What a QCDS Completed Package Contains When Attachments Are Used

Why attachment-bearing requests download as a protected package rather than only a PDF, relationship between the completed PDF and protected original attachment evidence, and records-retention considerations.

This guide applies to All plans; sender and follows the accepted QC Digital Signature 2.0.7 implementation. Where older walkthrough language differs from the current interface or source behavior, use the current QCDS state as the authority.

Before You Begin

  • Confirm all required signers are complete before troubleshooting finalization; a completion failure is not a request to collect signatures again.
  • Preserve any already-valid Completed PDF while attempting recovery or regeneration.
  • Keep protected Completed Packages and attachment originals in authorized storage rather than exposing them through ordinary public URLs.

Step-by-Step Workflow

  1. Open the QCDS screen or record that owns the topic so you are reading the current state rather than an old screenshot or memory.
  2. Compare the visible state with the current 2.0.7 rules described in this guide.
  3. Identify whether the value belongs to global installation settings, one sender workspace, a reusable Template, or one immutable/sent Request.
  4. Make changes only at the layer that owns the behavior.
  5. Verify the result with a safe test and preserve historical Requests/evidence.

Why attachment-bearing requests download as a protected package rather than

A Document Attachment field accepts one PNG or JPEG image from the signer. QCDS preserves the protected original and can append a readable presentation page to the Completed PDF. When “Display attachment in completed PDF” is disabled, the attachment page remains in the evidence flow but its PDF presentation is heavily pixelated/obscured and marked privacy-protected; the original protected attachment is still retained for authorized Completed Package access.

For What a QCDS Completed Package Contains When Attachments Are Used, verify this behavior using the actual object involved rather than a generic assumption. A global administrator setting, a sender-workspace preference, a reusable Template, and a sent Request have different ownership and history rules. QCDS is intentionally designed so changes for future work do not silently rewrite the evidence of an already-sent transaction.

Relationship between the completed PDF and protected original attachment

A Document Attachment field accepts one PNG or JPEG image from the signer. QCDS preserves the protected original and can append a readable presentation page to the Completed PDF. When “Display attachment in completed PDF” is disabled, the attachment page remains in the evidence flow but its PDF presentation is heavily pixelated/obscured and marked privacy-protected; the original protected attachment is still retained for authorized Completed Package access.

For What a QCDS Completed Package Contains When Attachments Are Used, verify this behavior using the actual object involved rather than a generic assumption. A global administrator setting, a sender-workspace preference, a reusable Template, and a sent Request have different ownership and history rules. QCDS is intentionally designed so changes for future work do not silently rewrite the evidence of an already-sent transaction.

And records-retention considerations

A Document Attachment field accepts one PNG or JPEG image from the signer. QCDS preserves the protected original and can append a readable presentation page to the Completed PDF. When “Display attachment in completed PDF” is disabled, the attachment page remains in the evidence flow but its PDF presentation is heavily pixelated/obscured and marked privacy-protected; the original protected attachment is still retained for authorized Completed Package access.

How This Fits into the QCDS Workflow

QCDS treats completion artifacts as evidence-bearing outputs. Recovery and regeneration rebuild presentation from stored transaction/signing evidence and preserve prior valid artifacts rather than rewriting history.

A completed artifact is not just a visual PDF. It is the presentation of a frozen transaction plus stored evidence; recovery should reconstruct from that evidence instead of creating a new signing event.

Verify the Result

  • Request Details shows the expected lifecycle, participant, Timeline, and delivery state after the action.
  • The Completed PDF/Package opens, preserves the signed source and evidence, and the Audit Trail remains readable.
  • A direct follow-up test confirms the change affects future/current workflow behavior without rewriting historical sent Request evidence.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Cancelling/recreating an otherwise valid Request just to repair one failed email address.
  • Leaving transient unsent work and expecting it to appear later as a persistent draft Request.
  • Asking signers to sign again when only final PDF generation or completion delivery failed.
  • Replacing a prior valid artifact before a regeneration attempt has been verified.

Troubleshooting

  • If the PDF preview or completed artifact fails, reproduce with a small known-good PDF and check QCDS Status/Scheduled Task health before changing field data.
  • If the Request is partly successful, preserve it and repair the failed participant/delivery step. Successful links and recorded history should remain usable.

Operational Best Practice

Test meaningful changes with controlled data before relying on them in production. Keep QCDS, Joomla mail, Scheduled Tasks, and entitlement health observable; preserve successful Requests and completed evidence; and make the smallest change that solves the actual problem. For handoff or support, record the QCDS version, relevant Request/Template reference, the exact action taken, and the visible result without including secrets.

Community Discussion

Want to compare workflows, share practical tips, or discuss how you use this QCDS feature? Visit the QC Digital Signature Community. For private support, bug reports, account-specific issues, or feature requests, use the QuantaCade support system.