Docusign API - Recipient and Sender View Timeout

Question

I am using both the REST API and the .NET library to work with Docusign from our site. I was just checking if there were any properties anywhere inside the envelope that let you know if a sender or recipient has the envelope "open" (aka the signing or tagging view URL was loaded, but the user hasn't finished).

Within our web app, we can easily tell when they've "opened" it because when users sign or place tags, they click on one of our own internal links first before being redirected, but unless the user finished the process (either clicking SEND or FINISH or just plain TIMING OUT and getting redirected back to our page), we can't tell is the user currently is looking at the document or if they opened it and then closed it.

So basically, I guess I'm asking if the user closes their browser without sending or signing, is there some kind of date or flag that can tell this?

One follow-up question: Speaking of Timeout, I set ours to 15 minutes. Once you open the console URL to place signature tags or to sign, does the timeout start and then ONLY stop once you've SENT or FINISHED the envelope? Do other actions like scrolling, partially signing, etc reset the timer? Or is it X minutes after the console is open, no matter what?

Answer 1

Sorry, no, the sender view does not offer a ping facility.

In the usual use case, the sender is motivated to send out the envelope for signing. So the problem of the user "abandoning" the sender view is generally not a concern.

You can check the envelope's status periodically or register for a webhook message when the envelope is sent. The envelope will be sent when the sender successfully finishes using the sender view.

If the sender is a concern, I suggest that you not use the sender view. Instead, get the necessary information (docs, recipients, notes, etc) from the sender, then send the envelope programmatically. Use "the Send on Behalf of" (SOBO) feature to send the envelope for the sender.