Docusign API - Create envelope, apply template, prefill values - docusignapi

Question

Many questions address portions of my request, but I cannot seem to make a complete solution work. I have created a template on my site (it has various text fields, initial fields, and signature block). Single recipient, using anchor tags for the fields. When I take a .docx file, create an envelope via the api, I want to apply the template previously mentioned, and then prefill 4 text fields on the document/template.
Anchor tags are not placing the fields appropriately.
Any advise/suggestions?
Working request call is:
{
"documents":
[
{
"documentBase64":"<BASE64STREAM>",
"documentId":"3",
"fileExtension":"docx",
"name":"10001000_20170803_FILE"
}
],
"emailSubject": "TEST - Group Audit - 10001000",
"templateId": "TEMPLATE_ID",
"templateRoles" :
[
{
"email": "JDOE#email.com",
"name": "JOHN DOE",
"roleName": "signer1",
"tabs":
{
"textTabs":
[
{
"documentId": "3",
"recipientId": "1",
"tabLabel": "groupname",
"value": "TEST GROUP ONE"
},
{
"documentId": "3",
"recipientId": "1",
"tabLabel": "groupnumber",
"value": "10001000"
},
{
"documentId": "3",
"recipientId": "1",
"tabLabel": "txt",
"value": "my#email.com"
},
{
"documentId": "3",
"recipientId": "1",
"tabLabel": "fein",
"value": "870142380"
},
{
"documentId": "3",
"recipientId": "1",
"tabLabel": "physicaladdress",
"value": "1 STREET WAY, , MY CITY, CA, 98001"
}
]
}
}
],
"status":"sent"
}

Answer 1

Based on the information you've provided, I understand your scenario to be as follows:
You've created a template via the DocuSign UI; that template contains a 'placeholder' document (which you will replace at run-time via your Create/Send Envlope API call) and defines the recipient(s) and tabs for that document.
When you create/send the envelope via API, you want to specify the document as part of the API request (i.e., to be used instead of the 'placeholder' document that the DocuSign template contains) and also auto-populate some of the tabs that the template defines.
If that's an accurate description of what you're trying to achieve, then you need to use Composite Templates in the API request structure. Here's an example of a Create/Send Envelope JSON request that uses composite templates (and contains data based upon the information you provided in your question):
{
"compositeTemplates": [
{
"serverTemplates": [
{
"sequence": "1",
"templateId": "TEMPLATE_ID"
}
],
"inlineTemplates": [
{
"sequence": "2",
"recipients": {
"signers": [
{
"name": "JOHN DOE",
"email": "JDOE#email.com",
"roleName": "signer1",
"tabs":
{
"textTabs":[
{
"tabLabel" : "groupname",
"value" : "TEST GROUP ONE"
},
{
"tabLabel" : "groupnumber",
"value" : "10001000"
},
{
"tabLabel" : "txt",
"value" : "my#email.com"
},
{
"tabLabel" : "fein",
"value" : "870142380"
},
{
"tabLabel" : "physicaladdress",
"value" : "1 STREET WAY, , MY CITY, CA, 98001"
}
]
}
}
]
}
}
],
"document": {
"documentId": "3",
"name": "10001000_20170803_FILE.docx",
"fileExtension": "docx",
"documentBase64": "BASE64STREAM"
}
}
],
"status": "sent",
"emailSubject": "TEST - Group Audit - 10001000"
}