Product glossary and data flow
Understand Formesign sources, people, workflow stages, signed records, Google destinations and sensitive-field terminology.
Reviewed 2026-10-30 · Formesign guides
Use these terms to distinguish the document you start with, the people acting on a request, and the records produced after submission. The same Google account can connect several of these pieces, but they do not all have the same role.
Sources and collection
| Term | Meaning in these guides |
|---|---|
| Source | The Google Form, Google Doc, Google Sheet or PDF used to prepare a signing process. |
| Formesign form | The configured collection and signing experience shared with respondents. |
| Copy | A new form made from a source; review its own settings and collection link. |
| Edit existing | A setup path that acts on the selected existing form instead of choosing the default copy path. |
| Template | A reusable starting point. Available product capabilities may still need configuration. |
| Response | A submitted set of answers associated with a particular request. |
| Draft | Work saved before the relevant submission or signing step is complete. |
See creation methods and copy versus edit existing before choosing a source path.
People and workflow
| Term | Meaning in these guides |
|---|---|
| Owner or creator | The person setting up and managing the form. |
| Respondent | The person providing answers through the form. |
| Signer | A person whose signature is requested for a role. A respondent can also be a signer. |
| Initiator | The person or starting action that begins a workflow. |
| Approver | A person assigned a review or decision step; their action may include a signature. |
| Collaborator | A team member granted access to work on the form or its responses. |
| Stage | A workflow step defining who can act and what comes next. |
| Optional step | A configured role that may be skipped under its supported conditions. |
Sequential signers act in order; parallel signers can act in the same stage. See workflow setup.
Output and evidence
A signed PDF is the generated record containing the collected answers and signatures. Certificate information records signing details and can be included as pages or offered separately. Activity describes actions such as an invitation being sent or a signer completing their part. A fingerprint is a value used to compare file contents during PDF verification.
Google data destinations
A source Sheet supplies the spreadsheet document used by Sheet signature. A response Sheet stores structured submitted answers. Response output can use the Google Form's linked Sheet or a Formesign report connection; these are separate paths. Drive saving places configured document files in a chosen My Drive folder.
PHI means Protected Health Information in the health-information context. Formesign's PHI field marking supports specific handling such as masking notifications and controlling report exports. A BAA is a Business Associate Agreement; the HIPAA setup distinguishes the relevant Formesign and Google agreement steps.