[Account Settings & Configuration (Integrations)] Use the Adobe Sign Combined Documents Feature (INTERNAL) (Draft)

This article covers how Adobe Combined Documents work in Avionte, allowing multiple Adobe eDocuments to be combined into one contiguous document for talent to review and sign in a single session. This functionality is available in both legacy Onboarding Task Packets and the 24/7 Onboarding Workflows platform.

Key Takeaways

1. Templates are created individually on the Adobe website.
2. Configuration: In legacy Onboarding Task Packets, Adobe documents are added to the packet as you normally would — the system automatically combines eligible Adobe documents into a single signing session. In 24/7 Onboarding Workflows, the process differs: you select the task type Combine ESignature Tasks in the Workflow configuration, choose a signer order, and select the templates to include. Profile Tasks and other non-Adobe tasks will send with the packet but display as separate line items — they are not combined.
3. Talent experience: Talent sees one task named with the packet's name. Non-Adobe tasks still display separately. In 24/7 Onboarding Workflows, the task name displayed to talent is the alias assigned to the combined transaction group in the Workflow configuration.
4. After the combined task reaches a Complete status, each document splits out as an individual PDF. The system respects Doc Type configuration and view permissions set in Utilities > Talent Onboarding Tasks. Completed documents retain the document name of the original template used.
5. Recruiter experience: On the Onboarding tab, the system shows one line item for the combined packet using the packet name as the task name. In 24/7 Onboarding Workflows, the task name displayed is the alias assigned to the combined transaction group.
6. Every Adobe doc in the combined task splits into individual PDFs and displays in the Documents area once the task reaches a Complete status.
7. Auditing: The audit report accurately shows the time of signature for combined packet documents and 24/7 Onboarding combined workflows, but the audit report header shows the name of the task created first on the Adobe website.
8. Onboarding Tasks widget: Combined packets with Adobe docs show the packet name, not the individual Adobe docs within the packet.
9. Risks to keep in mind: If the combined packet is too large, it increases the risk of timing out.
   • All templates must be reviewed to update Adobe's default field names.
   • The Talent cannot access documents where the recruiter signs first until the recruiter has signed.
10. 24/7 Onboarding Workflows - Prefill Documents: If a workflow is configured with a template that uses the non-signing Prefill participant in Adobe, the template may be grouped based on which user signs the document first after the Prefill step is completed. Workflows containing Prefill documents may only be sent manually and cannot be used with Onboarding Automation Rules.

Information for Avionte Account Managers and Staff

Setting Activation

• Do not activate the System Setting during the client's business hours. This setting takes effect immediately the next time they send an Onboarding Packet, without requiring users to log out and back in.
• Coordinate a time after working hours with the client, after they are done onboarding for the day, to activate the setting.
• The client should perform integration testing (including negative testing) to confirm combined documents work as expected in their environment. If issues are found, you can revert the setting before the next business day to avoid disruption to regular onboarding operations.
• The setting name is Adobe Sign Disable Combine Documents.

Uncheck the box to activate the feature.

For 24/7 Onboarding Workflows, enable combined documents via the child permission under 24/7 ONBOARDING in the client's permission settings:

Note on E-Signature Templates

Review of Adobe Templates

This review is done on the Adobe Sign website at https://secure.adobesign.com/public/login. For information on creating and mapping Adobe Sign templates, see Adobe Sign: Creating & Mapping Adobe Sign Document Templates.

The combined documents packet uses Adobe's functionality to merge a set of documents into one. If two field names in a set of Adobe docs share the same name, the system clones the value from the first field to the next, enabling auto-fill across multiple documents in the same set.

1. Log in to your Adobe account.

   

2. Click Manage on the top menu, then click Templates on the left-hand side.

   

3. Find and select the template containing the documents you need. Use the Search filter if needed.

   

4. When you select a template, a panel appears on the right with further options. Select Edit Template.

   

5. The template opens for editing. On the right-hand side, locate the Template Properties list, find the Data Fields menu, and then the Text Input option.

   
   
6. When a user drags and drops a new Text Input field, Adobe names it automatically using the convention "Custom Field 1," "Custom Field 2," etc. The same applies to Check Boxes and Radio Buttons. If fields are created this way without being explicitly named, two fields may end up with the same name, or fields may have values that don't correspond to anything — causing errors when the templates are used in Avionte. Review your Adobe templates to confirm all fields are uniquely named before using the combined documents feature.

7. To check a template's fields, click the field dropdown "Navigate to..." in the template editor. This shows all fields, including any unnamed custom fields.

   

8. Select any unnamed custom fields, right-click, click Edit, then click the pencil icon next to the field name to rename it.

   
9. Rename all custom fields to a unique, meaningful value that matches their use in the template — for example, a mapping phrase like "talent date of birth read," or a descriptive label like "Job Title Applied For" for a non-mapping field. Every field, including non-mapping fields, must have a unique name. If you want data to populate across multiple documents, ensure each template that uses it has a field with the same shared name.

Review Combined Documents within Onboarding Task Packets

This section assumes onboarding task packets have already been created. For more information, see Set up and create Talent Onboarding Task Packets.

