azucena
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 17, 2011 13:23:14 GMT -5
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Post by azucena on Oct 5, 2021 15:41:10 GMT -5
We have a 100 page contract document in MS Word with lots of switches that need to come in out, program specifics to be modified, company name to be replaced over and over, internal notes to be deleted. This is a very manual, very tedious process. It's the way we've always done it. I tried to bring up this issue a couple of years ago and couldn't get any traction. It's time to try again, but I'm not sure what kind of resource/software I'm looking for.
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Post by minnesotapaintlady on Oct 5, 2021 15:43:22 GMT -5
And just a simple Find/Replace doesn't work for a lot of this?
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azucena
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 17, 2011 13:23:14 GMT -5
Posts: 5,187
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Post by azucena on Oct 5, 2021 15:45:16 GMT -5
It's a legal doc with lots of use this clause for this situation, use this one for that situation. Delete this one if not needed.
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Oct 5, 2021 15:55:57 GMT -5
Are they different points that need to come out each time, or the same ones?
If they're the same ones, then you need someone to use the MS template to create a new template, and then make people use the new one. (Easier said than done, I'm sure.)
PS Sorry just saw your last post. Can someone create several new templates for the most common situations/biggest clients?
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engineerdoe
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Joined: May 22, 2013 17:10:26 GMT -5
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Post by engineerdoe on Oct 5, 2021 17:06:03 GMT -5
It's a legal doc with lots of use this clause for this situation, use this one for that situation. Delete this one if not needed. It sounds like you need to write a macros to do all these functions, but ideally you find an addon that kind of does that already. I know my reply is probably of no use to you sorry. I have no idea how to write that macros either. I use one for my specification editing but the macros/add on was written by MasterSpec who also wrote the specification documents I am editing. What I like is that I can accept or reject things and quickly delete whole sections as needed depending on the project. Maybe search for "legal document editing macros" and see what comes up. (obviously scan for viruses and malware before you download anything for free.) |
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engineerdoe
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Joined: May 22, 2013 17:10:26 GMT -5
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Post by engineerdoe on Oct 5, 2021 17:09:42 GMT -5
"Litera, BriefCatch, and Compose are all examples of tools that you can access from within Microsoft Word, enabling you to do things like conduct research and easily edit your drafts, all without having to disrupt your workflow by moving to yet another tab." The above is copied from one of the points in the below blog. I would try those three plug-ins to see if they can do what you want. casetext.com/blog/the-ultimate-word-set-up-for-lawyers/ |
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azucena
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 17, 2011 13:23:14 GMT -5
Posts: 5,187
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Post by azucena on Oct 5, 2021 17:56:03 GMT -5
It's a legal doc with lots of use this clause for this situation, use this one for that situation. Delete this one if not needed. It sounds like you need to write a macros to do all these functions, but ideally you find an addon that kind of does that already. I know my reply is probably of no use to you sorry. I have no idea how to write that macros either. I use one for my specification editing but the macros/add on was written by MasterSpec who also wrote the specification documents I am editing. What I like is that I can accept or reject things and quickly delete whole sections as needed depending on the project. Maybe search for "legal document editing macros" and see what comes up. (obviously scan for viruses and malware before you download anything for free.) Very familiar with macros in Excel, knew they were possible in Word but haven't used them. Great ideas, keep them coming everyone. |
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Oct 5, 2021 19:10:38 GMT -5
Back in the day, you could merge an excel file and word document to spit out personalized form letters. If yours is that rigid, you could do that and keep all the "fill in the blanks" in an excel file. I believe you could then resave the word doc and unlink it, so it stays the way you want it.
You can also make a form where you leave a space and just fill it in.
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laterbloomer
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Post by laterbloomer on Oct 5, 2021 19:29:22 GMT -5
If I was doing this I would create an excel spreadsheet with the different clauses in columns with headings like "dissolution clause" and "non payment clause" then treat it like a mail merge. Have the main template of the word document and just insert whichever clauses you need.
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laterbloomer
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 26, 2018 0:50:42 GMT -5
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Post by laterbloomer on Oct 5, 2021 19:30:51 GMT -5
Back in the day, you could merge an excel file and word document to spit out personalized form letters. If yours is that rigid, you could do that and keep all the "fill in the blanks" in an excel file. I believe you could then resave the word doc and unlink it, so it stays the way you want it. You can also make a form where you leave a space and just fill it in. I took too long typing my suggestion, thyme beat me to it. |
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azucena
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 17, 2011 13:23:14 GMT -5
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Post by azucena on Oct 5, 2021 20:44:10 GMT -5
Some combination of these suggestions is likely the answer. Now I just need to figure out if someone in my company circle has these skills or is willing/has time to learn them. I need to punt the whole thing bc I'm only slightly involved in the contracts. I only started wondering bc they are backed up which is affecting client relationships and causing more questions to come my way.
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