Docusign: composite templates with tabs - docusignapi

Question

How do I specify prefilled fields with composite templates when creating an envelope.
I tried including the tabs information in the inlineTemplate.recipients.signers[0].tabs, but I get an error that System.String cannot be cast to API_REST.Models.v2.tabs.
If I include information as a template role in templateRoles, it is ignored. The documentation is light on information about how to do this. It seems like the prefill data should be specified in the inline template.
Other open questions I have include what does the recipientId do. What is the clientUserIdused for? We currently set clientUserId to the same value for all signers. I see it's used when signer requests a signature. Should it be unique to every signer for some reason?
It also looks like a single composite template overlays the server and inline templates on top of each other. What's the use case for having multiple server templates or multiple inline templates in a single composite template?
Are there plans to improve the documentation to describe how to use composite templates for various purposes?
Signer/template role:
{
"clientUserId": "clientUserId",
"email": "first+last#email.com",
"name": "First Last",
"roleName": "role1",
"tabs": {
"textTabs": [
{
"locked": true,
"tabLabel": "\\*FieldName",
"value": "prefillValue"
}
]
}
}
Example request:
{
"compositeTemplates": [
{
"inlineTemplates": [
{
"recipients": {
"signers": [
{
"clientUserId": "clientUserId",
"email": "first+last#email.com",
"name": "First Last",
"recipientId": 1,
"roleName": "role1",
"tabs": {
"textTabs": [{"tabLabel": "label", "value": "val"}]
}
}
]
},
"sequence": 1
}
],
"serverTemplates": [
{
"sequence": 1,
"templateId": "templateId1"
}
]
},
{
"inlineTemplates": [
{
"recipients": {
"signers": [
{
"clientUserId": "clientUserId",
"email": "first+last#better.com",
"name": "First Last",
"recipientId": 1,
"roleName": "role1",
"tabs": {
"textTabs": [{"tabLabel": "label", "value": "val"}]
}
}
]
},
"sequence": 2
}
],
"serverTemplates": [
{
"sequence": 2,
"templateId": "templateId2"
}
]
}
],
"emailSubject": "Email subject",
"status": "sent",
"templateId": null,
"templateRoles": null
}

Answer 1

Information on sending an envelope from a server template can be found here.
RecipientID is used by the tab element to indicate which recipient is to sign the Document while the clientuserID specifies if the user is remote or embedded and it is recommended it be unique per signer (but not required).
I'd also suggest reading this page about composite templates, hopefully the concept will make a bit more sense but I am with you that the lack of documentation on composite templates can be troublesome.
Unfortunately, I don't have a sample with tab data included, but adding the tab section under each recipient from my sample below should work with no issues.
{
"emailSubject": "DocuSign Comp Test 1",
"emailBlurb": "Example - Composite Templates",
"status": "sent",
"compositeTemplates": [
{
"serverTemplates": [
{
"sequence": "1",
"templateId": "templateId1"
}
],
"inlineTemplates": [
{
"sequence": "1",
"recipients": {
"signers": [
{
"email": "testsigner123#gmail.com",
"name": "Test Tester",
"recipientId": "1",
"roleName": "Signer 1"
}
]
}
}
]
},
{
"serverTemplates": [
{
"sequence": "2",
"templateId": "templateId2"
}
],
"inlineTemplates": [
{
"sequence": "2",
"recipients": {
"signers": [
{
"email": "testsigner123#gmail.com",
"name": "Test Tester",
"recipientId": "1",
"roleName": "Signer 1"
}
]
}
}
]
},
{
"serverTemplates": [
{
"sequence": "3",
"templateId": "templateId3"
}
],
"inlineTemplates": [
{
"sequence": "2",
"recipients": {
"signers": [
{
"email": "testsigner123#gmail.com",
"name": "Test Tester",
"recipientId": "1",
"roleName": "Signer 1"
}
]
}
}
]
}
]
}