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Selecting
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Sample
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Start by going into your Template Register and clicking on ‘Select Fields’.
This page may take between 10 and 60 seconds to load all the fields and won’t let you edit anything until the Loading is finished.
You will then need to make choices through the following options before selecting your fields.
Data Source: The Data Source is the type of data that the template will pull.There is Firm data or Matter data.
Firm Data is solely data for your firm e.g. phone number, address etc. It is most useful for generic letter heads which make no reference to Matter fields at all.
Matter Data includes firm data and also Matter fields. For most templates, Matter is the right choice.
Doc Group: This is what type of law the template belongs to e.g. Litigation, Wills & Estates etc.
A drop down list will be available depending on the groups you have set up in your system. (see Wise Owl Legal Helpdesk for assistance adding additional groups) Depending on the Doc Group you choose, additional fields will load that are customised for that particular group.
Each level of fields will add more to the last. Eg: Firm is the smallest set, Matter adds more fields on top of that, and each Doc Group adds more fields on top of Matter.
Data Style: There are 3 types of Sample data that you can download. Fake Data, Random Data and Specific Data. This data is used for Preview Results in Microsoft Word Mail Merge.
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Count: This is a count of how many lines of Sample Data you would like in your merge fields. It only applies for Fake or Random data.
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Once you have made these selections, you can start finding and adding the fields you wish to include in your Sample Data.
TIP: We recommend that you include any fields you may use for that particular Document Group even if you aren’t using them for that particular template. This ensures that you only have to download 1 set of Sample Data per Document Group and not have to go through this process every time.
To Add Fields
To add fields to your list, scroll through the list on the left side of the page and click on the field name. This will add it to the ‘Fields to Include’ on the right side of the screen.
If you add a field that you do not want, you can select the red ‘x’ next to the field name on the right. You can also re-order the fields by selecting the up or down arrows.
Some fields will be too long for the Merge field requirements of Word and Excel (maximum of 40 characters long), these fields will come up in bold and will flag an error that will prevent you downloading your fields.
To fix this, you need to select an option from the ‘Shorten all Fields’ drop down.
Shorten All Fields will make all fields shorter using pre-set abbreviations
Shorten Long Fields will only make the fields that are in bold (i.e. too long) be shorter using pre-set abbreviations.
Pressing the icon of the scissors at the end of the row will also shorten that particular field
Once you have shortened the fields, the Download As .CSV button will un-grey and allow you to download your CSV file of Sample Fields.
TIP: Wise Owl Legal does not use the CSV you download to do actual mail merges. The CSV is entirely to assist you during template authoring. Wise Owl Legal uses its own proprietary engine to mail merge which is not subject to the limitations of MS Word.
Should you already have a set of Sample fields in a CSV file that you want to add to, you can Copy the first row of headings from your existing CSV file and paste it into the ‘Manual Fields section’ and press Add. This will automatically include all the fields you have pasted as Fields to Include.
You may also copy and paste fields in bulk from column A of the Data Dictionary.
TIP: there is no save button on this page, but you can always copy the first row of headings from your CSV to pick up from a previous merge if you find you forgot a field.
Once you have generated your Sample Fields spreadsheet, please save it somewhere safe and with a relevant name so that you can go back to it for any subsequent creation of templates.is an important step in the Advanced Operations of Creating In House Templates.
Please refer to the Advanced Documents Manual that can be provided by request from the Wise Owl Legal Help Desk.