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How to sign, markup documents without leaving the Mail app in iOS 9

Signing a document, annotating an attachment and drawing on a photo can now be done directly in the Mail app in iOS 9.

Jason Cipriani Contributing Writer, ZDNet
Jason Cipriani is based out of beautiful Colorado and has been covering mobile technology news and reviewing the latest gadgets for the last six years. His work can also be found on sister site CNET in the How To section, as well as across several more online publications.
Jason Cipriani

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Jason Cipriani/CNET

There are plenty of quality iOS applications for marking up documents and photos, but there's something to be said about a native solution created by Apple.

With iOS 9, users will have the ability to draw, sign and type on a document or photo attachment without having to leave the Mail app in a similar vein to that of the Markup feature found on OS X.

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Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET

When viewing an email with an attachment on your iPad -- say, one asking for your signature -- long-press on the attachment and then select Markup and Reply from the share sheet. iPhone users will need to single-tap the document to preview it, then tap on the Markup icon in the lower-right corner of the screen. It looks like a toolbox.

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Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET

You can then tap on the Signature icon, where you'll then be asked to create a signature using your finger and drawing on the screen. After saving your signature, place it on the document, adjusting its location and size using familiar pinch-to-zoom gestures.

You can also draw lines, circle different items or create a text box to fill in other bits of information. Additionally, there's a magnification feature for highlighting a segment of the document at hand.