Import a PDF with Instant Switch — limits and review

Import an existing PDF, Word file or Google Doc, let Instant Switch place signing fields and suggest signer roles, then review it before you send.

For sendersPlans: Free, Growth, Agency, Scale, Trial

Import a PDF you already use and get it ready to sign. Instant Switch keeps your PDF exactly as it is, places the signature and date fields, and suggests who signs each one. You check the result, choose your recipients, and send.

Plans: Free, Growth, Agency, Scale, TrialRole: Sender

Before you start

Use a PDF that has selectable text. A scanned PDF (an image of a page) keeps its layout, but you place the fields yourself.
Automatic field placement works on PDFs of up to 300 pages and 1,500,000 characters. Longer PDFs import, but you place the fields yourself.
Remove any open password from the PDF. A password-protected PDF cannot be imported.
PDF and Word files can be up to 15 MB. See Limits for other file types.
Each import creates a draft document. On a plan with a monthly document allowance, the import counts toward it.

Import a PDF and prepare it for signing

Go to Documents and click Import. The Import a document dialog opens.

At the top of the dialog, select Get it signed ("Send for signature").

Drag your PDF onto the drop zone, or click Browse files and choose it. To use a file from cloud storage, see Import from Google Drive or OneDrive.

Read the short explanation in the dialog. For a PDF with selectable text, Plutosign analyzes the document first (parties, signing fields, blanks and signature pages), and then you choose how to use it. You make no choice before the analysis. A scanned PDF, or a PDF with its own form fields, keeps the earlier choices: Keep original layout or Convert to editable document.

Click Analyze and prepare for signing. The document opens at once and shows its pages as they render, with the progress of each step: Reading the text ("Page N of M"), then Placing signing fields ("Finding signing fields — page N of M", "AI analysis — page N of M", "Saving"). If a step stops, the page says why and offers Try again or Continue, or Place fields manually; your document is saved either way.

When the analysis is saved, the page shows AI analyzed this document. It lists:

the parties it found, with the text that showed each one ("Found: …");
Signer fields, with the page, the signer, a confidence percentage and a Check mark on the less certain ones. Each field has a ✓ and a ✕ button. All fields start kept. Use Add all or Clear all, or switch single fields off;
Your own blanks, which become variables you fill in before sending;
Signature blocks by page, and one chip per page: ✓ the AI read the page, ⚠ the fields on the page come from the labels, ✗ the AI step failed on the page.

If the AI did not finish on some pages, click Retry pages to run those pages again. The retry does not charge again. Click Place by hand to continue as is: fields on those pages come from the labels, and you can adjust them in the editor.

If the AI did not run at all, the card says why: your plan does not include AI analysis, it needs credits, or it could not finish on this document. Nothing is charged then, and every field comes from the signing labels in the text. Where it applies, click Retry AI analysis to run it again (a retry after a failure is a new, separate charge), or continue with the label-based fields.

Then choose one of four options:

Keep the original layout — your PDF stays exactly as it is, with the detected fields placed on it for you to review.
Convert to an editable document — the text becomes an editable document; signing slots become fields and your own blanks become variables. The conversion review opens.
Make a reusable template — the same result saved as a template, with variables, signer roles and signature blocks bound to each role. The template editor opens.
Keep the layout, edit the signature section — the original pages stay as they are, and the signature page is replaced by a native signature page with a block per party. Before you choose it, edit the section title, the intro, each block's label, and whether it asks for name, title and date.

When the AI analysis ran, it was charged once. Choosing an option never calls the AI and does not charge.

If the file carries a clear style (fonts, sizes, margins, lists), Keep this document's style lists what was found and lets you use it for this document, save it as a workspace style, make it the default, or use your house style instead.

In Review and send your document, complete the numbered steps:

1. Add recipients and roles — add each person who signs.
2. Confirm field assignments — for each group of fields, choose a signer in the Choose a signer list. If you have one signer, click Assign all fields to (name). Changes in these steps save automatically.

Check the fields on the Original page image and in the Signing result preview. Use Previous page and Next page to check every page.

Select the checkbox I checked each signing field and its recipient against the original document. For a "Keep original layout" import, this is the only confirmation. The review completes on its own a moment after you select it.

Send the document from the send step that appears at the bottom of the review panel.

If you chose "Convert to editable document"

An editable conversion can change text, tables and formatting, so the review asks for more confirmations. You see only the ones that apply to your document:

Content (always): "I compared the original with the result, including terms, totals and formatting, and resolved the conversion warnings."
Variables (when placeholders or custom variables were found): "I checked detected placeholders and variable values; any remaining placeholders are intentional."
Signing fields (when the document has fields): "I verified each signing field and its recipient against the original roles."
Delivery settings (when the document has signing order with more than one signer, countersigning, approvals, non-signer recipients, a payment or a CRM link): "I rebuilt and verified applicable routing, approval rules, reminders and expiry, and checked this document's CRM and payment requirements."

Before the review, the import can show Review what came across. It lists merge fields, a signature block and price tables that it can convert. Nothing changes until you click Apply (n) changes. Click Skip to keep the document as imported, or Save as template to also save it as a template.

Select every checkbox shown. The review completes on its own, or click Complete review. To stop and come back later, click Save verification checkpoints.

