Understanding Templates
Learn about the foundational Word-documents that power automation and data-driven drafting.
What is a template?
A template is the automated Microsoft Word document that acts as the foundation for your final generated document. They are the coded precedents designed to handle all the variables, conditions, and logic required for automation.
How does a template work?
Each Word-document template is linked to a form in the form builder, allowing it to use the information entered into that form by the form filler. When the form is completed and submitted by the from filler, its data is automatically inserted into the template - generating a customised, ready-to-use document.
This is all done via content controls.
What are Content Controls?
Content controls are the placeholders that pull data from the form into the document template. They are the basis of the automation.
Content controls appear in the Smarter Drafter Word Add-In as green boxes, showing when a field is inserted into the template document. Each set of content controls is connected to a specific field in your form - carrying that field’s ID - which lets Smarter Drafter know what data to insert.
Learn more about Content Controls and how to add them to your templates here.
What can be a template?
A template must be a Microsoft Word document (with extension .docx).
Any document with a different file type (e.g. PDF) will need to be converted to a Word document for it to be automated and used as a template.
How to prepare a template for automation
When a builder automates a template, the Smarter Drafter Word Add-In is the tool used to access the form questionnaire and design how the data will appear in the generated document.
As a starting point, a template should be designed according to your organisations drafting, branding and styling guidelines.
See the link below for a more detailed explanation of how to prepare your template for automation.