge. PROCESSING means it is still being prepared. READY means it can be used. Fields can only be placed on a document that is ready, so a Word file uploaded a second ago may need a moment before the wizard will continue.

Open it and look at it. Use View from the menu at the end of the row. Read the whole thing, not just the first page. You are checking three things:

  1. Page breaks. Has anything landed in an awkward place, particularly a signature block split across two pages?
  2. Fonts. Does the text look the way you expect?
  3. Length. Is the page count what you thought it was?

Then place your fields. Do this against the converted document you have just looked at, so the signature box sits where the signature line actually is.

Getting the best result from Word

A few habits make the outcome predictable, and they are worth adopting for any document you send regularly:

  • Use common fonts. Calibri, Arial, Times New Roman and Georgia behave identically everywhere. A font your recipient does not have is one of the few things that visibly moves text about.
  • Keep the signature block on its own. A page break before the signature page means nothing can push it around.
  • Use a table or a proper page layout for anything that must stay aligned, rather than rows of tabs and spaces.
  • Accept or reject tracked changes and remove comments before uploading. What is in the file is what your client will read.
  • Turn automatic dates into plain text. A field that updates itself has no place in a document someone signs.

When to export the PDF yourself

If a document has a demanding layout, or it is one you will send hundreds of times, do the export in Word once and keep the PDF. Use File, then Save as, and choose PDF.

That way you see the final pages before anything reaches CecurSign, you can build a template on top of a document you know is right, and the upload is ready to send the moment it finishes.

If the layout is not what you expected

Adjust it in Word, export to PDF there, and upload the PDF. That gives you the last word on the pages, which is the outcome you want anyway for a document that matters.

If a Word file does not reach READY, upload it again. If it still does not, save it as a PDF from Word and upload that, then raise a ticket from Support so we can look at the original.