How AI field placement works

Instant Switch reads the text and layout of your PDF. It places signature and date fields on the signing lines it finds. It suggests signer roles from the parties the document names.
Instant Switch only suggests roles. You choose the real person for each field in 2. Confirm field assignments.
The AI reads every page, in windows of pages. A long document is analyzed page by page, and a page that fails can be retried without a second charge.
If the AI step does not run, Instant Switch places fields from the signing labels in the document. You see: "We placed the fields from the document's signing labels. Choose who signs each one, then check their positions."
If your PDF has its own fillable form fields, Plutosign uses those fields as signing fields and does not run AI placement.
When your workspace has used its included AI allowance and pays with credits, the dialog shows a line such as "AI field placement uses 3 credits … for this PDF." before you import.

Fix formatting after an editable import

After a "Convert to editable document" import, the text can have stray line breaks, odd headings or broken lists. You can ask AI to tidy it.

Whole document: in the editor toolbar, open the AI menu and click Fix formatting with nothing selected. In the More document actions menu, AI cleanup does the same for an imported draft.
Part of the document: select the paragraphs first, then click Fix formatting. Only the selection changes.

Plutosign sends a long document in parts, one page at a time. While it works, a card shows the action and "Page 3 of 10", with a bar that fills as pages finish. The document does not change until every page is done.

If a page fails, the original stays as it was. A message tells you what happened and offers Continue from page (number), which resumes where it stopped.

When the fix is applied, the message "Fix formatting" applied has an Undo button. Click it to restore the previous text. AI cleanup saves a version of the document before it starts.

Import from Google Drive or OneDrive

In the Import a document dialog, under Or import from, click Google Drive or OneDrive / SharePoint.

Click Connect account and sign in to the cloud account that holds your file. Your Plutosign sign-in stays the same.

Choose the file:

Google Drive: under Import Google Docs as, select Editable document or PDF to preserve layout. Then click Choose Google Drive file. This choice applies only to native Google Docs. Uploaded PDF and DOCX files keep their format.
OneDrive / SharePoint: click My OneDrive, or type a SharePoint site URL and click Open site. Open folders and click the file.

Plutosign imports a copy of the file. Continue from step 4 of Import a PDF and prepare it for signing. Changes in Plutosign do not change the original file.

What happens next

The import creates a draft in Documents. Until the review is complete, the document page shows "Verify the imported document, signer mappings and rebuilt settings before sending." and a Review import button.
You cannot send the document until the review is complete. If you try, you see "Review changes before sending".
After the review is complete, the banner shows "Import reviewed. Further edits require review again." If you change the document after that, the review resets. Open Review import and confirm again.
If you change recipients or field assignments in the review panel, the checkboxes clear and the review reloads. Select them again for the saved version.

Limits

Item	Limit
PDF, DOCX, PNG, JPG file size	15 MB
RTF and HTML file size	2 MB
TXT and Markdown file size	5 MB
Pages in a PDF converted to an editable document	300
Automatic field placement	up to 300 pages and 1,500,000 characters, PDF with a text layer only
Cloud import file size	15 MB

File types. You can import PDF, DOCX, RTF, TXT, Markdown, HTML, PNG and JPG. Cloud import takes the same types.

PPTX, XLSX and EPUB import only on a paid plan or during a trial, with AI features on in your workspace. On other workspaces, Plutosign shows: "Direct PPTX, XLSX and EPUB conversion is unavailable here. Export a PDF, then choose Sign as PDF to keep the layout."

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Fix
"Over 300 pages — automatic field placement is unavailable."	The PDF is longer than automatic placement supports.	Import it with Keep original layout, then add signature and date fields in the editor.
"No text layer found — use the original PDF."	The PDF is a scan or an image.	Import it with Keep original layout and place the fields yourself, or export a text PDF from the source app.
"This document is too long for automatic field placement …" after import	The PDF has more pages or characters than automatic placement supports.	Click Place fields manually and add signature and date fields. Check every page before you send.
"No signing fields could be placed automatically."	Instant Switch did not find signing lines.	Add signature and date fields in the editor and assign each field to a signer.
"We placed the fields. Choose who signs each one."	Fields are placed, but some have no signer.	Choose a signer for each field group in 2. Confirm field assignments.
"This PDF is password-protected. Remove the password and upload again."	The PDF needs a password to open.	Save a copy without the password and import that copy.
"This PDF is damaged or is not a real PDF, so it cannot be opened."	The file is damaged, or it is not a real PDF.	Save or export the file again as a PDF, then import it.
"File is too large (…). Maximum for a PDF is … MB."	The file is over the size limit for its type.	Compress the file or split it into smaller documents.
"PDF has too many pages."	The PDF has more pages than "Keep original layout" supports.	Split the PDF into smaller documents.
"Too many import requests. Please wait before importing more documents."	You started too many editable conversions in one minute.	Wait one minute, then try again.
"Review changes before sending"	The import review is not complete, or the document changed after the review.	Click Review import and complete the review again.
"Allow popups for Plutosign, then try connecting again."	The browser blocked the cloud sign-in window.	Allow popups for Plutosign and click Connect account again.
"Your workspace seat cannot import documents." (cloud import)	Your seat in the workspace does not allow cloud imports.	Ask a workspace admin to change your seat.
The Word file looks different after import	Word fonts, colors, sizes and alignment can change in an editable conversion.	Export the Word file as a PDF and import it with Keep original layout.