DocuSign: Auto-Place doesn't work with sign tabs - docusignapi

Question

I'm trying to add anchor tagging when I create a new envelope, but the tab to sign doesn't appear.
I've followed these steps:
Created a template
POST {{baseUrl}}/v2.1/accounts/{{accountId}}/templates
{"name": "Template 1",
"emailBlurb": "Blurb Test",
"emailSubject": "Subject Test",
"documents": [{
"documentId": "1",
"name": "Document1",
"fileExtension": "pdf",
"order": "1",
"documentBase64":"base64codehere" }]
}
Created an envelope
POST {{baseUrl}}/v2.1/accounts/{{accountId}}/envelopes
{"status": "created", "templateId": "{{templateId}}" }
Add recipient to the envelope
POST {{baseUrl}}/v2.1/accounts/{{accountId}}/envelopes/{{envelopeId}}/recipients
{
"signers": [
{
"userName" : "Sender 1",
"email": "sender1email#gmail.com",
"name": "Sender 1",
"clientUserId": "SenderOne" ,
"recipientId": "1",
"roleName" : "SenderMember",
"routingOrder": "1",
"tabs": {
"signHereTabs": [
{
"anchorString": "\\sn1\\",
"anchorXOffset": "20",
"anchorYOffset": "10",
"anchorUnits": "pixels"
}
]
}
},
{
"userName" : "Sender2",
"email": "sender2email#gmail.com",
"name": "Sender2",
"clientUserId": "Sender2C" ,
"recipientId": "2",
"roleName" : "SenderMember2",
"routingOrder": "2",
"tabs": {
"signHereTabs": [
{
"anchorString": "\\sn1\\",
"anchorXOffset": "20",
"anchorYOffset": "10",
"anchorUnits": "pixels"
}
]}}
]
}
Got recipients from envelope
GET {{baseUrl}}/v2.1/accounts/{{accountId}}/envelopes/{{envelopeId}}/recipients
{
"signers": [
{
"creationReason": "sender",
"isBulkRecipient": "false",
"requireUploadSignature": "false",
"name": "Sender 1",
"firstName": "",
"lastName": "",
"email": "sender1email#gmail.com",
"recipientId": "1",
"recipientIdGuid": "ed850c16-be9b-45d1-b0a2-b06f9d043a33",
"requireIdLookup": "false",
"userId": "66f3947d-eea4-450a-9f3a-6145607dba20",
"clientUserId": "SenderOne",
"routingOrder": "1",
"roleName": "SenderMember",
"status": "created",
"completedCount": "0",
"deliveryMethod": "email",
"recipientType": "signer"
},
{
"creationReason": "sender",
"isBulkRecipient": "false",
"requireUploadSignature": "false",
"name": "Sender2",
"firstName": "",
"lastName": "",
"email": "sender2email#gmail.com",
"recipientId": "2",
"recipientIdGuid": "88f5e6e2-9e95-4d94-9501-0ebdfeece93b",
"requireIdLookup": "false",
"userId": "4843e0fa-a69c-43ce-9638-e9d1c023ad27",
"clientUserId": "Sender2C",
"routingOrder": "2",
"roleName": "SenderMember2",
"status": "created",
"completedCount": "0",
"deliveryMethod": "email",
"recipientType": "signer"
}
],
"agents": [],
"editors": [],
"intermediaries": [],
"carbonCopies": [],
"certifiedDeliveries": [],
"inPersonSigners": [],
"seals": [],
"witnesses": [],
"notaries": [],
"recipientCount": "2"
}
5 - Sent envelope
GET {{baseUrl}}/v2.1/accounts/{{accountId}}/envelopes/{{envelopeId}}
{
"status": "sent"
}
When I check the document, I do not see any sign tab:
DocuSign Document with the tags
Am I doing something wrong?

Answer 1

I suggest you follow our two how-to articles about this:
How to create a template
How to request a signature using a
template
Note that by putting the recipients as "placeholders" on the template, you can still define them differently for each envelope using the templateRoles object as long as you match the roleName. You will then get all the tabs that you defined to show on the envelope created from that templates.

Answer 2

Auto-place works fine with sign tabs. So the issue is to figure out what's happening with your app.
First off, most important please do not create an envelope by using multiple API calls to build up the envelope unless there's a real good reason why your application requires that pattern.
In general, building up an envelope via multiple API calls is not an efficient use of the API and is not allowed per DocuSign's API Usage Guidelines.
Instead, you can use one API call to create all aspects of the envelope and send it.
Easiest example to see how to use anchor tags with signHere tabs is the API Request Builder live examples. It enables you to try out the API and it then creates the SDK calls for you in various languages.
My guess from looking at your code is that the anchor strings are not matching with the document's text.