1. Go to Account & Settings > Utilities, type "onboarding," and select Onboarding Task Packets.

   

2. Your onboarding packets are displayed.

   

3. Click a packet to view its documents.

   

   Depending on the packet, some documents may not be combined. Profile Tasks and Integration Tasks that are not Adobe-based will not be merged into a single eDoc. The standard Form I-9 doc type is excluded from packet combination.

4. Arrange the document order using drag-and-drop, then click Save.

   

Configure Combined Documents in 24/7 Onboarding Workflows

This section covers how to set up combined document groups in 24/7 Onboarding Workflows. This assumes a workflow has already been created. For more information on creating workflows, see the 24/7 Onboarding Workflows article.

1. In the Workflow configuration, add a new task and select the task type Combine ESignature Tasks.
2. From the dropdown beneath the task type, select either Talent is Signer 1 or Recruiter is Signer 1 based on who should sign the documents first.
3. A third dropdown appears listing templates that match the selected signer configuration. Select one or more templates to include in the combined group:
   • If you select a single template, the task name is taken from that template name and no alias is required.
   • If you select multiple templates, you must assign an alias. This alias becomes the task name displayed to talent and HCM Users during the signing experience.
4. You can create multiple combined groupings within a single workflow (for example, two separate groups where Talent signs first). However, each template may only be used once per workflow.
5. Save the workflow configuration.

Send Onboarding Packets that have Combined Documents

From the Talent detail screen > Onboarding tab:

1. Click Send Onboarding Tasks. The aside opens on the right side of AvionteBOLD.
2. Select the desired Onboarding Packet with combined documents from the Onboarding Packets drop-down.
3. Click the [+] button to add it to the sending list.
4. Click Send. Each send counts as one transaction.

5. Return to the Onboarding Tasks screen. The sent packet displays as one line item.

   

   The task name is taken from the packet name, so confirm your packet name accurately describes the documents included. The Form I-9 and Education forms are sent separately and cannot be included in a combined documents packet.

The Talent Perspective

When talent receives a packet with combined documents, they see it as one line item.

• Talent clicks the task to start it.
• The packet opens in Adobe Sign.
• Documents are presented consecutively in one Adobe Sign session. Talent can click through, fill in, and sign the documents in the order presented.

Session Timeouts and Abandoned Signing Sessions

Because a combined signing session can include multiple documents, it's important to understand what happens if the session isn't completed in one sitting. If talent abandons a combined signing session before completing it, their progress is not retained. They will need to restart the signing process from the beginning the next time they open the task.

The signing session timeout period is configurable per account on the Adobe Sign website at Account > Account Settings > Security Settings > Web Session Duration.

Review Completed Documents

When a combined onboarding task reaches a Complete status, individual PDFs are generated for each document within the combined task and stored in the talent's Documents record. Note that there is no visibility into partial completion — you cannot see where talent may have dropped off during a combined signing session. To review completed documents, go to the Talent screen > Documents tab.

• Scroll to the Adobe E-Sign Documents area. Documents are broken out as individual PDFs with their statuses shown.

• To audit a document, click the Audit button . The audit report opens in a new tab.

Use the Onboarding Tasks Widget on the Dashboard

From the Dashboard, you can review completed onboarding packets, including those with combined documents.

1. Scroll down to the Onboarding Tasks widget.

   

2. The date range defaults to 30 days. Click the number for Completed Tasks. A list of completed tasks appears in the right-hand aside.

   
3. The aside shows data from the Onboarding tab perspective, not the Documents tab. Tasks involving combined documents are shown and can be reviewed.

The Audit Sign Document Audit Report and Combined Documents

The Adobe Sign Document Audit report provides data about individual documents. For both legacy Onboarding Task Packets and 24/7 Onboarding Workflows, the audit report captures separate PDFs for each document in the combined transaction. When using the Select a Completed Document filter, refer to individual task names rather than combined document packet names.

• To access the report, go to Analyze > Reports, search for "adobe," and click Adobe Sign Document Audit.

• For more information, see Using and Viewing the Adobe Sign Document Audit Report.

Troubleshooting

Review the following common issues if you run into unexpected behavior with combined documents. This section will grow as additional common issues are identified.

Data is copying from one document to another unexpectedly

Troubleshooting steps: Review the affected fields in both templates on the Adobe Sign website. It's likely those fields share the same name and are acting as cloned fields when combined. To resolve, rename one of the fields so each field is unique across the combined templates — unless the shared value is intentional, in which case no change is needed. See Review of Adobe Templates for guidance on renaming fields.

The I-9 Adobe template cannot be combined with other templates

Troubleshooting steps: Confirm in Utilities > Talent Onboarding Tasks that the affected template is configured with the I-9 document type. If it is, this is expected behavior — I-9 templates are intentionally excluded from combined groupings to ensure the I-9 has its own unique audit log.

Resending a Combined Packet or Workflow Creates Duplicate Documents

Troubleshooting steps: This is expected behavior when a combined packet or workflow is resent through Onboarding Automation Rules. Automation does not check for previously completed documents, so all documents in the combined group are resent, including ones the talent already signed. When resending manually, the sender can choose not to resend documents that are already complete. This duplicate check is not currently available when sending via automation.