mypropper Signature-ready check
Read a PDF or DOCX and report everything that would embarrass the sender if it went out as-is. This runs entirely locally and calls no Propper tools, so it works with or without an account.
Steps
1. Read the document
Extract the full text, keeping page numbers. Use whatever tooling the environment has:
pdftotext -layout, pdfplumber, pypdf for PDF; python-docx or unzipping
word/document.xml for DOCX. Read every page, including exhibits and schedules.
Never report a document clean on a partial read. If extraction fails on some pages, say which pages were unreadable.
2. Run the seven checks
Blanks and placeholders. Runs of underscores, [ ], [BRACKETED TEXT], TBD, TBC,
XXX, N/A where a value is expected, {{merge_field}}, <<FIELD>>, «Field»,
Lorem ipsum, insert, to be determined. Report each with its page and the surrounding
sentence.
Distinguish a blank a signer is meant to fill at signing from a blank the sender forgot.
A signature line is the former. Effective Date: ________ at the top of the document is
usually the latter.
Entity names. Collect every party name in the document, including the preamble, the
definitions, the body and the signature blocks. Report any variation: Acme, Inc. versus
Acme Inc versus ACME Incorporated, a defined term used before it is defined, a defined
term that is never used, and a party named in a signature block who appears nowhere else.
Entity-suffix mismatches are the single most common defect worth catching.
Defined terms. Terms in quotes-and-capitals in the definitions that never recur, and capitalised terms used in the body that were never defined.
Exhibits and schedules. Every Exhibit A, Schedule 1, Annex, Appendix
referenced in the body, matched against what is actually attached. Report references with
no attachment, and attachments never referenced. Also flag an exhibit that is present but
empty or a placeholder page.
Signature blocks. One execution block per party named in the preamble. Report a party
with no block, a block for a party not in the preamble, and a block missing its Name:,
Title: or Date: line. Note whether the document has any signature line at all.
Dates. The effective date, term dates, expiry, renewal and notice dates. Report a date in the past where a future date is expected, an end date before its start date, a term that contradicts a stated duration, a year that looks like a carry-over from a previous version, and any date left blank.
Numbers and cross-references. Amounts stated twice with different figures, a figure that disagrees with its written-out words, percentages that should total 100 and do not, and section cross-references pointing at a section that does not exist.
When figures disagree, report every figure the document states and leave it there. Do not say which one governs, and do not invoke a rule of construction such as written words prevailing over numerals — which figure controls is a legal question, not a mechanical one.
3. Report
Group findings into three tiers and lead with the count in each:
- Blocking — would produce an invalid or unenforceable-looking document: an unfilled blank in an operative term, a missing signature block, a referenced exhibit that is not attached, an end date before its start date.
- Should fix — visible to the counterparty and looks careless: entity-name variation, a stale year, an unused defined term, a broken cross-reference.
- Worth a look — possible but not certainly wrong: an unusual blank, a term used once, a date that is merely surprising.
For each finding: the page, the exact text, and what is wrong with it. Quote the document; do not paraphrase it.
End with one line: how many blocking items stand between this document and sending.
4. Hand off
When there are no blocking items and the user wants to send, route to
send-for-signature. When signature blocks exist but the document has no fillable fields,
route to place-signature-fields.
Rules
- Report what the document says, with a location. Never assert a defect without quoting the text it comes from.
- Report the discrepancy, not its resolution. Naming which of two conflicting terms wins, or what a clause would be read to mean, is interpretation and belongs to the user.
- A clean report means the seven checks found nothing, not that the document is good. Say that explicitly.
- Do not edit the document. Report; the user decides.
Not legal advice
This finds mechanical defects: blanks, mismatches, missing attachments, wrong dates. It does not assess whether a term is favourable, whether a clause is enforceable, whether the document suits its purpose, or who has authority to sign. Do not say a document is safe to sign, standard, or fair, and do not state how a court or a jurisdiction would read it. Those judgements belong to the user and their counsel.