This article helps admins troubleshoot paperwork issues in Playground, including families stuck on signatures, empty paperwork tabs, expired fillable PDFs, paperwork that can't be unshared, and how to view submitted responses.
Understanding Paperwork in Playground
Playground paperwork covers forms, fillable PDFs, and file requests that you share with families and staff. Most paperwork issues fall into one of two categories: a family can't complete or submit something, or an admin can't find, view, or control something they expect to see. Both are solvable, and knowing which side of the system the issue is on is the first step.
Family Stuck on a Signature or Can't Submit a Form
A family hit submit and got a spinning wheel — the form never went through
This is almost always a device or network issue on the family's end, not a Playground platform problem. Here's how to troubleshoot with the family:
Ask the family to try on a different browser — Chrome or Safari on a desktop or laptop (not a mobile browser) tends to work most reliably for signing and submitting forms.
Ask them to switch networks if possible, corporate or school Wi-Fi with strict firewalls can block Playground's form submission. Switching to a home Wi-Fi or mobile data usually resolves this.
Ask the family to hard-refresh the page (Ctrl+Shift+R on Windows, Cmd+Shift+R on Mac) and try the signature step again. Sometimes a stale browser cache is the cause.
If the family has a partially completed draft that disappeared after the error, ask them to log back into their Playground account, navigate to the Paperwork tab, and look for the form under Applications or In Progress.
💡 If multiple families at once are having trouble submitting forms, that's more likely a platform issue than individual device problems.
The signature step won't advance — the family can't get past it
If a family can draw or type their signature but the form won't advance to the next step, the most common cause is a required field earlier in the form that was skipped or left blank. Playground requires all required fields to be completed before allowing a signature to finalize.
Ask the family to scroll back through the form and check for any fields marked with a red asterisk (*) — these are required and must be filled in before the form can be submitted.
Confirm the family is completing the form in a supported browser (Chrome or Safari). Form behavior can be inconsistent in Firefox or older browsers.
If the form still won't advance after completing all required fields, have the family take a screenshot of where they're stuck and contact Playground Support.
Paperwork Tab Is Empty or Showing the Wrong Forms
The paperwork tab under a student's profile isn't showing any forms
The paperwork tab shows forms that have been shared with that student. If it's empty, the forms haven't been shared with the student yet, or the sharing settings only target a group the student isn't part of.
From your admin dashboard, navigate to the Paperwork tab.
Find the form you expect to see and click the three dots (. . .) next to it.
Click Edit and review the Share with setting. Confirm the correct programs, classrooms, or student groups are selected — or choose Everyone if it should apply to all students.
Save the changes. The form should now appear in the student's paperwork tab within a few moments.
💡 To verify exactly what a family sees, open the form, click the three dots (. . .), and select Preview. This shows the family-facing view without sharing it.
A student has forms appearing that shouldn't be there
If forms are appearing on a student that shouldn't apply to them, the sharing settings are targeting a group the student belongs to. Review the form's Share with settings and narrow the audience to exclude that student's program or classroom. See also the Auto-Assigned Paperwork section in the Student & Family Records Troubleshooting article for more detail.
Paperwork Not Visible or Won't Open for a Guardian
A guardian says they can't see a document in their Paperwork tab
If a guardian says paperwork isn't appearing for them — whether it's a form, a fillable PDF, or a file request — work through the following checks in order:
Confirm the document has been shared with the family. From the admin dashboard, go to Paperwork, find the document, and click Edit in the three-dot menu. Check the Share with setting and confirm the guardian's program, classroom, or student is included. If not, update the sharing settings and save.
Check the visibility setting (fillable PDFs only). In the PDF's settings, confirm the guardian permission is set to Visible. If it's set to Not visible, the PDF will be shared but hidden from the guardian's view.
Ask the guardian to log out and back in. Newly shared paperwork can take a moment to appear. A fresh login usually resolves a delay.
Check which account the guardian is logged into. If a family has multiple guardians or email addresses, the PDF may be shared to one account but the guardian is logged in as another. Ask them to confirm which email they're using.
A guardian can see the document but it won't open or load
If the document is visible in the guardian's Paperwork tab but won't open or render:
Ask the guardian to try a different browser. Chrome or Safari on a desktop or laptop is most reliable for opening forms and documents — Firefox and mobile browsers can sometimes struggle to render them.
Ask them to hard-refresh the page (Cmd+Shift+R on Mac, Ctrl+Shift+R on Windows) and try opening the PDF again.
Ask the guardian to check whether a browser extension (such as an ad blocker or PDF viewer extension) might be intercepting the file. Trying in a private/incognito window can rule this out.
