What this page is — the module-wide symptom index: what people actually run into in Orbit Papers,
the cause, and the page that explains it in depth.
What it is for — so the first place you look is the place the problem usually is.
The problem it solves — most Papers questions come from a handful of behaviours that are correct but
surprising, and each one costs an afternoon to rediscover.
1. What it is
Each Papers page ends with its own troubleshooting table. This page gathers the symptoms that cross
pages, and the behaviours that are correct but surprising, into one place ordered by where you meet
them. Each row names the behaviour and what to do about it.
| Use this page when | Use a page's own table when |
|---|
| You do not know which area the problem is in | You already know the screen |
| The cause spans areas (a type setting breaking signing) | The symptom is local to one control |
2. Why you would use it
- Most Papers tickets are one of about twenty known causes. Finding the row is faster than
investigating from scratch.
- It tells you what to change. "Signed but not executed" is almost always a missing lifecycle transition, not a signing failure — so you fix the type instead of re-sending the request.
- It points at the fix, not only the cause. Every row links to the page with the steps.
3. Troubleshooting by symptom
Access and visibility
| Symptom | Cause | Read |
|---|
| No Papers in the sidebar | Plan lacks Papers, or role lacks the menu permissions | Permissions |
| Sidebar entry present but the screen refuses | Menu granted without view | Permissions |
| A colleague sees documents you do not | Project membership, or they hold Cross-project compliance read; unlocks "All projects" mode in the Repository. | Overview |
| More documents than the project has | Org-wide documents are included everywhere | Report builder |
Types and changes
| Symptom | Cause | Read |
|---|
| New Document has no types | No type has a published version | Getting started |
| A template or field change did not reach old documents | Templates, fields and lifecycles are frozen per version | Overview |
| A behaviour change did hit old documents | Behaviour switches live on the type and apply at once | Behaviour settings |
| The seal never renders | A seal must be bound to the type, which no screen currently does | Branding assets |
| Extraction schema changes do nothing | The extraction schema is not currently used — use smart fields | Behaviour settings |
Drafting and submitting
| Symptom | Cause | Read |
|---|
| Fields will not accept typing | The state is not draft, negotiation or returned — or you lack Edit draft documents / data values. | Filling fields |
| Submitted with empty required fields | The action is not literally submit | Submitting |
| Nobody was notified after submit | No workflow on the transition — see the inbox's not routed section | Approvals inbox |
| An approval landed with the organisation owner | A step's persona resolved to nobody | Approvals inbox |
A template shows <no value> | The template refers to a field that has no value on this document | Template builder |
Finalizing, sharing, signing
| Symptom | Cause | Read |
|---|
| Finalized but Not numbered | No sequence on the type at finalize, and it is never back-filled | Finalize and numbering |
| Recipient sees Link not found on a new link | The document was never finalized | Share links |
| Counterparty can read but not act | The state is not one of the three portal-open states | Counterparty portal |
| An accepted redline is not in the text | Accepting never merges wording | Redlines and rounds |
| Everyone signed, document not executed | No all_signed transition | Accepting and closing |
| One decline ended the whole request | By design | The signing page |
After execution
| Symptom | Cause | Read |
|---|
| Reminder emails every day, none on the due date | Reminders stop the day before, and 0 days never sends | Obligation register |
| An obligation never becomes missed | It is never set automatically | Obligation register |
| Cycle-time analytics count almost nothing | Only moves into a state named like "final" count | Analytics |
| Semantic search or Ask cannot find a draft | They only index finalized documents | Search |
| Destroy left content behind | Disposition purges only field values | Disposition |
| Re-classifying shortened retention | Re-classification recomputes the keep-until date | Retention and holds |
4. Field reference — messages, by exact text
| Message | Meaning | Read |
|---|
| missing required fields: … | Required fields are empty on submit | Submitting |
| this document is waiting on an approval decision (…) | Move it from the inbox, not the document | Approvals inbox |
| you submitted this document, so you cannot approve it yourself… | Self-approval rule | Submitting |
| this document type requires approval before finalizing… | Approve first | Finalize |
| this document type requires signature, so it cannot move to "…" unsigned… | Complete signing first | Accepting and closing |
| document "…" must be finalized before requesting signatures | Finalize first | Sending for signature |
| document is under legal hold and cannot be … | Holds block finalize, revoke and supersede | Retention and holds |
| This document is not currently open for counterparty actions. | Wrong state for portal actions | Counterparty portal |
| counterparty access has been revoked — add the party again to re-invite | Revocation is final for that party | Sending to a counterparty |
| type has no published version | Publish the type | Getting started |
5. Worked example — diagnosing "the contract is stuck"
A sales director reports: "MSA-2026-044 was signed by both sides last week and still shows out for
signature. Finance can't invoice."
- Symptom row: Everyone signed, document not executed.
- Check signing: the signature panel shows completed, with the signed PDF attached. Signing
worked.
- Check the type: the lifecycle has no transition with action
all_signed. The refusal message had promised an automatic move, which only happens when that transition exists.
- Fix the document: someone with the lifecycle permission moves it to executed. Because a completed
request exists, the requires-signature gate allows the move.
- Fix the type: the template owner adds
all_signed from out for signature to executed and
publishes a new version. The transition is read from the version, so documents created from older
versions still need the manual move.
- Prevent recurrence: they list other types with Requires signature on and no
all_signed, and add the transition to each.
Time to resolve: ten minutes, against a day of back-and-forth without the index.
6. The admin contract — settings that prevent most tickets
| Configure | Prevents |
|---|
| A numbering sequence on every type that needs numbers | Permanently unnumbered documents |
| A workflow on every approval transition | Unrouted, unnotified approvals |
Submit actions named submit | Unenforced required fields |
An all_signed transition on signature types | Signed-but-stuck documents |
| Personas that resolve (managers recorded in People) | Owner-fallback approvals |
| File-plan mappings for executed types | Documents that never reach retention |
7. Downstream
When you find a new recurring symptom, add it to the page where it lives and here, described as behaviour with its workaround.
8. Don't confuse this with…
| |
|---|
| Permissions | Who may do what — the cause of most "button missing" symptoms |
| Each page's own troubleshooting | Deeper and local to one screen |
| AI capabilities reference | AI-specific behaviour, including capabilities that are not offered |