When your templates move across departments, even small edits can create major risks. A rep replaces a file, moves a critical field, or adds an extra recipient — and suddenly your compliant document becomes invalid.
BoldSign’s Template Usage Settings give you complete control over what senders can and cannot change, so your workflows stay consistent, secure, and audit-ready.
What this guide helps you do
- Prevent unauthorized template changes
- Control who can edit files, fields, recipients, or messages
- Protect compliance-sensitive documents (NDAs, contracts, offer letters)
- Maintain consistent, error-free, audit-ready workflows
Impact of template usage settings
See the real difference that Template Usage Settings make the moment a sender uses your template:
| Without template controls | With BoldSign template controls |
|---|---|
| Senders freely edit or replace files | Files stay locked exactly as approved |
| Anyone can add or remove recipients | Only predefined roles can be used |
| Messages get rewritten with non-compliant language | Standard messages every time |
| Fields can be moved or deleted | All fields stay fixed and protected |
| Compliance risks & constant rework | Reliable, audit-ready workflows |
Ready to eliminate these headaches? Open your BoldSign template editor and follow along now.
Why controlling sender actions matters
BoldSign templates save time — but without restrictions, anyone using them can unintentionally break the structure you worked hard to build.
Real pain points our customers told us:
- “A rep sent an outdated contract — the deal almost fell through.”
- “Someone added an unauthorized CC and leaked salary information.”
- “Legal kept re-approving templates because fields were being moved.”
A single toggle in Template Usage Settings prevents these issues entirely.
Real-world use cases: How teams actually use it
| Department & Documents | What you lock down | Result |
|---|---|---|
| HR – Offer letters and onboarding packets | Files, fields, recipients | No accidental changes to salary, benefits, or terms |
| Legal – NDAs, MSAs, contracts | Files, message, critical fields | 100% compliance, no “creative” edits |
| Sales – Quotes and proposals | File and pricing fields | Reps can add a personal note, but pricing stays untouchable |
| Finance – Invoices and payment agreements | Everything – completely locked | Zero risk of altered amounts or terms |
Lock only what needs protecting. Let the rest flow. You have total flexibility, and total control.
Template usage settings: 4 simple controls
When editing a template, open Template Usage Settings in the left sidebar. Each of the four control groups can be enabled or disabled independently.
1. Files and attachments
BoldSign allows template creators to manage how senders interact with files when using templates. Senders can be permitted to add files, replace existing ones, rearrange their order, or delete them entirely. The options include:
| Option | When enabled (✓) | When disabled (✗) |
|---|---|---|
| Allow sender to add more files | Sender can use the “Add files” button to upload additional documents | The “Add files” button is hidden — only your original files are used |
| Allow sender to replace, rearrange, and delete files | Sender can replace files, drag to reorder, or delete | All files are completely locked — no changes possible |
Best practice:
For the highest level of protection, disable both “Allow senders to add or remove documents” and “Allow senders to replace document files”. When these options are disabled, the document becomes completely locked: no one can add, remove, or replace files in any way, ensuring your original template stays exactly as approved.
2. Recipients
BoldSign lets you decide whether senders can add, edit, or remove recipients when they use your template.
| Option | When enabled (✓) | When disabled (✗) |
|---|---|---|
| Allow sender to add more recipients | The “Add recipient” button is visible, meaning the sender can add new signers or approvers | The “Add recipient” button is hidden, so only the recipient roles you predefined in the template can be used |
Best practice:
Disable “Allow senders to add or remove recipients”. No sender can accidentally (or intentionally) add extra signers, change roles, or remove required parties.
3. Document message
As the template creator, you can add a common in-document message that is visible to all recipients during signing (separate from email notifications). You also have full control over whether senders can modify this message when using your template.
| Option | When enabled (✓) | When disabled (✗) |
|---|---|---|
| Allow sender to edit the document message before sending | Sender can modify the common message for all recipients | Message is shown as plain text and cannot be changed at all |
Best practice:
Disable “Allow senders to edit the message” when you need the exact subject line, instructions, or legal disclaimers to appear every single time — no risky rewording allowed.
4. Form fields
This is the most powerful section. You have three separate toggles that control what senders can do with form fields (signature, date, textbox, checkbox, etc.).
| Option | When enabled (✓) | When disabled (✗) |
|---|---|---|
| Allow senders to add new fields | Sender can drag and drop brand-new fields onto the document | No new fields can be added |
| Allow senders to edit or delete fields | Sender can move, resize, change properties, or delete fields | All fields are locked in place — they cannot be moved, changed, or deleted |
| Allow senders to set default values only for fields | Sender can pre-fill values | Even pre-filling is blocked — fields stay exactly as you left them (or blank) |
Best practice:
If all three field configuration options are disabled, the sender will not be able to add or edit the form fields. The field configuration page will be skipped, and the sender will proceed directly to sending or previewing the document.
This setup is ideal when the template is fully pre-configured and should be sent without any modifications.
For more details, see our guide on template field configuration.
Quick way to create a fully locked template
To create a fully locked template, you need to disable all four option groups in Template Usage Settings:
- Files: Turn off both options so the sender cannot add, replace, rearrange, or delete files.
- Recipients: Disable the option to add new recipients and any per-recipient editing permissions.
- Document message: Turn off the option that allows editing the document message body.
- Field configuration: Disable all three options so the sender cannot add, edit, delete, or set default values for fields.
Once these options are disabled, the sender will only be able to review pre-filled data and send the document without making any changes. They will not be able to upload files, edit recipients, customize messages, or configure fields.
Restricting template form fields: Granular per-field controls
If you need finer control, you can restrict editing or deletion for each individual field.
In the Configure Fields page:
- Select a field
- Choose whether senders can move, resize, adjust settings, or delete the field
This is ideal for locking critical fields (e.g., signature) while keeping others flexible (e.g., date fields).
Where to find the settings
Start by creating or editing a template:
- On the Configure Fields page, drag and drop your form fields (e.g., signature, text, date) onto the document.
- In the Allow Sender Actions section, you will see Edit This Field and Delete This Field options, which are enabled by default.
- Selecting the Edit This Field checkbox allows senders to edit the form field settings, duplicate, copy, paste, resize, or move the form fields when using the template.
- Selecting the Delete This Field checkbox allows senders to delete the form field when using the template.
- Enable and disable the Edit This Field and Delete This Field options based on your need.
For more details, see our guide on how to allow senders to edit or delete template form fields.
Conclusion
Controlling sender actions isn’t about limiting users — it’s about ensuring consistency, security, and compliance across your workflows. BoldSign’s Template Usage Settings help you strike the right balance between flexibility and control.
We value your feedback — share your thoughts in the comments or reach out to our support team through our support portal.
If you’re not yet a BoldSign user, sign up for a free trial to experience these features firsthand. To learn more about BoldSign, schedule a demo today!
