How do I configure the variables and free paragraph in my contract templates with Word?

When you create a contract template to automate creating new contracts, you need to identify and set up the information that your users will need to fill in when generating the contract.

As a reminder, when creating a new contract, the user will be asked to fill in a form containing the key information of the contract and which will autocomplete the contract based on the information provided. This form is built according to the variables and free text areas that you insert in your contract.

In this article, you will see :

• How to set up the contract generation form?
• How to insert variables in your contract template?
• How to insert a free paragraph?
• How to create a condition?
• How to insert a clause?

To learn more about contract template creation, check out the dedicated article.

⚠️ As you make your settings, remember to save your changes by clicking on Save changes at the bottom left of your screen.

How to set up the contract generation form?

When creating a new contract, the user must fill out a form with the key information of the contract. 
For example, in the visual below, the information to be completed is : 

• For the company entity: Company name, Siren number, Legal representative
• For the counterparty: Company name, Siren number, Legal representative

By completing this information, when the contract is created, it will automatically fill the contract.

In the example below, the information entered via the form appears in green:

To customize this form, you need to set up your contract template accordingly, in particular by integrating variables and free text areas, as detailed in the sections below.

How to insert variables in your contract template? 

The sections

Find, in the form, the sections associated with the document type summary sheet. Very often, you will find at least the sections Entity, Counterparty and Dates. 

Add sections by clicking on +Section at the bottom of the form. Name your new section and insert the attributes or free paragraph of your choice.

The attributes

To add variables to your contract template, you can add an attribute or a clause present in the document type summary sheet or add a new element. To do so:

• Place your cursor where you want to insert the variable;
• Select the variable you want to add to your text in the form.

If the variable is not present in the list, click on Add an attribute, then search for the attribute of your choice. Once added, you will find this attribute in the Other information section of your summary sheet.

Make the attribute mandatory to fill in when completing the generation form. To do this, click on the three small dots to the right of the attribute and check the mandatory box. A red asterisk appears to the right of the attribute to indicate that this element is mandatory.

If an attribute must be present in more than one section, consider adding it in each section. If you add an attribute in the wrong section, click on it and move it to the right section. 

To remove an attribute, click on the small dots to the right of the attribute and select Remove from template.

Don't forget to save your work.

How to insert a free text area? 

In addition to the variables which generally correspond to one or more words, a date, an amount, etc., you also have the possibility of integrating free paragraphs which will be displayed as text blocks in your contract.

In the form to be filled in, it will be displayed as follows:

The addition of a free paragraph in a contract template is done from the dedicated button at the bottom of the section in which you want to add it:

• Place your cursor where you want to add the text
• Click on Add a free paragraph
• Fill in the requested information:
  • Title: the name of the field that your users will fill in
  • Description: the indications allowing your user to understand what information is expected in this field.

To delete a free paragraph, click on the 3 small dots to the right of it and select delete from template.

Create a condition

You can choose to display certain elements or blocks of text, depending on the information filled in the form. This prevents you from creating different versions of the same document, with only one difference being a clause, a block of text or a word.

From the Condition field, define which element of the form will be used as a condition.

• Select an element from the drop-down list, among the variables present in the form,
• Then indicate the operator (equal, less than, greater than or equal to, etc.) on which the condition is based.
• Enter or choose from the drop-down list the value that will trigger the condition.
• Finally, select the text, which will be displayed when the conditions are met. 

Thus, when generating contracts, if the information filled in corresponds to the one that triggers the condition, in the contract, you will see the elements that have been determined beforehand.

The elements can be found in two places, in your template with the pink brackets, and in the Condition section. At any time, click on the magnifying glass to find the condition in the text.

Once created, the condition can not be modified. Move your mouse over the existing condition and click on the cross that appears to delete it.

When generating a new document, if the criteria's conditions are met, a new page will open for you to complete the form with the needed information.

Insert a clause

The clauses to be inserted in the contract templates are to be set up beforehand in your clausier. You can then add them to your contract.

• Place the cursor where you want to insert the clause in the document
• Click on the Clausier tab on the right sidebar
• Select the clause and click on Insert

It will appear in purple brackets.

Any clause added cannot be modified directly from the template. For that you will have to go back to the clausier, select the clause in question and modify it.

To learn more about clause management, check out the dedicated article.

Once you have finalized your contract template settings, you can then draft a new contract based on that template.