Google begins beta test of electronic signatures in Google Docs and Drive
By ForGeeks Google will add native support for electronic signatures for Google Workspace users. The feature, which was limited to alpha testing in June, has now been released in beta. The company is in the process of rolling out the feature to individual Workspace users.
Electronic signatures are becoming an increasingly common way for companies to sign legal documents, as well as store and manage documents. So it’s no surprise that Google is adding native support for electronic signatures to Google Docs and Google Drive. The tech giant has announced an open beta for the new e-signature capability in Google Workspace.
The new e-signature feature is now in open beta.
The new feature is designed to allow users to request, add and track electronic signatures while in cloud-based productivity software.
To simplify this workflow, we’re integrating e-signatures into Google Docs, allowing you to request and add signatures to formal contracts right in Google Docs
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There’s nothing complicated about the feature at the moment, as it includes an electronic signature input field that users can add directly to their documents. However, Google explains that it plans to add other features later this year, including an audit trail to track signatures in Google Docs, the ability to work with multiple signers as well as non-email users, and finally the ability to initiate e-signatures from PDFs stored in Drive.
The feature will be available in Google Docs.
There are already many platforms for creating electronic signatures, including «cloud-based» options such as DocuSign and Dropbox, which acquired HelloSign in 2019, as well as on-premises programs such as Adobe Acrobat.
So Google’s new e-signature feature may not be anything new, but it’s a positive move on the company’s part as users hopefully won’t have to switch between different apps or tabs when working with contracts. With this new feature, requesting and adding e-signatures will become part of the workflow for Workspace users.
With this new feature, users will be able to request and add e-signatures as part of their workflow.
After the beta launch on Aug. 8, the technology giant will begin rolling out the new feature to individual Workspace users over the next 15 days. Group users can also take advantage of the feature by asking their Workspace admins to apply for the beta.
Address the beta.
