Managing documents in SignNow gives you full control over your signing workflows — from organizing files and tracking progress to maintaining secure access for all participants. Whether you’re handling a single agreement or coordinating signatures across departments, effective document management ensures every file is stored in the right place, visible to the right people, and updated in real time. With tools for organizing folders, monitoring document status, and controlling permissions, you can streamline approvals and keep your signing processes running smoothly.
Overview
Every SignNow account includes Quick Access folders and general workspace folders to help you organize, track, and retrieve your files efficiently.
Quick Access
These folders provide shortcuts to your most relevant or time-sensitive documents.
Inbox – Displays documents that require your action, such as pending signatures or approval/viewing requests you’ve received.
Outbox – Shows documents you’ve sent out for signing or review that are still in progress.
Completed – Contains documents that have been fully signed or finalized.
Drafts – Stores documents you’ve started preparing but haven’t yet sent for signing.
Favorites – Lets you view bookmarked forms that you frequently use.
Expiring Soon – Highlights documents with deadlines or expiration dates approaching, helping you act before time runs out.
Shared with Me – Lists documents that other users have shared directly with you for signing, viewing, or collaboration.
Owned by Me – Displays all documents you’ve created or uploaded, including those sent for signing.
Documents and Templates
These are your main folders for managing and organizing files within your account.
Documents and subfolders – Your personal document library, where you can create, upload, and organize files into custom subfolders.
Templates and subfolders – Stores reusable document templates that help you save time when sending frequently used forms.
Archive – Holds documents you’ve chosen to store for reference. Archived items remain accessible but are separated from your active workflow.
Team Workspaces
If you’re part of one or more teams, you’ll also see shared folders for collaborative work.
Team Documents and subfolders – Shared storage for team-created or team-owned documents, accessible to all workspace members.
Team Templates and subfolders – Centralized templates that your team can use to ensure consistency and speed in sending out documents.
Trash
Contains deleted documents and templates. You can restore items from here if needed before they are permanently deleted.
Folder Management
You can create subfolders within any root folder to better organize your documents and templates. To do this, hover next to a specific folder in the folder list on the left side and click the New folder icon. Alternatively, open a folder and click the New Folder button in the top right corner of the screen.
Newly created subfolders can be renamed or deleted as needed (note that root folders cannot be renamed or removed). You can also upload forms directly into a specific folder by clicking +Create button on the left side while inside that folder.
Filtering
SignNow offers a sophisticated way to filter and locate documents quickly, helping you stay organized and focused on your active workflows. You can filter your documents using several key categories:
Filter by Status
Narrow your view based on the current state of each document:
Unfinished – Documents that are not yet completed or fully signed.
Waiting for Me – Documents that require your signature or action.
Waiting for Others – Documents you’ve sent that are awaiting signatures from other recipients.
Signed – Documents that have been fully executed and completed.
Pending – Documents that are in progress, such as those still routing between signers.
Draft – Documents that are being prepared but have not yet been sent for signing.
Declined – Documents that one or more recipients have refused to sign.
Expired – Documents that were not completed before their signing deadline.
Delivery Failed – Documents that could not be delivered to one or more recipients, often due to invalid email addresses or delivery issues.
Filter by Time Range
Sort documents based on when they were created or last modified:
All Time – Displays every document in your account.
Last 12 Months / 6 Months / 3 Months / 30 Days / Last Week / Last 24 Hours – Lets you focus on documents from a specific time frame, useful for monitoring recent activity or compliance cycles.
Filter by Ownership
Quickly find documents based on who owns or shared them:
All Owners – Displays all documents accessible to you.
Shared with Me – Shows documents other users have shared with you.
Owned by Me – Lists documents you created or uploaded yourself.
Using these filters together provides a clear, real-time overview of your document lifecycle — from drafts and pending items to completed agreements.
Trash
The Trash folder stores documents and templates that you or other authorized users have deleted. Items in the Trash are not permanently removed right away — they remain there until you decide to restore or permanently delete them. This gives you the flexibility to recover files that may have been deleted by mistake.
You can restore deleted documents in two ways:
Restore – Returns the document to its original folder before it was deleted.
Restore To – Allows you to choose a specific folder where the restored document should be placed.
If you no longer need any of the deleted items, you can Empty Trash to permanently remove all documents at once. You can also manually delete individual items from the Trash.
Once documents are permanently deleted from the Trash, they cannot be recovered. Make sure you’ve restored any important files before emptying the folder.