If a fillable PDF still won't load, regenerate it for the student. From the Paperwork tab, select the document, check the student's name, and click Regenerate in the top right corner. This generates a fresh version without affecting any existing submissions.
Fillable PDFs Expiring
A family is getting an expiry error when trying to complete a fillable PDF
Fillable PDFs in Playground have a link expiry — the link generated for a family to complete the PDF is valid for a set period of time. If the family's link has expired, you'll need to re-share the PDF to generate a fresh link.
From your admin dashboard, navigate to the Paperwork tab.
Find the fillable PDF the family is trying to complete.
Click the three dots (. . .) next to it and check the sharing settings. If it's shared with the family's program or group, uncheck it, save, then re-check it and save again. This refreshes the link for families in that group.
Ask the family to log back into their Playground account and navigate to the Paperwork tab. A fresh link for the fillable PDF should now be available.
🚨 Any submissions the family already made on the expired form are preserved — re-sharing the PDF creates a new fillable link, not a new form submission. Completed submissions remain in the student's paperwork history.
Unsharing Paperwork After It's Been Sent
Is there a way to unshare a form or remove it from a family's view?
You can remove a form from a family's view by updating the sharing settings to exclude the family's program, classroom, or group. Note that this will remove the form from all families in the affected group, not just one specific family.
From your admin dashboard, navigate to the Paperwork tab.
Find the form you want to unshare and click the three dots (. . .) next to it.
Click Edit and remove the relevant program, classroom, or group from the Share with setting.
Click Save. The form will no longer appear in the paperwork tabs of families in the removed group.
💡 If you only need to remove the form for one specific student (while keeping it visible for others in the same group), contact Playground Support — individual-student exclusions from a shared form require a support action on our end.
Viewing Submitted Paperwork Responses
I can't find where to see what a family submitted
Submitted paperwork responses can be found in two places — from the admin paperwork view, or directly on the student's profile:
From the Paperwork tab:
Navigate to Paperwork from your admin dashboard.
Click on the form whose submissions you want to view.
You'll see a list of all families who have submitted responses. Click any name to view that family's submission.
From the student's profile:
Navigate to My School → Students and open the student's profile.
Click the Paperwork tab on the student's profile.
Click on any completed form to view the family's responses.
💡 Forms that a family started but didn't submit will show as In Progress — they won't have full response data. Only submitted forms are viewable in full.
FAQs
A family says their signature screen keeps spinning and nothing happens. What should I tell them?
A family says their signature screen keeps spinning and nothing happens. What should I tell them?
This is almost always a browser or network issue. Ask them to try Chrome or Safari on a desktop computer (not mobile), switch to a different network (home Wi-Fi instead of work/school), and hard-refresh the page (Cmd+Shift+R or Ctrl+Shift+R). If it still doesn't work, have them reach out to Playground Support directly with details about their device and browser.
Why is the paperwork tab on a student's profile completely empty?
Why is the paperwork tab on a student's profile completely empty?
The paperwork tab only shows forms that have been shared with that specific student. If it's empty, either no forms have been shared yet, or the sharing settings are targeting a program or classroom the student isn't enrolled in. Check the Share with setting on each form and confirm the student is in the targeted group.
A family got an expiry error on a fillable PDF. How do I fix it?
A family got an expiry error on a fillable PDF. How do I fix it?
You'll need to refresh the fillable PDF link. Go to the Paperwork tab, find the PDF, click Edit in the three-dot menu, uncheck the sharing group, save, then re-check the group and save again. This generates a fresh link. Ask the family to log back into their Playground account and the new link will be in their Paperwork tab.
Can I unshare a form from just one student without removing it from everyone else?
Can I unshare a form from just one student without removing it from everyone else?
Not directly — sharing settings apply to groups (programs, classrooms, or Everyone). If you need to exclude a single student from a shared form, contact Playground Support and we can handle it on our end.
Can I share a fillable PDF with staff as well as families?
Can I share a fillable PDF with staff as well as families?
Yes — fillable PDFs and forms can be shared with both families and staff. Navigate to the Paperwork tab, open the form's edit settings, and under Share with, select the appropriate staff groups or individual staff members in addition to the family groups.
Where can I download or export all paperwork submissions for a form?
Where can I download or export all paperwork submissions for a form?
Navigate to the Paperwork tab and click on the form. From the submissions list, look for a Download or Export option in the top right. This will give you a CSV or PDF export of all submitted responses. If you need bulk exports for compliance or auditing, contact Playground Support for guidance on the best export format for your needs.