Add firm logos and signatures to templates

You can upload signature images for each staff member and use fields to display those signatures in your firm's templates. The same functionality also exists for firm logos. 

This article will explain how to upload signatures and logos and what steps you need to take to use them in your automated templates.

Important Note: Staff can only upload, replace, or delete their own signature or request a user with Firm Owner privileges to do so on their behalf.

Signature specifications

• You must be on Version 9.3 or higher to use this feature.
• While the feature does support several file formats, JPEG images are considered the most stable. 
• We recommend uploading an image around the 200x150 pixel to 300x200 pixel range. This will make it so the image populates at a reasonable size and not require re-sizing. 

Configuration

Firm logo

1. Navigate to Smokeball Settings and then select Firm Details.
2. Select the blue Edit link in the upper right corner of Firm Details.
3. Select the firm logo you wish to use from your computer's local directory and then select Open.
   • Note: You should use .jpeg files for both firm logos and signatures.
4. The logo should now display in the upper right corner of Firm Details.

Staff signatures

1. Navigate to Smokeball Settings and then select Staff & Users.
2. Open a staff member's profile and then select the Staff tab in the pop-up window.
3. Select the blue Add link next to the Signature field. 
4. Select the signature image you wish to use from your computer's local directory and then select Open.
5. The staff member's profile should now have a blue View link next to the Signature field. Click on View to preview the signature. You have the option to replace or delete the signature.
6. Once you are happy with the uploaded signature, select the Save button in the staff member's profile.

Add a staff signature or firm logo to a Smart Letterhead

1. Navigate to Smokeball Settings and then select Document Containers.
2. Select the Add button.
3. In the Create window provide a name for the container and then select Create.
4. Click on the location in the template where you want to place the logo.
5. Insert the logo by selecting Letterhead and then selecting Firm - Firm Logo from the TemplateLab toolbar.
6. You can insert a signature by selecting Letterhead > Matter - Attorney Responsible Signature  from the TemplateLab toolbar.
7. Select the Save & Close button from the Smokeball Word ribbon and then select Save.
   
8. Return to Smokeball Settings and make sure to select Save.

Create a letter with a staff signature or firm logo from a matter

1. Open a matter.
2. Check to make sure there is an Attorney Responsible assigned to the matter in the Matter Info section.
3. Select the Blank Letter button.
4. Choose the Smart Letterhead you created, select a recipient, and then select Create.
5. The document should display both the firm logo and signature. You can use your mouse cursor to re-size these images, if necessary, in Word.
6. Select Save & Close from the Smokeball Word ribbon and then select Save.
7. The document will now be saved to the Documents section of your matter.

Create a template with a staff signature or firm logo

1. Open a matter.
2. Select Forms & Templates.
3. Select Add a form/letter.
4. Name the form/letter using the provided field.
5. Click on the location in the template where you want to place the logo.
6. Insert the logo by selecting Firm Details and then selecting Firm Logo from the TemplateLab toolbar.
7. You can insert a signature by selecting Info > Attorney Responsible > Signature from the TemplateLab toolbar.
   • Note: You can toggle Show values from the TemplateLab toolbar to preview the images.
8. Select Save & Close from the Smokeball Word ribbon and then select Save.
9. You can now re-open the template from the form library pop-up window in your matter.
10. The template should display both the firm logo and signature. You can use your mouse cursor to re-size these images, if necessary, in Word.

How to re-size an image

If you freely insert the automation field for your signature/firm logo image or insert the image within a table cell without a fixed height, then any re-sizing you do to the image will not be saved. To avoid this problem, we recommend to upload an image with a smaller file size to ensure that the image will be produced without requiring you to manually re-size it. 

To make a signature or firm logo image preserve its clarity and original file size:

1. Open your document in Modify mode.
2. Insert a table into the document.
3. Insert the relevant signature automation field.
4. Right-click on the table and select Table Properties. 
5. On the Row tab > Size section, check the Boolean for Specify height and insert a non-arbitrary value, and then choose Exactly from the dropdown menu. 
6. On the Table tab, select Options.. and then un-check the Boolean for Automatically re-size to fit contents and then select OK twice. 
7. On the Smokeball toolbar, toggle Show Values and re-size the image until it is fully visible in the table. 
8. Save & Close the document using the Smokeball Word ribbon.
9. Re-open the document in Open mode. The image should persist in its re-sized state.

If necessary, you can copy and paste the table into a Document Container (which do not have the Show Values function).