Data sharing lets you reuse information entered during document generation across other documents in the same matter. This saves time, improves consistency, and reduces the need for rekeying information.
Instructions
1. Understand the purpose of data sharing
- When a form filler completes a questionnaire, their answers are stored against specific section and field aliases and role labels. This creates a reusable data path. That means if another document asks for the same information, it can be auto-filled using what’s already been entered.
2. Know what’s required for data to be reused
- For data sharing to work, the following elements must match across documents:
- The field alias (what the data is)
- The role (who the data belongs to)
- The section and field labels (what the form filler sees) don’t need to match - only the alias and role do.
3. Choose when to use data sharing
- Data sharing is ideal for consistent, reusable information like:
- Names and contact details
- Property and transaction details
- Employment information
- Avoid applying data sharing to fields that are:
- Highly contextual (e.g. “next court date”)
- Too general (e.g. “amount” without context)
TIP: Use descriptive aliases like amount_deposit or address_postal to improve reusability. Also ensure consistency in naming to ensure that aliases are not duplicated. If one form uses the alias phone_mobile and another uses mobile_phone, the data won’t connect.
4. Consider your source document strategy
- Some teams create a “source of truth” form as the first submission in a matter. This form captures all relevant data and becomes the key reference point for future documents.
- Form fillers can then choose to pull data from either:
- Contacts – helpful for the first document in a matter
- Previous Submissions – useful once documents start building up
Common Issues & Solutions
- Issue: Data isn’t populating into a new document
- Solution: Check that the field alias and role match exactly between forms. Even small differences (e.g. child vs children) will prevent the connection.
- Issue: Data is pulling through incorrectly
- Solution: Review whether the alias or role is too general. Adjust to a more specific label where possible.