Merging Fields in Microsoft Word Templates (DOCX)
You can use our DOCX Upload feature to turn a Microsoft Word document into a template that can be used to merge in fields from your Lawmatics CRM. This allows you to keep any formatting or other elements from your word document, but still get the benefits of having a merge field document in Lawmatics.
This feature can be compared to our custom document option, which accomplishes a similar function but does not have the capability to preserve your formatting from Microsoft Word.
Merging Fields into a Word Template
It will be important for most of your documents to automatically populate with data from Lawmatics. We can accomplish this with a Word template by using our Word merging language. It is very easy to do and we provide a great reference in Lawmatics which gives you the values of each field as they need to be used for merging.
To access the field reference page at any time, simply hover your mouse on the question mark icon found near the top right of your Lawmatics page:
And then select DOCX Field Reference:
Here you will find a list of all of your Lawmatics fields, including custom fields, and you are provided with the field code for each field. You can click the copy icon to easily copy the field code, and then paste it into your Word document outside of Lawmatics.
Let's break down those steps.
For example, if you had a sentence in your document that used a person's first name such as:
Thank you, Jeff, for hiring our firm.
You would go to the Field Reference page, and click the icon highlighted below for the First Name field, to copy that field code.
You would then paste the field code into your Word document so that the sentence would look as follows:
Thank you, {{first_name}}, for hiring our firm.
When this template is uploaded to Lawmatics and used on a matter, it will substitute the contact's first name where it belongs.
It is important to note that the merged data will take on any formatting that you give the bracketed field code in Word. If you make the field bold, {{first_name}}, it will be bold when the data is merged.
As you scroll through the Field Reference page, you will see all of your various fields available to use in a Word document. You will also see a section for Relationship Type Modifiers. These are used to merge in fields for a related contact to a matter. For example, you may have a document that needs to show the main contact's information as well as their spouse's name.
You will see a different modifier provided for each of your relationship types, as shown below.
To use a modifier, you will need to replace the <Merge Field> section with the field you wish to merge in for that relationship.
For example, you may have a sentence addressing both spouses in a married couple such as this in your document:
Dear Walter and Skyler White,
To recreate this sentence using merge fields, it would look as such:
Dear {{first_name}} and {{rel_spouse|first_name}} {{last_name}},
Note how we have replaced the <Merge Field> portion of the relationship type modifier with the field code for "first_name". We did not repeat the brackets around first name, and we did not leave the <> characters.
After you have merged in any necessary fields, you may also want to add e-signature or conditional logic to the document. Once these two steps are also completed, if necessary, you are then ready to upload your Word file to Lawmatics.
Uploading to Lawmatics
In order to upload Word templates just follow these steps.
1. Navigate to Documents from inside the Assets tab at the top of the page.
2. Click on Create New Document in top right of screen
3. Select Upload DOCX Document
4. You will then give the document a name, select the recipient type for this document (matter or contact), and then select a file already uploaded or upload the docx file right there.
FAQ's
I just created a new custom field, why don't I see it on the field reference page?
You may need to refresh your page after creating a new field. Once you have refreshed, then you should see that new field appear on the field reference page. If you have many custom fields and are having trouble finding a particular field on the page, we also suggest using ctrl + F to search for the field on the page.
Is there a Lawmatics plugin for Word to be able to add the field directly from my Word document?
Not that this time. You will need to copy and paste the field code from the field reference page provided in Lawmatics to add the field to your document.
What happens if I have a field merged into a document, but that field isn't populated on the matter I am sending the document to?
The field will simply appear appear as a single blank space in the document. If a field is not populated they will not see the field code, just an extra blank space.