#1
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Long conditional boilerplate Word docs
I am looking for pointers and general structural advice on how to build a series of long, complex contract documents so they can be easily modified on the fly for each client, by mostly choosing content from lists or sets, entering a value one time and having it propagated through other points, and in general doing as little "editing and rewriting" as possible.
Since Word doesn't have a good conditional text feature, I've been forward and back through the Developer/Design Mode/Content Controls stuff in my library and on the web. This needs to be as "locked up" and automatic for unsophisticated users as possible, while allowing them to quickly edit a generic contract to a specific end. Just quick pointers to elements I should be looking into, from Design mode stuff to hidden and locked text to macros/VBA to any GOOD add-ins would be appreciated. I have ~2 decades of experience with Word, but have never had to dive very far down this particular rabbit hole, and I feel like I am missing some obvious tools. Thanks! |
#2
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I would be saving the content chunks as building blocks (eg. Quick Parts). For the changeable values that propagate throughout, I would use mapped Content Controls which can be included in the content chunks you are saving as building blocks.
Users would be able to add the chunks by inserting them from the Quick Parts button.
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Andrew Lockton Chrysalis Design, Melbourne Australia |
#3
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You can then use the Building Blocks Gallery Content Control and or custom galleries in your OAT. Build & Deploy Custom Building Block Galleries by Greg Maxey
For a relatively trivial example of such a gallery on the QAT, look at my 2003 WordArt Add-In for 2010-2019 (365). |
#4
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Lots of good suggestions here.
It kind of depends on the size of your document and the content. Adding 25 large separate chunks one at a time can be tedious too. Another approach, and one I find easier in really big report documents, is to have all the sections in there, and just remove the ones not needed, ideally by doing so in Navigation Pane. For other documents, building step by step makes more sense. The Content Controls are going to be the easiest to, say, repeat a client's name or a title all the way through. If users are not adept at changing the content controls, I found this video to be interesting as a way to do a little hand-holding. You'd make a user form where the user would fill out a bunch of details upon opening the document, and those entries change the contents of the Content Controls, which populate through the document. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lKzMuk2nO0&t=59s You can also use bookmark/cross reference, but I find that some of my coworkers are really good at NOT typing within the brackets of the bookmark, or backspace deleting them, thus breaking it. Also if you already have a bunch of insertable detail in an Excel spreadsheet, a mail merge can also work. You may think of mail merge as merely working to create form letters, but it can be used to transfer a lot of database info into a single Word document. A coworker prefers to collect all her info in an Excel sheet, and we set up a merge that imports all that data into a report section. |
#5
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These are very large documents, 50-80 pages. The users create end versions almost daily.
Quick Parts isn't a good option. These have been structured as "reductive" templates for the users to add info in selected spots and then delete material that's not being used. For example, Section 1 might have five basic service options and the user deletes the four that don't apply. Not a terribly efficient method, but this is for relatively unsophisticated users (professionals busy with the real job) and giving them a fully structured document is preferable to their having to assemble it from pieces. Hidden text will help a lot; what I am looking for in Step 2 is a way to enter, say, a client name and have it propagate to several points in the document. (Haven't worked with fields etc. in a few years and knocking off the rust, here. ) Any/all further thoughts about Word tools that will enable and smooth out this process ("delete until done") appreciated. Notions for VBA and macros welcome; I'm reasonably skilled at both. |
#6
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Maybe you could Template all the choices.
The Template would have all body text collapsed. Apply the Content Control for Client names and other changeable, persistent fields as kilroyscarnival You'll have Two Heading Levels or similar. Level 1 for your document section. Level 2 would list the options of Boiler Plate. Delete the unnecessary Boiler Plates. Expand all levels and review. |
#7
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Quote:
This will work as a part of a building block if it is one of the controls under the Document Properties controls but not if it is a custom mapped control. Either will work if simply part of the template. |
#8
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Quote:
I do like the simplicity of the user getting a little user form popup at the start in which to fill those major variables - name, address, title, whatever else is pertinent. That way they should all go into the repeated form fields just fine. This is a rather simple visual tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slTDxIWvND0&t=471s The other thing I would suggest is that you maybe ponder a bit about whether you need a few different templates. Based on this: "Section 1 might have five basic service options and the user deletes the four that don't apply." If what's really common is that you have projects that either span all five service options, or mostly just #1, then have a template ready to go that is just #1. That of course only works if the writer is clear on what the project entails when he/she starts writing the report. I work with engineers, and usually they have a good foundation on what the project requires, but in the process of working, they may need to insert sections for additional analysis or do additional testing, so usually they copy/paste sections or paragraphs in. |
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