Document Automation

Automate complex documents with clause variations, conditions, and calculations. Built user interfaces. Create fully automated templates.

10 articles in this collection
Written by Samuel Smolkin

How to automate documents in Office & Dragons

Document automation in O&D differs in key ways from other applications. These guidelines will help you get started quickly and simply.

Written by Samuel Smolkin
Updated over a week ago

Use unique, descriptive, square-bracketed [placeholders] in your documents

Give placeholder representing a unique concept a unique, descriptive name in square brackets, like [Borrower Name] or [loan amount].

Written by Samuel Smolkin
Updated over a week ago

You can do A LOT with your documents

You can find and replace any amount of content in your documents, manipulating lists, working with cross-references, and much more!

Written by Samuel Smolkin
Updated over a week ago

Logic lives in the turnsheet

The logic is the rules that choose what text to insert, delete, or keep in the documents.

Written by Samuel Smolkin
Updated over a week ago

Content can live in either the turnsheet or the document

In most cases, complex, pre-determined content should live in the document and everything else should live in the turnsheet.

Written by Samuel Smolkin
Updated over a week ago

Remove any unwanted formatting, bubble comments, or footnotes before automating the document

If you don't want the final text in the document to be bold and highlighted yellow, remove that formatting from the document.

Written by Samuel Smolkin
Updated over a week ago

Start simple

Before anything else, make sure that all of your placeholders are correctly identified in your turnsheet.

Written by Samuel Smolkin
Updated over a week ago

Building user interfaces

Use column types and the hide-columns feature to build user interfaces.

Written by Samuel Smolkin
Updated over a week ago

Improve in small iterations as needed

When you do want to add more automation to get closer to 100%, finish one small thing at a time.

Written by Samuel Smolkin
Updated over a week ago

Embracing the 80/20 rule is the secret to success

Almost always, you get 80% of the benefit of automating a document with 20% of the work, so do that fast and invite colleagues to use it.

Written by Samuel Smolkin
Updated over a week ago