Document Automation
Automate complex documents with clause variations, conditions, and calculations. Built user interfaces. Create fully automated templates.
10 articles
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, the hide-columns feature, descriptions, and Forms 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