No NDA, no access — every counterparty signs before any folder, file, or data room loads.

How do you set up an NDA template in Peony?

Standard NDA gating needs nothing more than a file upload. Advanced NDA asks the counterparty to actually sign, so the agreement first has to be turned into a template with fields on it. Here is the whole path: the four clicks that get you into the template editor, the three ways to make a document fillable once you are there, and what each field setting controls.

Getting to the template editor

1. 1

   Open Permissions and pick the group you want to gate

   Inside the data room, Permissions lists every visitor group — Due Diligence Advisor, Investor A, and so on. The gate is set per group, so strategics, lenders, and sponsors can each be handed a different agreement out of the same room.

   

2. 2

   Switch One-click NDA from No to Advanced

   One-click NDA sits in the Security control row next to password protection, expiry, and dynamic watermarks, and ships Off. Opening it gives you three modes. Standard is the acknowledge-to-accept gate: upload the agreement and you are done. Advanced asks for a real signature, and swaps in Select template and Upload template.

   

3. 3

   Build the agreement into a template

   Either of those two buttons opens the template editor, and everything below happens there: making the document fillable, then telling each field what it is and who fills it.

4. 4

   Click Continue to NDA settings

   The agreement is saved as a reusable template, so the next room you gate picks it from Select template instead of being built again. From there it behaves like any other gate: nobody loads a page until it is signed, and every acceptance is logged with email, IP address, timestamp, and document version.

   

Three ways to make your document fillable

Which one you use depends on what you upload. Any of the three produces the same thing: a document with named input fields on it.

Drag fields onto a PDF where you want them

A PDF is a flat page, so nothing in it can be detected automatically — you place the fields yourself. The Signer panel on the right holds Text, Signature, and Initial blocks: drag one onto the spot the counterparty has to fill and it lands there as a colored box. Use the picker at the top of that panel to choose who the fields belong to, then repeat down the document.

Type a slash to drop a field inline

Inside a document you do not have to drag anything. Put the cursor where the blank belongs and type a slash: a menu opens with Text, Date, Signature, Initial, and Table. Pick one and the field is inserted at the cursor, already flowing with the paragraph around it. This is the fastest way to add a field you missed on a document you are already editing.

Upload a .docx and let Peony find the blanks

Start from the Word file you already use and mark the blanks the way you normally would — bracketed placeholders, highlighted so they are easy to spot. Nothing about the file has to change for Peony: no merge codes, no special syntax, no mapping sheet to maintain alongside it.

Upload the .docx and Peony reads those placeholders and turns each one into a named input field, ready to configure. You get the whole document mapped in one pass instead of placing fields by hand, then fix up anything it read differently from what you intended.

What each field setting controls

Click any field in the editor and its settings open. Five of them decide how the field behaves for whoever has to complete it.

1Label

The placeholder the signer reads while the box is still empty. Write it as an instruction — Full legal name, not Field 1.

2Assignee

Who has to fill this one in. The field then takes on that party's color, so responsibility is visible at a glance.

3Type

The input format: Text, Date, or Signature. A signature field draws a signing block rather than a plain text box.

4Set value

Pre-fills the field with a fixed value. Use it for anything you already know, such as your own entity name or the date.

5Is required

Whether the agreement can be submitted with this field left blank. Leave it on for anything the signed PDF has to carry.

Set value is worth reaching for early: pre-fill everything you already know and the counterparty is left with only their own details to complete.

Each party carries its own color, and every field assigned to them is drawn in it. The pink boxes running down this NDA all belong to the recipient.

Editing the wording without leaving the editor

Select any run of text and a toolbar appears above it. Most of it is ordinary formatting, but the last two buttons are the ones worth knowing about.

How does Peony NDA gating compare to DocSend, Firmex, and Ideals?

Peony Data Room is the only mid-market data room that ships click-to-accept NDA gating, custom NDA upload, a full audit trail, and signed-copy retrieval at a flat $52/admin/month — Standard NDA gating starts even lower, on Peony Business at $30/admin/month. DocSend has no NDA gating at any tier; Firmex and Ideals reserve comparable functionality for enterprise contracts.

When should you gate a data room behind an NDA?

Gate behind an NDA whenever leaked materials would create legal, competitive, or fiduciary exposure — standard for M&A CIMs, LP fundraises, and Series A+ pitch decks.

Related features