CreateAndSendEnvelope is not working

Question

I am sending the envelope using SOAP API, https://demo.docusign.net/api/3.0/dsapi.asmx. I am writing the code in VB .NET. If I am sending the PDF file, I am getting Unspecified_Error from the webservice. If I am sending docx file, I am getting System was unable to convert this document to a PDF. Unable to convert Document(DocusignTestDoc.docx) to a PDF. Error: Could not submit Document to Conversion Server: EnvelopeId:00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000 DocumentName:DocusignTestDoc.docx - SubmitCode: -10242 error, coming back from API. I am not sure where to fix the issue. Here is my payload.

POST https://demo.docusign.net/api/3.0/dsapi.asmx HTTP/1.1
Content-Type: text/xml; charset=utf-8
X-DocuSign-Authentication: <DocuSignCredentials><Username>myemail@example.com</Username><Password>mypassword</Password><IntegratorKey>my integratorkey</IntegratorKey></DocuSignCredentials>
SOAPAction: "http://www.docusign.net/API/3.0/CreateAndSendEnvelope"
Host: demo.docusign.net
Content-Length: 17996
Expect: 100-continue
Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflate

<s:Envelope xmlns:s="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/">
  <s:Body xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
    <CreateAndSendEnvelope xmlns="http://www.docusign.net/API/3.0">
      <Envelope>
        <AccountId>Account ID GUID</AccountId>
        <Documents>
          <Document>
            <ID>1</ID>
            <Name>DocusignTestDoc.docx</Name>
            <PDFBytes>Something like this qAABkb2NQcm9wcy9hcHAueG1sUEsFBgAAAAAMAAwA/wIAAG0tAAAAAAA=</PDFBytes>
            <FileExtension>.docx</FileExtension>
          </Document>
        </Documents>
        <Recipients>
          <Recipient>
            <UserName>R1</UserName>
            <Email>r1@yahoo.com</Email>
            <Type>Signer</Type>
            <AccessCode xsi:nil="true" />
          </Recipient>
          <Recipient>
            <UserName>R2</UserName>
            <Email>r2@gmail.com</Email>
            <Type>Signer</Type>
            <AccessCode xsi:nil="true" />
          </Recipient>
        </Recipients>
        <Tabs>
          <Tab>
            <DocumentID>1</DocumentID>
            <RecipientID>1</RecipientID>
            <PageNumber>1</PageNumber>
            <XPosition>350</XPosition>
            <YPosition>350</YPosition>
            <Type>Company</Type>
          </Tab>
          <Tab>
            <DocumentID>1</DocumentID>
            <RecipientID>1</RecipientID>
            <PageNumber>1</PageNumber>
            <XPosition>350</XPosition>
            <YPosition>450</YPosition>
            <Type>SignHere</Type>
          </Tab>
          <Tab>
            <DocumentID>1</DocumentID>
            <RecipientID>2</RecipientID>
            <PageNumber>1</PageNumber>
            <XPosition>350</XPosition>
            <YPosition>550</YPosition>
            <Type>SignHere</Type>
          </Tab>
        </Tabs>
        <Subject>Test application</Subject>
        <EmailBlurb>Hello, this is the test application for you to sign</EmailBlurb>
      </Envelope>
    </CreateAndSendEnvelope>
  </s:Body>
</s:Envelope>

Please help me out and let me know if I am missing anything here. Thanks you so much.

Htwemay

Answer 1

First, try removing the .docx extension from the File Name value (<Name>) AND remove the period (.) from the File Extension value (<FileExtension>). When you do so, the <Document> portion of your request will look like this (for a .docx file):

<Document>
    <ID>1</ID>
    <Name>DocusignTestDoc</Name>
    <PDFBytes>Something like this qAABkb2NQcm9wcy9hcHAueG1sUEsFBgAAAAAMAAwA/wIAAG0tAAAAAAA=</PDFBytes>
    <FileExtension>docx</FileExtension>
</Document>

Or like this, if you're sending a PDF:

<Document>
    <ID>1</ID>
    <Name>DocusignTestDoc</Name>
    <PDFBytes>Something like this qAABkb2NQcm9wcy9hcHAueG1sUEsFBgAAAAAMAAwA/wIAAG0tAAAAAAA=</PDFBytes>
    <FileExtension>pdf</FileExtension>
</Document>

If you still receive an error, then I'd suggest doing the following to troubleshoot:

1. Verify that the file you're attempting to send (represented by <PDFBytes>) is indeed of the same file type as you specify for <FileExtension>. (I was able to repro the error you're getting by sending bytes for a PDF file but setting <FileExtension> to docx -- so an inaccurate file extension will certainly be problematic.)

2. Verify that the bytes you're sending in <PDFBytes> do indeed represent the full/accurate contents of the file.

3. Set aside the API momentarily and test if DocuSign's able to convert the file to PDF when you Create a new Envelope via the DocuSign web console and upload the file. If you're able to successfully upload the file to a new Envelope via the DocuSign UI (web console), then this proves that the file is valid (i.e., not corrupt) it's likely that your issue lies with either #1 or #2 above.