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Version: 1.x

Troubleshooting

The pad doesn't appear​

The field renders a blank space, or a canvas you can't draw on. The scripts haven't loaded. Open your browser's developer tools and check, in order:

  1. Do the scripts load? signature_pad.min.js and autograph.js load from user/autograph/ in your themes URL, usually /themes/user/autograph/. If either returns a 404, the themes/user/autograph folder is missing or isn't where theme_folder_url points. See The themes folder.
  2. Does the page print them? View the page source and look for those two <script> tags. In a Channel Form they're missing when the tag has include_assets="no" and no {channel_form_assets}. See Scripts.
  3. Is there a JavaScript error? An error from another script earlier on the page can stop Autograph's from running.

The signature isn't saved​

  • "The signature could not be read." The value posted wasn't a PNG signature. This happens when a script on the page changes the hidden field, or when the request was tampered with. Clear the pad and sign again.
  • Is the field in the form? The pad must be output with {field:your_field} inside {exp:channel:form}, so its hidden textarea is posted with the form.
  • In the control panel, Save in Control Panel must be on for editors to sign. With it off, the field is read-only. See Control panel.

Known limitations​

These are known in Autograph 1.0.1. Autograph 2 fixes each of them.

Long signatures are cut off​

Signatures are saved in a database column that holds about 64 KB. A very large canvas, or a signature with a great many strokes, can make a PNG bigger than that, and the saved image is cut short or refused, depending on your MySQL settings.

Workaround: keep the canvas at the default 400 × 200 or close to it.

Not available in Grid or Fluid fields​

Autograph fields work as ordinary channel fields and as member fields. They aren't offered inside Grid or Fluid fields.

Signatures are always PNGs in the entry​

There's no option to save signatures as files in an upload directory, or in another image format.

Signatures look soft on high-resolution screens​

The canvas is drawn at its set size in CSS pixels, so on a high-resolution screen the strokes can look slightly soft. The saved image is the canvas size either way.