GingerDocs takes a PDF from upload to a completed, signed document in one place. This guide walks through that first loop end to end: uploading, preparing the document in the editor, adding recipients, and sending.

1. Upload a PDF

From the dashboard, upload any PDF. GingerDocs works with PDFs only — there is no conversion step, because the platform renders your file exactly as authored rather than translating it into another format.

Once uploaded, the document appears on your dashboard in the Draft state. The dashboard tracks every document you own by status, with counts for pending, completed, and awaiting-action items.

2. Prepare it in the editor

Open the document to enter the editor. Your original PDF is rendered read-only as the background; everything you add lives on a separate overlay layer, so the source file is never modified.

Place the fields your document needs — signature, initials, text, date, file upload, radio buttons, checkbox, or dropdown. Drag and resize them anywhere on any page. The editor auto-saves as you work, and undo/redo plus version history mean you can step back from any change.

3. Add recipients

Add the people who need to sign, assign each one a role, and link fields to the recipient responsible for filling them. If you send to the same people often, save them to your contacts address book so they autocomplete next time.

4. Choose a signing order and send

Pick parallel signing to invite everyone at once, or sequential signing to enforce a strict order where each signer is invited only after the previous one finishes. Recipients can be reordered before you send.

Each recipient receives a secure tokenized link by email. They can sign from any device — no GingerDocs account required.

5. Track it to completion

After sending, the document moves through its lifecycle — Sent, Viewed, Partially signed, Completed — and your dashboard updates in real time as each event happens. If someone stalls, send them a one-click reminder.

When the last signature lands, GingerDocs generates a flattened PDF for download and archival, and the full history of the document is preserved in its tamper-evident audit log.