This commodity offers advanced Microsoft Word (2010-2013) techniques for creating a protected template with fillable fields (or "Content Controls" in Microsoft terminology) for information that cannot be completed by Clio's merge field tags. These techniques would be useful for creating protected trust receipts with Document Automation.

Related article: Tutorial - Using Certificate Automation to Create a Trust Receipt

If you are not familiar with Document Automation, delight see the post-obit support articles:

Using Clio's Certificate Automation
How to Create a Document Template

Contents

Showing the Developer Tab
Calculation Form Controls
Control Properties
Formatting Form Controls
Adding Editing Restrictions/Protection to your Template
Advanced Document Automation Webinar

Showing the Developer Tab

The tools that you will need to add form controls to your template can be found in the Developer tab which is hidden past default.

To show the Developer tab,  click "File".

File.png

Then click "Options".

Options.png

In the Discussion Options window,

  1. Click on "Customize Ribbon" in the left-manus sidebar.
  2. In the Tabs area on the right, bank check the box beside "Developer".
  3. Click OK.

Customize_Ribbon.png

Adding Grade Controls

On the "Developer" tab  ane, in the "Controls" group  2 are a number of bachelor form control fields.

Developer_Tab.png

Some useful class controls are:

To add a form control to your template, click in the document where you want the command to go, then click on the icon for the control that you want to add.

Control_Added.png

To change the default placeholder text on the command ("Click here to enter text" in the above instance) click "Design Mode".
To change the Properties of the control, click "Properties".

Design_Mode.png

Control Properties

Each control has options that can exist accessed by clicking "Properties" with the control you want to modify selected.

For example, this is how you will add options to a Dropdown Selection Control or specify the engagement format displayed when using the Date Picker Command.

Case #ane — Rich Text Content Control Backdrop

RichText_Control_Properties.png

The example to the left shows the basic Property options available to form content controls.

  • Adding a name to the "Title" field, volition brandish that proper noun when the control is selected.
  •  The "Show as" dropdown box allows you lot to change the basic appearance of the control's bounding box or tags.
  •  The "Locking" options are only useful if your template controls already incorporate content that you lot do not desire to exist changed or delete. Practice not cheque these options if you expect that the content may demand to be added or changed in the content control.

Example #2 — Combo/Dropdown Selection Command Properties

Dropdown_Control_2.png

In add-on to the properties detailed above, the Dropdown Listing Control Properties gives you the ability to add together options for the user to select from when completing the class.

To add together a new selection to the dropdown control, click the "Add" button. To edit an existing option, click on it then click the "Modify" button. To delete an pick, click on it then click "Remove".

Example #3 — Date Picker Control Backdrop

Date_Control_2.png

The Date Picker Control Properties let you to select the format of the engagement that is displayed when the user selects a twenty-four hour period from the mini calendar.

Click on a date format in the pick surface area to select it, then click OK.

Formatting Form Controls

By default, the text that is input into a command volition have the same formatting as the line that information technology was added to.  To change the formatting of the text that is input into the control, highlight the control with "Design Manner" OFF and make formatting adjustments as you would to any other text.

To change the diction or formatting of the control's placeholder text:

  1. Turn on "Design Mode".
  2. Highlight the placeholder text and make formatting adjustments every bit desired.
  3. Plow OFF "Blueprint Mode".

When formatting control placeholder text, keep in heed that the default styling of that placeholder may not make information technology easy to immediately identify as a form control. Adding a highlight or some distinctive styling to the placeholder volition arrive more visible in your document. When the end user types or selects content in the control, the placeholder formatting will disappear and the content will take the styling of that line in your document.

Adding Editing Restrictions/Protection to Your Template

Protecting your template tin ensure that whatever user or Contact who may be completing your merged documents will only be able to alter information that is in the form controls that you add to your template.

To restrict editing on your template:

  1. Become to the Developer tab.
  2. Click on "Restrict Editing"
  3. In the Restrict Editing sidebar on the right, check the box under step "two. Editing restrictions" and change the dropdown to "Filling in Forms".
  4. Click "Yes, Starting time Enforcing Protection" nether step "three. Start enforcement".

    Restrict_Editing.png

  5. In the Start Enforcing Protection pop-up, enter in an optional countersign if you want the document to be countersign protected, or click OK if you do non want to add password protection.

    start_enforcing.png

  6. Save the protected template equally a new version to ensure that y'all don't overwrite your original document.

Once uploaded to Clio, the protected template volition create new protected Word documents while nevertheless pulling information from Clio.

More information is available on Microsoft.com


Advanced Document Automation Webinar

In under an 60 minutes, we demonstrate advanced MS Word techniques for adding provisional fields and form controls to your Word template. We also demonstrate how to add editing restrictions to your template. This avant-garde webinar is intended for users who are already comfy with creating Word templates for employ in Certificate Automation.

Click Here to view the recording.