SmallLaw: How to Use Microsoft Word as a Document Assembly System
- Word Document Tools
- Document Assembly Tool Mac Microsoft Word 2016
- Document Assembly Tool Mac Microsoft Word Free
- Document Assembly Tool Mac Microsoft Word Download
A Complete Family of Document Assembly & Automation Software Beats everyone four ways from Sunday for document assembly in more than 80 countries and 200 industries When your need is to be the best in your field, our proven software will help you, as it Software from TheFormTool is unique It. Mar 29, 2018 But you don't work within Word. Instead, you must either master the intricacies of the document assembly software or hire a consultant. A new alternative seeks to flatten the learning curve. Word DA in One Sentence. Infoware's Word DA adds document assembly tools to Microsoft Word, and optionally integrates with sibling add-in Word LX.
By Ross Kodner | Monday, July 19, 2010
Originally published on July 12, 2010 in our free SmallLaw newsletter.
In my previous SmallLaw column, I explained how to use Styles in Word 2007. This week let's talk document assembly, which represents the holy grail that every lawyer has sought for decades, whether acknowledged consciously or just the subject of quiet fantasy. However, the creation of document assembly systems to build documents for areas of practice such as contracting, real estate, estate planning, and even litigation rarely comes to fruition. Why?The Problem With Document Assembly Systems
The biggest impediment to document assembly success is the very nature of document assembly tools. Powerhouse document assembly engines such as Capsoft's venerable HotDocs offer extensive (and impressive) 'smart' logic, including conditional branching and selection of optional paragraphs based on how prior questions are answered.
However, it's complex to build such systems — they usually have to be outsourced. While the upfront cost tends to pay for itself, it's a daunting wall to scale. Most firms never start the climb, and end up with a simplistic document assembly system that just fills in the blanks to routinize documents. These templates can certainly be helpful for documents that require nothing more than being personalized to a specific case or client, but it's not useful for most contracts and agreements.
Word Document Tools
Using Word 2007's Quickparts as a Document Assembly Tool
Law firms really need some type of clause-based document assembly. Clause-based document assembly? What the heck is that? Imagine this — slice and dice your best contracts into their independent, individual clauses. A hierarchical organizational system enables you to organize the clauses first by area of practice area, such as 'Real Estate,' then a sub-classification, such as 'Commercial Leases,' then another sub-sub-type, such as 'Escalation Clauses.'
Next imagine that you could pull up your clause library, click on the clauses you need and insert as little as a sentence to as much as several pages of content with only a cursor point anywhere in a document you're building. Would that be useful? When you pick yourself up from the floor after momentarily lapsing into bliss-induced unconsciousness, you'll find you have such a system already.
It's called Word 2007 (or 2010) and its QuickParts feature, or what my now-14 year old daughter once referred to as 'Lego,' building blocks upon which you build documents.
QuickParts really couldn't be simpler. Go to the Insert Ribbon in Word and you'll see the QuickParts item in the 'Text' subsection on the right side of the ribbon area. Pull down the button to see the menu of options, just to familiarize yourself with the landscape, especially the Building Blocks Organizer. It's the hierarchical repository I mentioned. Be sure to scroll through all the standard building blocks included with Word — great ways to spruce up documents and call attention to specific language.
To create a QuickPart (a 'building block'), highlight any range of text you wish to save as an independent clause. Then from the QuickParts button, select the option that says 'Save Selection to QuickParts Gallery.' Add a 'Name' (i.e. Merger Clause), pick a 'Gallery' (top-level organization), then create or select an existing category (i.e. Commercial Leases). Save it and it will be available to pick from the Building Block Organizer, which has selections sortable by column headers including Name, Gallery and Category.
With Word's QuickParts, what you will amass over time is nothing short of a powerhouse clause-based document assembly system — the kind of document assembly most lawyers have fantasized about, but never thought they could achieve without buying any specialized software.
Written by Ross Kodner of MicroLaw.
How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, SmallLaw provides you with a mix of practical advice that you can use today, and insight about what it will take for small law firms like yours to thrive in the future. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.
Topics: Automation/Document Assembly/Macros | SmallLaw
Hello,Document Assembly Tool Mac Microsoft Word 2016
Trying to find the best method for automated word document assembly. I'm thinking this might be through the use of Visual Basic and possiblyVisual Studio 2015?Specifically I want to:
- Allow myself and staff to build a word document using standard company templates;
- Select pre-written paragraphs and technology information using a 'hot button' approach that allows users to select which paragraphs or information to insert into the generated document depending on their needs;
- Have the ability to reference to excel spreadsheets and pull in numbers into preformatted tables
Document Assembly Tool Mac Microsoft Word Free
Document Assembly Tool Mac Microsoft Word Download
A person at my company who left about 9 years ago created something like the above (although without the last point) and my company never continued maintenance of the software she wrote after she left. I've decided to resurrect this method if possible for needed technical sales proposal writing through the company I work at.I'm an engineer who works in a business development/sales capacity. The organization writes up to 150 proposals or estimates per month and each person does it differently. Many times we just send spreadsheet outputs and an email. Others have Word templates where they insert excel information manually. Others have setup complex excel sheets with writing in the excel form that they can output as a completed pdt printout. All have strengths and weaknesses. Bottom line...need to automate a proposal generation process where each user can select what standard technology verbage they need depending on each proposal and have it quickly formatted and ready to go.
Need good ideas. How would you accomplish this?
Thanks!